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What Could Spoil 2020? by Anatole Kaletsky | The most probable scenario for the global economy and financial markets this year is fairly obvious: continued GDP growth, rock-bottom interest rates, and rising equity prices. It's more useful to identify which unlikely events would alter this likely benign scenario – and consider how unlikely they really are.
LONDON – The traditional January game of economic forecasting for the year ahead hardly seems worth playing when the predictions have been the same for a decade. In 2020, it is even more likely than it has been every year since the financial crisis that the global economy will continue growing, interest rates will remain at rock-bottom levels, and stock markets will keep rising.
So, instead of predicting the most probable scenario, which is fairly obvious, it is more useful to consider unlikely events that would alter the likely benign scenario. I believe ten risks could cause the most economic and financial trouble in 2020. These are not predictions: continuing global expansion is more probable than any combination of these setbacks. And they are not “ surprises, ” which, by definition, are impossible to foresee. Rather, they are “ known unknowns, ” arranged from the lowest risk to the highest, in my view.
The smallest risk is the one that many economists predict every year: a global recession, caused by the United States or China. A recession is inevitable, but less likely in 2020 than in any of the previous ten years. While investment and manufacturing worldwide have suffered from the US-China trade war, macroeconomic policies in both countries have boosted housing, services, and public spending. The world economy will continue to benefit this year from a tailwind from last year’ s US interest-rate cuts and China’ s efforts to support roughly 6% growth. Absent some powerful new shock, recession in 2020 is therefore extremely unlikely.
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Anatole Kaletsky is Chief Economist and Co-Chairman of Gavekal Dragonomics. A former columnist at the Times of London, the International New York Times and the Financial Times, he is the author of Capitalism 4.0: The Birth of a New Economy in the Aftermath of Crisis, which anticipated many of the post-crisis transformations of the global economy. His 1985 book, Costs of Default, became an influential primer for Latin American and Asian governments negotiating debt defaults and restructurings with banks and the IMF.
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Anatole Kaletsky says the outlook for the global economy in 2020 is positive – it “ will continue growing, interest rates will remain at rock-bottom levels, and stock markets will keep rising ” – but it is overshadowed by “ ten risks ” that could “ cause the most economic and financial trouble. ” The risks are neither “ predictions ” nor “ surprises ” – they are instead “ known unknowns, ” ranging from the “ lowest risk to the hightest. ” According to the author, a “ global recession ” in 2020 is unlikely, but it may be “ inevitable ” in the coming decade. Although the US-China trade war has taken a toll on global investment and manufacturing, “ macroeconomic policies in both countries have boosted housing, services, and public spending. The world economy will continue to benefit this year from a tailwind from last year’ s US interest-rate cuts and China’ s efforts to support roughly 6% growth. ” However, the US is struggling with trillion-dollar budget deficits. Besides, borrowing has loaded China with trillions of dollars in debt. Risk No. 2 are “ higher interest rates ”. But it remains low, at least in the US. It would be risky to raise interest rates ahead of the November elections. Risk No. 3 may apply Europe, where a “ politically driven euro crisis ” remains a low, but it is not a “ non-negligible risk. ” Britain’ s 2016 referendum had put anti-EU populists off. A hard Brexit would probably increase support for the Euro and the EU. Yet the next Eurocrisis come come from Italy. Risk No. 4 is a “ European recession ”, which remains high. The Eurozone has recovered slightly from the 2011 Eurocrisis, with the European Central Bank resuming “ quantitative easing ” and popular sentiment truning against fiscal austerity. But Germany’ s economy grew at its slowest rate between August 2018 and July 2019 since 2011.Risk No. 5 is “ oil-induced ” with financial markets worrying about a spike in oil prices as a result of the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Yet neither Iran nor the US are keen on fighting an all-out war in the region. The fear of oil prices soaring above $ 110 a barrel may well be unfounded, at least for now.Risk No. 6 is “ increased protectionism ” – when the US and China move beyond the “ phase one ” of their agreement, which will involve sensitive issues like technology transfer and protection of intellectual property etc, the two countries may find it hard to compromise, as each seeks to lead the world in technology in the coming years. Risk No. 7 is “ corporate leverage ” – which remains moderate, despite “ debt ratios in US corporations have risen to unprecedented levels. ” Risk No. 8 is “ auto industry collapse ” – as a result of plummeting car sales. This prompts fear of a shrinking car industry. Risk No. 9 is one that the “ technology sector ” could face. The author says tech giants have become “ ruthless monopolists that manipulate politicians and exploit consumers. These companies have been the main driving force of the US economy and stock market, and serious political challenges to their business models – in the form of regulation, special taxation, or breakup – could cause a repeat of the 2000-02 dot-com bust. A reckoning could begin this year “ due to popular resentment and a pushback from authorities. Risk No. 10 is the uncertainty with the “ US presidential election. ” If Trump wins, he will become “ even more protectionist, belligerent, and unpredictable in a second term. ” Should a Democrat like Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren unseat him, the author says `` the US economy’ s four biggest sectors – health care, finance, technology, and energy – will face unprecedented threats of disruption. '' It remains to be seen whether Sanders and Warren will be nominated as their presidential contender. All the risks the author claims they would pose to global economy are noteworthy, yet only time can tell, whether they will materialise. It is always better to be overly cautious than being complacent and indifferent to various signs that had been ignored in 2008.
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Anchor Down Seafood Bar & Grill: 2020 Best of Long Island winner ( Includes interview and first-hand account) | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Anchor Down Seafood Bar & Grill has won again for “ Best of Long Island ” as the “ Best Seafood Restaurant ” for the fourth time, and their sister restaurant, Cardoon Mediterranean in Seaford, was named “ Best Mediterranean Restaurant ” for the second consecutive year; moreover, it won the prestigious category of “ Best Restaurant on Long Island ” and it was recognized by Trip Advisor with an “ Award of Excellence. ”
Corporate Executive Chef and Owner Stephen Rosenbluth was also nominated in the coveted “ Best Chef on Long Island ” category.
Rosenbluth expressed that is “ very proud of the front and back of the house ” at Anchor Down Seafood Bar & Grill in Merrick and Cardoon Mediterranean in Seaford. “ Thank you to everyone who voted and supported us for the last half-decade, ” Rosenbluth said. “ We appreciate you all, ” he exclaimed.
To learn more about Anchor Down Seafood Bar & Grill, check out its official website and its Facebook page.
Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 17,000 original articles over the past 16 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a six-time consecutive `` Best of Long Island '' winner, and in the past three years, he was honored as the `` Best Long Island Personality '' in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.
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Are lupini beans set to conquer the plant-based protein market? | The nutrition-packed beans are a hit in Europe, but not well known in the U.S. Leaders of Brami and Lupii tell Food Dive why the ingredient is important and where there is room for growth.
When Isabelle Steichen moved to the United States from Europe in 2013, people didn't think it was so strange that she was a vegan.
What they cared about, she told Food Dive, was where she was getting her protein. And now, Steichen and Alexandra Dempster are starting a brand that answers that very American question with a very European solution.
Steichen and Dempster's new company, Lupii, makes protein bars from the lupini bean, which is traditionally grown and eaten in the Mediterranean basin. The ingredient is not well known outside that region of Europe, where it is commonly a pickled snack and flour ingredient to enrich baked goods. Steichen joked the bean seems to have been `` born in the wrong place, '' since Americans tend to be more concerned about getting a full nutritional experience when eating plant-based food.
`` It's higher in protein than soy, which is generally considered the highest source of plant protein, '' Steichen said. ``... It's low in carbohydrates, packed with fiber, all the minerals. And then in terms of an ingredient, it's also super sustainable to grow... And so, from so many angles, it's just an incredible ingredient. ''
Aaron Gatti, founder and CEO of Brami Snacks, has made the nutritional value of the lupini bean a vital part of his company's story. Brami, which launched in 2016, makes snackable lupini beans in pouches. The company soaks and brines them so they can be eaten whole, a sort of al dente large bean.
Brami's packaging features a cartoon bean. On the Garlic and Rosemary variety, it has the sword, shield and helmet of a Roman soldier, which was once featured on every package as a hat tip to the ingredient's history.
`` It's actually said by some to be the most ancient legume known to humankind, '' Gatti told Food Dive. `` [ It ] dates back to ancient Egypt, and the ancient Romans used them as portable protein for their warriors, hence our 'Bramus Romanus ' little bean character and our positioning as to this being the answer to the modern-day warrior. And they lived on since the Roman times in the Mediterranean as a fresh bean aperitif snack, like edamame in Japan. In fact, you could say that they are the Mediterranean answer to edamame. ''
As more food makers bring international influences to products, and more consumers look for plant-based protein that tastes good and packs in nutritional value, lupini beans are getting more notice. Lupii and Brami are two companies on top of this trend, which could spread to many other applications because of the bean's versatility.
Gatti told Food Dive he grew up practically addicted to snacking on lupini beans, which were always available in Italy, where he often visited family. As a child, he didn't know much about their health benefits. He just knew that they tasted good and were fun to eat.
It was only as an adult — after his wife who was on a plant-based diet sampled the beans herself in Italy and pushed Gatti to start Brami — that he learned just how good lupini beans were from a nutritional standpoint. According to information compiled by Superfoodly, lupini beans have more protein in a 100-calorie serving than other popular legumes including chickpeas and soybeans. They are complete proteins and are high in fiber.
`` And so that was kind of the ' a-ha ' moment, '' Gatti said. ``... I personally faced this daily snack challenge when I worked in the office grind. At 4 p.m., I would be like, 'What the heck can I snack on that's really going to satisfy my hunger without ruining my diet? ' You have carrots and celery on one hand that are boring and don't have protein. And now you have a lot of better-for-you snacks, but they're better in the sense of the better ingredient deck, which is great, but they're still loaded with calories, carbs, fat or sugar. And so unless you're going to modify your meal plan, you're kind of risking going over your normal caloric intake. ''
As Brami prepares the beans, they are minimally processed with few ingredients and additives. Gatti touted the clean label on his snacks, saying he 'd always wanted to bring some of the `` magic '' of fresh food like he 'd enjoyed in Italy back to the United States.
`` We think real food that hasn't been engineered is always going to be better for you, and it's really like a Mediterranean slow food that we have made ready to eat for everyday purposes. ''
Aaron Gatti
Founder and CEO, Brami Snacks
Gatti said as Brami got started, it was difficult to get some consumers to expect a minimally processed snack that was a chewy bean, considering many other snacks are dry and crunchy and other beans are often soft and mushy. Some grocery buyers were unsure that consumers would have any enthusiasm about beans for snacks.
However, the simplicity of the snack and the nutritional bona fides won over other grocery buyers and consumers. Whole Foods Market quickly picked up the brand and found that it sold. Springboard, Kraft Heinz's incubator program, saw Brami's potential and chose it for its most recent class. Now, Gatti said he hears feedback from all kinds of consumers who enjoy the taste, the snackability and the nutritional profile of lupini.
Brami has quite a bit in the works for lupini beans. The brand used Chile-grown beans for a couple years, but last year made the switch to all Italian beans, which Gatti said are higher quality. There may also be more lupini products on the way from Brami.
`` We think real food that hasn't been engineered is always going to be better for you, and it's really like a Mediterranean slow food that we have made ready to eat for everyday purposes, '' he said.
Steichen, a well-known vegan blogger and podcast host behind The Plantiful and online meal planning company Buddhalicious, met Dempster last year. Dempster has a background in Big Food, having worked for PepsiCo as senior global marketing manager and prior to that doing marketing and sales work for Carlsberg Group. They described their meeting to Food Dive as `` love at first sight, '' where they bonded over the need to make highly nutritious plant-based food more available to people.
They united behind this idea to create Lupii, a lupini bean snack company that officially launched this month. Lupii bars, which can be purchased online or at a handful of stores in New York, are clean-label nutrient packed snacks. There are three flavors: Tahini Lemon Cranberry, Almond Butter Cinnamon Raisin and Peanut Butter Cacao Nib. Each bar has nine to 10 grams of protein and eight or nine grams of fiber. They also are non-GMO and made with minimal ingredients. And the beans used in these bars, Steichen said, are smaller `` sweet lupini, '' which have less natural bitterness.
Dempster told Food Dive the nutritional profile of the lupini bean makes Lupii's bars stand out in the marketplace, occupying a place where very few vegan bars can be. Protein bars often rely on whey or egg whites for some of their nutrients. When they are plant-based, they often contain heavily processed protein isolates, which Dempster said can be difficult to digest.
`` You're stripping a macronutrient away from the whole food source, and we really believe in trying to get as much nutrition as possible from real whole foods that are minimally adulterated, '' Dempster said.
`` It's higher in protein than soy, which is generally considered the highest source of plant protein.... It's low in carbohydrates, packed with fiber, all the minerals. And then in terms of an ingredient, it's also super sustainable to grow... And so, from so many angles, it's just an incredible ingredient. ''
Isabelle Steichen
Founder and CEO, Lupii
Steichen said that many other plant-based food products with protein are highly processed and full of extruded proteins and sugary syrups. Plant-based protein ingredients are often dried, pulverized and bleached, and don't look or taste anything like the plant from which they came. Lupini beans don't need to have many other ingredients added to be able to work with them, and they also don't need any more nutrients to enhance their health profile. Lupii also only uses dates to sweeten its products, which Steichen and Dempster touted as more natural than competitors ' sweeteners.
Right now, Lupii is only making bars. Steichen and Dempster said they have many more plans for lupini bean products, especially since the bean has myriad common uses in Europe. It's often turned into flakes or flour and added to baked goods to make them more nutritious. Lupini has been made into a dairy alternative and ice cream, Steichen said. It's also been used as an ingredient in veggie burgers and to make tempeh.
While Steichen and Dempster wouldn't talk yet about their plans for future Lupii products, they said lupini is the answer to what many consumers are looking for, especially when trying to have a less animal-based diet.
`` You're eating an ingredient that is very sustainable and a lot of consumers care about that, too, '' Steichen said. `` When they eat plant based, health is a first motivator. But then environment is a second. As I mentioned, lupini is a wonderful crop that is good for their health, and so a lot of consumers are looking to think a little bit more about supporting biodiversity, and that's definitely something that we can support with our product as well. ''
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
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Leviathan Natural Gas Now Flowing into Egypt, Israel and Jordan | Sign in to get the best natural gas news and data. Follow the topics you want and receive the daily emails.
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Natural gas sales from the mammoth Leviathan field offshore Israel as of Wednesday were underway to Egypt, Israel and Jordan, Houston-based Noble Energy Inc. said.
Combined gas sales from the Leviathan and Tamar fields have been averaging 1.5 Bcfe/d, with peak days up to 1.7 Bcfe/d. First gas sales from Leviathan began on New Year’ s Eve, with gas piped to Jordan beginning Jan. 1 and as of Wednesday into Egypt. Interconnects between the three countries’ pipeline networks also are fully operational.
“ The successful startup of the Leviathan project reflects the tremendous efforts of our employees, partners, and suppliers, ” said Noble’ s J. Keith Elliott, senior vice president of Offshore. Early performance “ has provided confidence in meeting our 2020 sales outlook. ”
Firm contracts at the end of 2019 were in place to deliver 3 Tcf from the Leviathan and Tamar fields for 15 years. Leviathan is 80 miles offshore in 5,500 feet of water, with estimated recoverable resources of 22 Tcf from 35 Tcf of in-place resource.
Noble operates the field and holds a 39.66% stake with partners Delek Drilling LP ( 45.34%) and Ratio Oil Exploration LP ( 15%). Sales volumes from Noble’ s Israeli assets totaled 234 MMcfe/d in 3Q2019. The Tamar field during the quarter reached a milestone of 2 Tcf of produced gas with a runtime of 99% -plus since startup.
Noble expects to sell an average of 800 MMcf/d from Leviathan this year. Gas is processed at the offshore platform before the treated gas and stabilized condensate flow through a northern entry pipeline connected to the Israel Natural Gas Lines, the national gas transmission system.
Considered the largest natural gas field discovered to date in the Eastern Mediterranean, Leviathan was discovered in 2010 and initially sanctioned in 2017. The first phase of development consists of the four wells, which are producing through two 18-inch diameter, 73-mile subsea tiebacks to a processing platform offshore northern Israel.
“ Leviathan natural gas provides redundancy in supply domestically and enables Israel to further transition from coal, improving air quality for Israel’ s citizens, ” Elliott said. “ Additionally, the asset supports regional economic cooperation and development through its exports to both regional and global customers. ”
Leviathan’ s four wells and both subsea flowlines are fully operational. Well production is “ in line with or better than pre-production expectations, ” management said. Venting operations associated with the startup also proved successful, “ resulting in no impact to onshore communities and with emissions levels substantially below permitted limits. ”
Last summer, Delek and Noble reportedly were working to allow liquefied natural gas ( LNG) exports and were negotiating with Golar LNG Ltd. and Exmar NV to finance, build, operate and maintain a floating LNG facility.
The Eastern Mediterrean is proving to be one of the exploration hotspots for natural gas.
In December, ExxonMobil Corp. said it had secured more than 1.7 million acres, including 1.2 million acres in the North Marakia Offshore block, which is five miles offshore Egypt’ s northern coast in the Herodotus Basin. The remaining 543,000 acres is in the North East El Amriya Offshore Block in the Nile Delta.
In early 2019, ExxonMobil and partner Qatar Petroleum also reported a huge gas discovery offshore Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean that could hold 5-7 Tcf. The gas-bearing reservoir of 436 feet was discovered at the Glaucus-1 well in Block 10.
ExxonMobil and Qatar have signaled they could use the gas reserves to feed a two-train LNG plant, but there could be limited space in the local markets, Wood Mackenzie said last year.
Eni SpA and Total SA made a similar giant gas discovery in the neighboring block in 2018, and a joint development could provide enough gas to support a greenfield LNG development, Wood Mackenzie said.
A partnership also would echo collaboration at ExxonMobil and Eni’ s LNG developments in Mozambique after they sanctioned Coral South LNG in 2018.
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Natural gas futures faltered again Tuesday despite a huge day/day decline in production. The losses reflected changes in the latest weather outlook, which had been colder over the weekend but then warmed in the last couple of runs. The January Nymex gas futures contract fell 4.7 cents to $ 3.747/MMBtu. Spot gas prices, meanwhile, came crashing…
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Factors determining Russia’ s long-term growth rate | This paper’ s main conclusion is that Russia’ s economy can not grow at the pace recorded in the early and mid-2000s because of the different external environment, the different stage of development and serious demographic headwinds.
In the decade of the 2010s, the pace of economic growth in Russia slowed down to an annual rate of below 2% and most forecasts suggest that this is will be the new “ normal ” for the Russian economy at least in the medium-term. While politically and socially disappointing, such a growth slowdown is unavoidable due to adverse demographic trends.
A combination of a shrinking working-age population and population aging must lead to a lower growth pace as compared to the period when the working-age population was still increasing and the effects of population aging were limited ( the decade of the 2000s).
Compensatory measures such as a gradual increase in the retirement age and an open labor migration policy, although economically positive, can only partly mitigate the negative effects of a shrinking domestic labor force. In this respect, Russia does not differ from other European countries and some Asian countries.
However, demography and shrinking labor supply can not fully explain low potential growth. Stagnation in total factor productivity is another reason. It results from a poor business and investment climate, difficulty in diversifying away from the dominant role of the hydrocarbon sector, and deteriorating political and economic relations with the US and EU which limit trade, investment and innovation opportunities. To increase its potential growth, Russia needs comprehensive economic and institutional reforms that, in turn, will be conditioned by political reforms and by improved economic and political relationships with the US, the EU and Russia’ s neighbors.
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How can we better prepare for future pandemics? In this event, co-hosted by the Center for Global Development and Bruegel think tanks, speakers will present `` A Global Deal for Our Pandemic Age '', a report of the G20 High Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.
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Exhibition upgrade at Berlin villa where Holocaust was planned | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The Berlin villa which hosted the 1942 Wannsee Conference, at which top Nazi officials finalised plans for the Holocaust, will on Sunday launch a new permanent exhibition aimed at attracting more visitors.
The House of the Wannsee Conference has been open as a memorial since 1992, but organisers hope the revamped exhibition will increase awareness of how Adolf Eichmann and fellow Nazis planned the extermination of Europe's Jews.
At a press conference on Thursday, museum director Hans-Christian Jasch said the new exhibition aimed `` to attract a wider audience '', in particular among pupils at Berlin schools.
`` Until now, the average duration of a visit has been 30 minutes... We are aiming for visitors to stay between 60 and 90 minutes, '' he added.
The previous exhibition, which was largely text-based, has been reworked entirely to become more didactic and interactive, Jasch said.
Museum directors also underlined the importance of efforts to increase Holocaust awareness against a backdrop of recent `` discussions over anti-Semitism and racism '' in Germany, he said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Hungarian Holocaust survivor Eva Fahidi will attend Sunday's unveiling ceremony.
Located on the shores of the Wannsee lake just southwest of the German capital, the lavish villa was the site of a notorious meeting of 15 high-ranking Nazi officials on January 20, 1942.
Led by security chief Reinhard Heydrich and recorded by fellow SS officer Eichmann, the meeting formalised the technical, administrative and economic details of what was dubbed `` the final solution to the Jewish question ''.
At his trial in Jerusalem in 1961, Eichmann told the court that the participants had been served `` by butlers with cognac and other drinks '' as they plotted the genocide.
The Nazis killed six million Jews in the Holocaust -- more than a third of the world's Jewish population at the time.
Jews from all over Europe were systematically deported from mid-1942 to six death camps: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor and Treblinka.
The opening of the new exhibition at Wannsee has been timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camps.
The Berlin villa which hosted the 1942 Wannsee Conference, at which top Nazi officials finalised plans for the Holocaust, will on Sunday launch a new permanent exhibition aimed at attracting more visitors.
The House of the Wannsee Conference has been open as a memorial since 1992, but organisers hope the revamped exhibition will increase awareness of how Adolf Eichmann and fellow Nazis planned the extermination of Europe’ s Jews.
At a press conference on Thursday, museum director Hans-Christian Jasch said the new exhibition aimed “ to attract a wider audience ”, in particular among pupils at Berlin schools.
“ Until now, the average duration of a visit has been 30 minutes… We are aiming for visitors to stay between 60 and 90 minutes, ” he added.
The previous exhibition, which was largely text-based, has been reworked entirely to become more didactic and interactive, Jasch said.
Museum directors also underlined the importance of efforts to increase Holocaust awareness against a backdrop of recent “ discussions over anti-Semitism and racism ” in Germany, he said.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Hungarian Holocaust survivor Eva Fahidi will attend Sunday’ s unveiling ceremony.
Located on the shores of the Wannsee lake just southwest of the German capital, the lavish villa was the site of a notorious meeting of 15 high-ranking Nazi officials on January 20, 1942.
Led by security chief Reinhard Heydrich and recorded by fellow SS officer Eichmann, the meeting formalised the technical, administrative and economic details of what was dubbed “ the final solution to the Jewish question ”.
At his trial in Jerusalem in 1961, Eichmann told the court that the participants had been served “ by butlers with cognac and other drinks ” as they plotted the genocide.
The Nazis killed six million Jews in the Holocaust — more than a third of the world’ s Jewish population at the time.
Jews from all over Europe were systematically deported from mid-1942 to six death camps: Auschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor and Treblinka.
The opening of the new exhibition at Wannsee has been timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the camps.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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Asian markets rise as China, US finally put pen to paper on deal | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Asian markets rose early Thursday as details were released of the China-US trade deal signed in Washington, with analysts saying it would allow investors to turn their focus to the global outlook and earnings season.
After years of painstaking on-off talks between the economic superpowers, Donald Trump finally put pen to paper on an agreement that lowers tensions between the two and provides a major boost to the global outlook.
Equities have been rallying since last month's announcement of a deal to de-escalate a long-running stand-off that has jolted growth around the world and fanned fears of recession in some countries.
The pact -- the first part of a wider agreement -- includes pledges from Beijing to boost purchases of US agricultural goods and other exports for two years, protects US technology and provides enforcement mechanisms allowing Washington to impose penalties that Beijing can not respond to.
In return, the US has cut tariffs on some Chinese products and cancelled others that had been lined up, though levies remain in place on goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars, which Trump said will stay in place until the next phase of talks is complete.
The president hailed it as a `` momentous step '', while Beijing cautiously welcomed the `` hard-fought agreement '' but warned of uncertainties ahead owing to the countries ' fraught relationship.
Still, Wall Street ended with healthy gains, with the Dow and S & P 500 hitting new records, and Asia followed suit.
Hong Kong added 0.5 percent and Tokyo finished the morning session 0.1 percent higher, while Sydney rose 0.6 percent. Shanghai was flat.
Singapore put on 0.3 percent, Seoul edged 0.2 percent higher and Wellington jumped 0.5 percent, though there were small losses in Taipei, Manila and Jakarta.
- 'Peak tariff ' -
`` Given the amount of speculation by the markets and commentary by officials ahead of Wednesday's signing, it is unsurprising markets have not rallied too strongly upon final signing, '' JPMorgan Asset Management strategist Hannah Anderson said.
`` In the US, investors largely seem to have accepted this pause in escalation and gotten back to focusing on fundamentals, like what the ongoing earnings season tells us about the outlook for the US equity market. Asia investors are likely to take the same approach. ''
But she added that while the agreement was a big positive, `` we should all be aware that headlines about trade, particularly US-China trade, are going to be a constant feature of 2020 ''.
There was also a concern that with the deal already priced into markets, there were few catalysts to drive stocks higher, while `` phase two '' negotiations -- expected to be the toughest -- are unlikely to start in earnest until after November's US presidential elections.
`` Market expectations for a phase two deal are negligible, '' said AxiTrader's Stephen Innes. `` The main benefit of the deal is that the US and China frictions are unlikely to worsen in the coming months, so we have reached a peak tariff of sorts, and this will allow traders to return focus on other things. ''
The easing of China-US tensions provided a broadly positive mood on trading floors that benefited higher-yielding, riskier currencies. The Chinese yuan extended recent gains by 0.1 percent while the Indonesian rupiah and Australian dollar were up 0.3 percent each.
The safe-haven yen dipped against the dollar and gold was flat.
Hopes for a pick-up in demand as the global economy improves also helped oil prices rise, with both main contracts posting healthy gains, though signs of increasing US inventories kept the commodity anchored.
- Key figures at 0230 GMT -
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 23,950.90 ( break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 0.6 percent at 28,942.60
Shanghai - Composite: FLAT at 3,090.35
Pound/dollar: UP at $ 1.3043 from $ 1.3038 at 2200 GMT
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.50 pence from 85.52 pence
Euro/dollar: UP at $ 1.1153 from $ 1.1149
Dollar/yen: UP at 109.95 yen from 109.90
Brent Crude: UP 44 cents at $ 64.44 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 40 cents at $ 58.21
New York - Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 29,030.22 ( close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,642.80 ( close)
Asian markets rose early Thursday as details were released of the China-US trade deal signed in Washington, with analysts saying it would allow investors to turn their focus to the global outlook and earnings season.
After years of painstaking on-off talks between the economic superpowers, Donald Trump finally put pen to paper on an agreement that lowers tensions between the two and provides a major boost to the global outlook.
Equities have been rallying since last month’ s announcement of a deal to de-escalate a long-running stand-off that has jolted growth around the world and fanned fears of recession in some countries.
The pact — the first part of a wider agreement — includes pledges from Beijing to boost purchases of US agricultural goods and other exports for two years, protects US technology and provides enforcement mechanisms allowing Washington to impose penalties that Beijing can not respond to.
In return, the US has cut tariffs on some Chinese products and cancelled others that had been lined up, though levies remain in place on goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars, which Trump said will stay in place until the next phase of talks is complete.
The president hailed it as a “ momentous step ”, while Beijing cautiously welcomed the “ hard-fought agreement ” but warned of uncertainties ahead owing to the countries’ fraught relationship.
Still, Wall Street ended with healthy gains, with the Dow and S & P 500 hitting new records, and Asia followed suit.
Hong Kong added 0.5 percent and Tokyo finished the morning session 0.1 percent higher, while Sydney rose 0.6 percent. Shanghai was flat.
Singapore put on 0.3 percent, Seoul edged 0.2 percent higher and Wellington jumped 0.5 percent, though there were small losses in Taipei, Manila and Jakarta.
– ‘ Peak tariff’ –
“ Given the amount of speculation by the markets and commentary by officials ahead of Wednesday’ s signing, it is unsurprising markets have not rallied too strongly upon final signing, ” JPMorgan Asset Management strategist Hannah Anderson said.
“ In the US, investors largely seem to have accepted this pause in escalation and gotten back to focusing on fundamentals, like what the ongoing earnings season tells us about the outlook for the US equity market. Asia investors are likely to take the same approach. ”
But she added that while the agreement was a big positive, “ we should all be aware that headlines about trade, particularly US-China trade, are going to be a constant feature of 2020 ”.
There was also a concern that with the deal already priced into markets, there were few catalysts to drive stocks higher, while “ phase two ” negotiations — expected to be the toughest — are unlikely to start in earnest until after November’ s US presidential elections.
“ Market expectations for a phase two deal are negligible, ” said AxiTrader’ s Stephen Innes. “ The main benefit of the deal is that the US and China frictions are unlikely to worsen in the coming months, so we have reached a peak tariff of sorts, and this will allow traders to return focus on other things. ”
The easing of China-US tensions provided a broadly positive mood on trading floors that benefited higher-yielding, riskier currencies. The Chinese yuan extended recent gains by 0.1 percent while the Indonesian rupiah and Australian dollar were up 0.3 percent each.
The safe-haven yen dipped against the dollar and gold was flat.
Hopes for a pick-up in demand as the global economy improves also helped oil prices rise, with both main contracts posting healthy gains, though signs of increasing US inventories kept the commodity anchored.
– Key figures at 0230 GMT –
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 23,950.90 ( break)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 0.6 percent at 28,942.60
Shanghai – Composite: FLAT at 3,090.35
Pound/dollar: UP at $ 1.3043 from $ 1.3038 at 2200 GMT
Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.50 pence from 85.52 pence
Euro/dollar: UP at $ 1.1153 from $ 1.1149
Dollar/yen: UP at 109.95 yen from 109.90
Brent Crude: UP 44 cents at $ 64.44 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 40 cents at $ 58.21
New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 29,030.22 ( close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,642.80 ( close)
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
New York's weaknesses in the face of climate change, the city is erecting a $ 1.45-billion system of walls and floodgates.
Kroger, the country’ s biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers.
Australia will push ahead with plans to ease Covid restrictions before Christmas.
Nearly 10 years after Imad al-Hisso fled the civil war in Syria, he remains trapped in Gaza, a place he calls `` a prison. ''
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PepsiCo to get all its US electricity from renewable sources | Sustainability has become intrinsically woven into the day-to-day operations of nearly all food and beverage companies in the U.S. Along with PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Mars Wrigley, Hershey, Walmart and Unilever are just a few of the companies that have announced some type of sustainability goal.
Along with the altruistic reasons, there is monetary motivation for companies to embrace sustainability through practices such as renewable energy, recyclable packaging or water conservation. According to Nielsen, 66% of all consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable brands. This figure is even higher for younger consumers, with 73% of millennials and 72% of Gen Zers agreeing to spend more for brands that incorporate sustainability into their operations.
As the spending power of younger shoppers increases and they start having families of their own, brands that are willing to make changes to their business model in the name of the environment could reap even greater long-term benefits through customer loyalty and additional sales.
PepsiCo has a long list of well-known brands such as Cheetos, Quaker, Tropicana, Aquafina and Mountain Dew. As a result, its decision to use electricity from renewable sources could benefit a wide range of products in PepsiCo's portfolio if the New York-based snacks and drinks company decided to use it as a marketing tool. Publicizing its latest commitment on packaging, through commercials and on social media could help distance itself from competitors who have yet to follow through on their pledge or are still some time away from reaching it.
AB InBev, the world's largest brewer, has pledged to secure 100% of its purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025. Beer from facilities that meet this goal will have a `` 100% renewable energy '' symbol on the label. Currently, about half of its U.S operations ' purchased electricity comes from renewable sources.
With sustainability no longer a luxury, companies such as PepsiCo must not only embrace the practice but increasingly show they are following through on their pledge. Last year, Greenpeace tracked the follow through of companies with sustainability pledges — specifically those tied to deforestation. It found that `` not a single company was able to demonstrate meaningful effort to eradicate deforestation from its supply chain. '' However, several have 2020 goals, so they have about another year to demonstrate progress.
As climate change headlines become more common, the pressure will be on multi-billion companies to play their part and prove they are backing up words with concrete action. Companies like PepsiCo that get ahead of the curve on sustainability stand the best chance of avoiding a potential PR nightmare later on and even profiting financially as their competitors come under fire.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach. | general |
A new human coronavirus has appeared in China | BEFORE 2003 few outside the field of respiratory medicine would have heard the term “ coronavirus ”. Then came SARS—severe acute respiratory syndrome—and suddenly the word became familiar. SARS caused a medical panic. It was an unknown illness with a mortality rate of about 10% and there was a brief period when, having escaped from China, where it first appeared, and surfaced in places as far distant as Canada, it seemed to have the potential to cause a global epidemic.
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Thankfully, SARS was contained, and now seems to have disappeared in the wild. But the bogeyman status of coronaviruses has not diminished. Hence the mini-panic when a new one began infecting people in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, in China. As The Economist went to press 42 patients had been confirmed as being ill with the new virus, one of whom had died.
The virus’ s symptoms of fever and pneumonia are similar to those of several other infections, so it was not clear to start with what was happening. The person now believed to have been the first patient developed symptoms on December 8th. The most recent case in China presented on January 2nd. On January 8th, however, a Chinese visitor arriving in Thailand from Wuhan was also found to be feverish, and on January 13th her illness was confirmed as being caused by the new virus.
Once China’ s health authorities realised what was going on, they acted fast. On January 1st they shut down a market that seemed to be a common factor between the patients. By January 7th they had isolated the new pathogen, showing that it was a coronavirus. And on January 12th they published the new virus’ s genetic sequence, enabling doctors in other countries to check for possible cases.
Coronaviruses, so called because they vaguely resemble monarchical crowns when examined under an electron microscope, are a widespread group that infect many species of mammal and bird. The two human examples known of before 2003 both cause colds, but are not regarded as life-threatening. A diligent search after the emergence of SARS discovered two others that had been circulating, previously unnoticed, in the human population. Then, in 2012, a sixth human coronavirus was discovered and shown to be responsible for newly described symptoms now called Middle East respiratory syndrome ( MERS) that kill about a third of those infected. The agent responsible for the outbreak in Wuhan, which has yet to be named formally, appears to be the seventh.
What is not yet clear is whether the Wuhan virus can, like the other six, spread directly from person to person. Novel human viruses are usually pathogens established in another animal that have jumped the species barrier. To be successful, though, they must also have mutated sufficiently to pass between members of their new host. The virus responsible for SARS, for example, came from bats, via civets, before infecting people. That responsible for MERS came from camels. Which species harboured the Wuhan virus remains unknown. The initial suspicion—hope, almost—was that each of those infected picked the virus up independently from whichever animal reservoir harbours it, rather than from another human being. The now-closed market being a common factor in infections has encouraged this belief, as has the failure of China’ s health authorities to find signs of infection in those who had been in contact with patients.
Given the lack of new cases, it looks possible that even if person-to-person transmission has happened, the swift response to the new infection has nipped things in the bud. That is encouraging, as is the fact that the traveller to Thailand was detected by equipment installed for the purpose at Bangkok airport. This picked up her elevated body temperature and alerted the authorities. In a world where a virus could be halfway around the planet before medical science has got its boots on, that is something to be grateful for.■
Published since September 1843 to take part in “ a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress. ”
Copyright © The Economist Newspaper Limited 2021. All rights reserved. | business |
Yemen separatist chief warns against collapse of power-sharing deal | Hi, what are you looking for?
By
Published
The leader of Yemen's southern separatists has warned against the looming collapse of a power-sharing deal, saying the region is menaced by the twin threats of economic catastrophe and Islamist attacks.
The agreement to resolve a battle for control in the south, which was signed in Riyadh last November, was hailed as a step towards ending the wider conflict in Yemen that pits the government against Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
However, analysts have said it is effectively defunct, having failed to meet deadlines for key measures including the formation of a new cabinet with equal representation for southerners, and the reorganisation of military forces.
In an interview with AFP, Aidarous Al-Zoubeidi, who heads the secessionist Southern Transitional Council ( STC), said he was committed to the deal `` under the leadership of Saudi Arabia '' which leads a military coalition against the Huthis.
Zoubeidi said the agreement, which observers had welcomed as preventing the complete break-up of Yemen, united the south against the Huthis and recognised the STC as a legitimate party.
`` We consider the Riyadh Agreement an important political step, because we gained regional and international recognition, '' he said as he sat behind his desk in the main southern city of Aden in front of the flag of the formerly independent south.
- 'People are suffering ' -
In August, deadly clashes broke out between the government and STC forces who seized control of Aden, ousting unionist forces who had set up base there when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled the Huthi-held capital Sanaa in February 2015.
While the government and the STC are technically allies in the long war against the Huthis, the secessionists believe the south should be an independent state -- as it was before unification in 1990.
However, Zoubeidi said they were willing to set aside that goal as the allies focused on the fight against the Huthi rebels, which had threatened to be derailed by the power struggle in the south.
`` We do not aspire during this phase for independence, we aspire for partnership... and the right to choose our own fate through democracy, '' he said.
The troubled rollout of the deal comes against amid what Zoubeidi said was a dire situation in the south of Yemen -- a country which the grinding conflict has pushed to the brink of famine.
`` There is a shortage of food products, the warehouses are empty in the south and there are only reserves to cover the needs of the people for the next 10 days, '' he said.
`` People are also suffering from not getting their salaries, '' he said, referring to a chronic lack of funds to pay public sector employees.
Zoubeidi said that Yemen's currency was sharply depreciating, and that it was possible that in the next few months the rial would be abandoned in favour of the Saudi or US currencies `` because it will have no value ''.
- Threats loom -
Zoubeidi said that `` many threats '' loom large over the Riyadh Agreement, but the most critical was intensified activity by militant groups including the Muslim Brotherhood, which he said was working `` under the cover '' of the government.
The tussle for control of the south, dubbed a `` civil war within a civil war '', exposed divisions between the coalition partners -- Saudi Arabia which backs the government, and the United Arab Emirates which has backed and funded the STC.
The UAE, like the STC, has a zero tolerance policy towards the Muslim Brotherhood and Yemen's Brotherhood-influenced Al-Islah party which has representatives in Hadi's government.
`` These terrorist organisations threaten the Riyadh Agreement because they are terrorist organisations that will conduct terrorist activities that may lead to the failure of the deal, '' Zoubeidi said.
The Riyadh Agreement set a timetable for the government's return to Aden, the appointment of a new head of security and a governor of the city, and the formation of a new 24-member cabinet with equal representation for southerners.
Yemen's Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik returned to the city in December but the two sides have failed to meet the other deadlines.
Around 3.3 million people have been displaced by the Yemeni conflict and some 20 million -- more than two-thirds of the population -- need help to survive what the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
The leader of Yemen’ s southern separatists has warned against the looming collapse of a power-sharing deal, saying the region is menaced by the twin threats of economic catastrophe and Islamist attacks.
The agreement to resolve a battle for control in the south, which was signed in Riyadh last November, was hailed as a step towards ending the wider conflict in Yemen that pits the government against Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
However, analysts have said it is effectively defunct, having failed to meet deadlines for key measures including the formation of a new cabinet with equal representation for southerners, and the reorganisation of military forces.
In an interview with AFP, Aidarous Al-Zoubeidi, who heads the secessionist Southern Transitional Council ( STC), said he was committed to the deal “ under the leadership of Saudi Arabia ” which leads a military coalition against the Huthis.
Zoubeidi said the agreement, which observers had welcomed as preventing the complete break-up of Yemen, united the south against the Huthis and recognised the STC as a legitimate party.
“ We consider the Riyadh Agreement an important political step, because we gained regional and international recognition, ” he said as he sat behind his desk in the main southern city of Aden in front of the flag of the formerly independent south.
– ‘ People are suffering’ –
In August, deadly clashes broke out between the government and STC forces who seized control of Aden, ousting unionist forces who had set up base there when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled the Huthi-held capital Sanaa in February 2015.
While the government and the STC are technically allies in the long war against the Huthis, the secessionists believe the south should be an independent state — as it was before unification in 1990.
However, Zoubeidi said they were willing to set aside that goal as the allies focused on the fight against the Huthi rebels, which had threatened to be derailed by the power struggle in the south.
“ We do not aspire during this phase for independence, we aspire for partnership… and the right to choose our own fate through democracy, ” he said.
The troubled rollout of the deal comes against amid what Zoubeidi said was a dire situation in the south of Yemen — a country which the grinding conflict has pushed to the brink of famine.
“ There is a shortage of food products, the warehouses are empty in the south and there are only reserves to cover the needs of the people for the next 10 days, ” he said.
“ People are also suffering from not getting their salaries, ” he said, referring to a chronic lack of funds to pay public sector employees.
Zoubeidi said that Yemen’ s currency was sharply depreciating, and that it was possible that in the next few months the rial would be abandoned in favour of the Saudi or US currencies “ because it will have no value ”.
– Threats loom –
Zoubeidi said that “ many threats ” loom large over the Riyadh Agreement, but the most critical was intensified activity by militant groups including the Muslim Brotherhood, which he said was working “ under the cover ” of the government.
The tussle for control of the south, dubbed a “ civil war within a civil war ”, exposed divisions between the coalition partners — Saudi Arabia which backs the government, and the United Arab Emirates which has backed and funded the STC.
The UAE, like the STC, has a zero tolerance policy towards the Muslim Brotherhood and Yemen’ s Brotherhood-influenced Al-Islah party which has representatives in Hadi’ s government.
“ These terrorist organisations threaten the Riyadh Agreement because they are terrorist organisations that will conduct terrorist activities that may lead to the failure of the deal, ” Zoubeidi said.
The Riyadh Agreement set a timetable for the government’ s return to Aden, the appointment of a new head of security and a governor of the city, and the formation of a new 24-member cabinet with equal representation for southerners.
Yemen’ s Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik returned to the city in December but the two sides have failed to meet the other deadlines.
Around 3.3 million people have been displaced by the Yemeni conflict and some 20 million — more than two-thirds of the population — need help to survive what the United Nations has described as the world’ s worst humanitarian crisis.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
The hunt for answers - like whether the Omicron variant will trigger new waves of infection.
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The Omicron variant that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up genetic material from another virus.
At its core, Zero Trust is all about authenticating and authorizing access policies that have been designed to provide the least privilege, for the...
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PBR has a new IPA cousin from Pabst Brewing | Or wait...
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16-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 16-Jan-2020 at 08:55 GMT
Related tags: pabst blue ribbon, Beer, Beer market, Ipa, Alcohol, Alcoholic beverages function sanitize gpt value2 ( gptValue) { var vOut= '' ''; var aTags = gptValue.split ( ', '); var reg = new RegExp ( '\\W+ ', `` g ''); for ( var i=0; i < aTags.length; i++) { vOut += aTags [ i ].trim ().replace ( reg, '- ').substring ( 0,40); if ( i! = ( aTags.length-1)) vOut += ', '; } vOut = vOut.toLowerCase (); return vOut; } $ ( document).ready ( function () { dataLayerNews = { }; dataLayerNews.related tags = sanitize gpt value2 ( `` pabst blue ribbon, Beer, Beer market, Ipa, Alcohol, Alcoholic beverages ''); dataLayer.push ( dataLayerNews); });
After last summer’ s expansion of the PBR brand to whiskey, coffee and hard seltzer, the company pledged to continue innovating in the beverage sphere. And this week it has announced its first India Pale Ale ( IPA) beer.
The Seabird beer is housed under an entirely new PBC brand, Captain Pabst, separate from the PBR brand.
It takes the name of Frederick Pabst, a Lake Michigan ship captain who purchased half of the Best and Company brewery that eventually became PBC. With strong roots remaining in the Milwaukee and Chicago area, it will first roll out in the midwest region.
Captain Pabst is described as a luxury beer brand, and Seabird will be its flagship drink. It is named after Frederick Pabst’ s last steamship, and brewed with Magnum, Citra, Cascade and Mosaic hops.
PBC will also rebrand its taproom in Milwaukee as Captain Pabst’ s Pilot House, with more of a beer hall experience. The Captain Pabst Signature Series will be a line of craft beer available at the Pilot House.
Additionally, there will be a craft spirits program, where spirits are blended and barrel aged in-house. The venue will host a grand re-opening on March 28.
Matt Bruhn, Pabst General Manager, said “ We’ re lucky enough to be the stewards of so many great, classic American trademarks. But none of those marks really highlight the person or the people that founded the original brands. We thought creating something new, based on someone who played such an integral part in pioneering brewing in this country, was a really romantic and deserving story that consumers would be interested in hearing. ”
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More than 500 dead in Syria's Al-Hol in 2019: medics | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Published
At least 517 people, mostly children, died in 2019 in an overstretched Syrian camp housing displaced people and relatives of Islamic State group fighters, the Kurdish Red Crescent told AFP Thursday.
The Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria is home to around 68,000 people who are reliant on humanitarian assistance, especially during harsh winter month.
A Kurdish Red Crescent spokesperson said 371 children are among the 517 people who died in the squalid tent city in 2019.
Malnutrition, poor healthcare for newborns, and hypothermia during harsh winter months are among the main causes of death among children, Dalal Ismail told AFP at the camp.
`` The situation is tragic and the burden is huge, '' she said, adding that foreigners were among the children who have died.
Syrians and Iraqis form the bulk of the camp's residents.
Al-Hol is also home to thousands of foreigners, mainly relatives of IS fighters who are kept in a guarded section of the camp under the watch of security forces.
Kurdish authorities say they are holding 12,000 foreigners, including 4,000 women and 8,000 children, in three displacement camps in northeastern Syria. The majority are being held in al-Hol.
Jaber Mustafa, an official in the camp, said that assistance delivered by aid groups is `` not enough '' to address the `` great suffering '' of residents.
Medicine and food baskets are among the most pressing needs, he told AFP.
The Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria this week warned that humanitarian conditions in al-Hol could deteriorate further after the UN Security Council on Friday voted to restrict cross-border aid.
The Yaroubiya crossing on the Iraqi border was a key entry point for UN-funded medical aid reaching northeastern Syria, including al-Hol.
The UN had used it to deliver some medical supplies that the Syrian government had not permitted via Damascus.
Yaroubiya's closure will disrupt `` 60 to 70 percent of medical assistance to Al-Hol '', Abdel Kader Mouwahad, director of humanitarian affairs in the autonomous Kurdish administration, told AFP.
This leaves Syria's Kurds with the unofficial Zamalka crossing with Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, which is not used for UN aid.
At least 517 people, mostly children, died in 2019 in an overstretched Syrian camp housing displaced people and relatives of Islamic State group fighters, the Kurdish Red Crescent told AFP Thursday.
The Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria is home to around 68,000 people who are reliant on humanitarian assistance, especially during harsh winter month.
A Kurdish Red Crescent spokesperson said 371 children are among the 517 people who died in the squalid tent city in 2019.
Malnutrition, poor healthcare for newborns, and hypothermia during harsh winter months are among the main causes of death among children, Dalal Ismail told AFP at the camp.
“ The situation is tragic and the burden is huge, ” she said, adding that foreigners were among the children who have died.
Syrians and Iraqis form the bulk of the camp’ s residents.
Al-Hol is also home to thousands of foreigners, mainly relatives of IS fighters who are kept in a guarded section of the camp under the watch of security forces.
Kurdish authorities say they are holding 12,000 foreigners, including 4,000 women and 8,000 children, in three displacement camps in northeastern Syria. The majority are being held in al-Hol.
Jaber Mustafa, an official in the camp, said that assistance delivered by aid groups is “ not enough ” to address the “ great suffering ” of residents.
Medicine and food baskets are among the most pressing needs, he told AFP.
The Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria this week warned that humanitarian conditions in al-Hol could deteriorate further after the UN Security Council on Friday voted to restrict cross-border aid.
The Yaroubiya crossing on the Iraqi border was a key entry point for UN-funded medical aid reaching northeastern Syria, including al-Hol.
The UN had used it to deliver some medical supplies that the Syrian government had not permitted via Damascus.
Yaroubiya’ s closure will disrupt “ 60 to 70 percent of medical assistance to Al-Hol ”, Abdel Kader Mouwahad, director of humanitarian affairs in the autonomous Kurdish administration, told AFP.
This leaves Syria’ s Kurds with the unofficial Zamalka crossing with Iraq’ s autonomous Kurdish region, which is not used for UN aid.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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Japan confirms first case of coronavirus that has infected dozens in China | Japan has confirmed its first case of pneumonia caused by a new coronavirus from China, the health ministry said Thursday.
A Chinese national in his 30s who lives in Kanagawa Prefecture tested positive for the virus, the ministry said. He returned from Wuhan on Jan. 6 and was hospitalized on Jan. 10, but has already recovered and was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday.
A ministry official said there are no other confirmed cases in Japan.
The pneumonia-like virus has infected dozens of people in Wuhan, with preliminary evidence suggesting the outbreak was associated with exposure at a seafood market.
The man treated in Japan had not visited the Wuhan seafood market, according to the health ministry. It is possible that he came in close contact with a person infected with the virus while in the city, the ministry said.
Japanese authorities said he possibly caught the disease from a carrier in the Chinese city, and there are currently no suspected cases of secondary infection in Japan, including among his family members who live with him or doctors who have treated him.
“ The chances are slim that the infection will spread ( in Japan), ” a health ministry official said.
Coronaviruses usually cause common-cold symptoms, infecting the nose, sinuses or upper throat, and are spread through sneezing, coughing or direct contact.
However, some types lead to more serious, sometimes deadly respiratory diseases, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome or Middle East respiratory syndrome.
SARS killed 349 people in mainland China and 299 in Hong Kong in 2002 and 2003.
The man developed a fever on Jan. 3 while in Wuhan. He is now at home recuperating, the ministry said. His fever is gone but he has a slight cough.
The man passed the quarantine test at the airport upon his return because he had taken some medicine.
While the Japanese government declined to reveal which airport the man arrived at, transport minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said his ministry will “ do everything it can ” to detect possible patients at airports and seaports.
His infection was confirmed Wednesday through a laboratory test by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, leading the government to set up an information-gathering task force at the crisis management center under the Prime Minister’ s Office that day.
The health ministry issued a message to the public emphasizing hand-washing and other preventive measures similar to those taken against the common cold or influenza.
It also called on those who have visited Wuhan and have experienced fever and coughing to wear masks and visit medical institutions promptly. It advised them to report that they have been to Wuhan when seeing a doctor.
The pneumonia caused by the virus, which the World Health Organization recognized Tuesday as a novel coronavirus, has infected 41 people in Wuhan, with preliminary evidence suggesting the outbreak was associated with exposure at a seafood market, as many of them worked or were customers there.
The infected resident in Japan has told health authorities that he did not visit the seafood market, making it likely that he had close contact with a carrier elsewhere.
The Chinese city’ s public health authorities have said they are investigating a case of an outbreak within one family over the possibility that the virus could be transmitted human to human.
A Japanese health ministry official said the virus might be transmitted among humans if a person spends a long time in proximity to a carrier.
Satoshi Kutsuna, an expert at the Disease Control and Prevention Center under the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, said in a web article that people don’ t need to be excessively worried about the virus.
Although the infection case between the couple suggests the possibility of human-to-human transmission, examinations on nearly 1,000 people who came in contact with the infected patients have shown they were not infected.
This indicates that “ it’ s unlikely that it will spread widely around the globe, ” Kutsuna wrote.
“ I thought the virus would come to Japan but it was sooner than I expected, ” said Yoshihiro Miki, a 40-year-old from Saitama Prefecture, who was at Narita Airport and headed to Shanghai for several days.
“ A person died, so I’ m worried. I’ ll stay away from crowded places, ” said a 30-year-old man from Tokyo’ s Kita Ward who was headed to a destination near Wuhan.
One person among the 41 infected has died but WHO said on its website Sunday that the patient had “ other underlying health conditions. ”
Thailand’ s Public Health Ministry reported Monday that a 61-year-old Chinese tourist from Wuhan was confirmed to have the viral pneumonia.
SARS was identified in 2003, spreading worldwide and killing 774 people. It may have originated in bats.
MERS, which is thought to have originated from camels, was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
Those syndromes were ruled out as the cause of the outbreak in Wuhan.
The Japanese health ministry has also said that those who have visited Wuhan should wear masks and get a medical checkup as soon as possible if they find themselves with a fever or cough. They should also inform medical institutions that they have returned from the city. | tech |
Califia Farms raises $ 225M to expand globally | With new international investors and a massive funding round, it seems like Califia Farms is looking to become a global plant-based powerhouse.
Securing funders around the world and adding those representatives to its board could be beneficial for Califia as it looks to grow shelf space and brand awareness globally. From Canada to Singapore, investors in this latest round could bring expertise and resources to the California-based company that other plant-based brands don't have access to.
Califia's biggest investor, Qatar Investment Authority, could especially help the company expand its reach since it has holdings around the world. Last year, QIA's CEO told Reuters that the firm aimed to put $ 45 billion toward U.S. investments, especially in real estate and technology. But QIA is shifting its strategy a bit, betting that plant-based will could be lucrative.
That reasoning is backed by data. According to a report by BIS Research, the plant-based food and beverage alternatives market is anticipated to reach $ 80.43 billion by 2024, increasing at an annual rate of 13.82%.
Califia Farms, which already has a portfolio of beverages made from almonds, coconuts and cashews, as well as a lineup of cold-brew coffee products and plant-based coffee creamers, is planning to capitalize on the expected growth of the alternative market by using these funds to launch new products.
Greg Steltenpohl, Califia's founder and CEO, said in the release announcing the funding that `` speed to market is critical for companies at our stage. ''
In the past, Califia has successfully used additional investments to grow its portfolio. In 2018, Califia Farms raised more than $ 50 million in a funding round led by Ambrosia Investments. That year, the company introduced non-dairy drinkable yogurts with added probiotics. And last year, Califia launched a line of protein-enriched oat beverages called Ubermilk. Califia will continue to expand its oat alternatives with this money, which is particularly popular in the space. U.S. sales of oat milk have jumped to $ 29 million, up from $ 4.4 million in 2017, according to Marketplace.
Although Califia Farms is the third biggest U.S. plant-based milk company following Danone and Blue Diamond, according to Euromonitor, it faces increasing competition. An Innova Market Insights report on top trends for 2020 predicted that the plant-based dairy category will diversify as consumer interest continues to grow.
Many big companies have already introduced yogurts, drinks, coffee and ice cream featuring the oat beverage, including Nesquik, Chobani and Danone. New innovations and investments are making the space even more crowded. ChickP, a food tech startup based in Israel, recently launched a line of chickpea isolates designed for plant-based dairy alternatives and Mooala, a Dallas-based banana milk maker, raised $ 8.3 million in November.
Overall, the plant-based segment has seen a surge of funding in recent years that has been driving industry M & A, according to a report from Deloitte. Califia raised $ 115 million total funding before this latest round, according to Crunchbase.
The investor push into plant-based dairy comes as traditional cow milk consumption is declining. Two of the biggest dairy producers in the U.S., Dean Foods and Borden Dairy, have filed for bankruptcy in the last two months. Cow milk sales dropped to about $ 12 billion in 2019 from $ 15 billion in 2015, and at the same time, almond milk sales have jumped roughly 6% to $ 1.35 billion and oat milk a massive 662% to $ 59.8 million in 2019, according to Nielsen data cited by Reuters.
`` The total change in dietary habits of the U.S. consumer is what is driving the decline in dairy, '' Steltenpohl told Reuters. As traditional dairy struggles, this funding could give Califia the capital and global resources to bring more disruption and take a bigger share of the market.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation. | general |
BandPay to launch March 2020, building trust in music business ( Includes interview) | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The issue of how payments in the music industry should be handled has been a hot topic of discussion, and creators want to make sure their work is properly compensated in the complex webs of digital production, distribution, and marketing. A solution comes in the form of the BandPay platform.
The platform streamlines two-party agreements by setting up deadline-based milestones in a given project, and assigning payments to each milestone. This builds accountability and minimizes errors, especially with the feature that guarantees that funds are available to complete a transaction. It establishes trust by ensuring all parties, from musicians to producers to social media influencers, stick to their side of the agreement. Centralizing all payments in one platform is bound to revolutionize cost management and revenue maximization in the music business.
To learn more,, Digital Journal spoke with Co-CEO DeCarlos Garrison.
Digital Journal: What are the complexities around making payments within the music industry?
DeCarlos Garrison: The music business, especially if we’ re talking about the less formal sectors of the industry, run on relationships, and it’ s not unusual to have significant agreements that are sealed with just a handshake. Even if a group of collaborators put a contract together, it doesn’ t mean the payment process will go smoothly.
This more casual approach for work-for-hire or services like social media management means people can wind up in long-standing conflicts. This hurts creativity, not to mention ruins friendships. Almost everyone who works as an independent producer or as an artist or manager has a horror story about the project that cost them twice what it should have, all because someone didn’ t do what they promised or were paid to do. If you think of your music as a business, you’ ve got a lot of loss–or at least risk–built in the way things currently work. With the tiny margins many artists face when creating and releasing music, that’ s terrible economically.
DJ: What is the BandPay solution?
Garrison: We wanted to bring clarity to this mess and give people a way to collaborate that doesn’ t rely so heavily on trust and hope. If you connect payments to a real roadmap of how and when work will be completed, this solves many of these problems. We think our approach will increase the efficiency of collaboration, making sure people providing creative services get paid appropriately and that artists or managers hiring creative talent can control costs.
BandPay prompts users to come up with milestones for their project together, tying payment to the completion of these milestones. Both parties know the money is there; BandPay holds the funds until they are released by users. If disputes arise, we offer tools to resolve them. The process adds an extra layer of confidence into working together and we think this will lead to more people making better music with a lot less heartbreak.
DJ: How did you develop the technology?
Garrison: Gleb Teper, my co-founder, and I thought a lot about what would really make a difference for musicians, managers, and others in the music business. We had ambitions to develop a platform that supported artists and teams in a 360 way, from learning about the industry to distributing their music. But we realized there was one thing musicians always struggled with, and that was money and trust. We decided to go all in on payment.
As we developed BandPay, we wanted to keep things very simple. We studied existing technologies and built on them with our unique ideas to design a user experience that is simple, seamless and intuitive.
DJ: What are the key advantages of BandPay?
Garrison: The big advantages of BandPay over some other payment methods is the milestones feature, which is totally customizable to your project or agreement, and the fact you know the money is there and will be paid when milestones are met. It’ s as simple as more basic payment apps people already use, but it’ s designed to hold everyone accountable to really clear standards and expectations at the same time.
DJ: How have you addressed data privacy issues?
Garrison: We take data privacy very seriously. We respect the rights of our users and have taken all necessary precautions to ensure that BandPay facilitates transactions safely and securely without sacrificing the privacy of our users.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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White Claw to sponsor SXSW festival and erect $ 250m facility in Arizona | Or wait...
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Related tags: white claw, hard seltzer, seltzer, Alcoholic beverages, Alcohol, Construction function sanitize gpt value2 ( gptValue) { var vOut= '' ''; var aTags = gptValue.split ( ', '); var reg = new RegExp ( '\\W+ ', `` g ''); for ( var i=0; i < aTags.length; i++) { vOut += aTags [ i ].trim ().replace ( reg, '- ').substring ( 0,40); if ( i! = ( aTags.length-1)) vOut += ', '; } vOut = vOut.toLowerCase (); return vOut; } $ ( document).ready ( function () { dataLayerNews = { }; dataLayerNews.related tags = sanitize gpt value2 ( `` white claw, hard seltzer, seltzer, Alcoholic beverages, Alcohol, Construction ''); dataLayer.push ( dataLayerNews); });
The Arizona Commerce Authority ( ACA) revealed that Mark Anthony Brewing, parent company to White Claw, will soon erect a $ 250m facility in Glendale. It will be a state-of-the-art brewery and BrewPure facility dedicated to producing White Claw.
Construction of the plant is being called ‘ a race against time’ for the company to ‘ meet the explosive demand’ for White Claw drinks. The ACA said the 916,000 square foot facility will open in the next seven months.
Mark Anthony Brewing said it will employ more than 200 full-time workers, in addition to the associated construction jobs. The company became the fourth largest brewer in the US in 2019 and said it expects 2020 sales of approximately $ 4bn.
John Sacksteder, president of Mark Anthony Brewing, said “ The primary reason we selected Glendale was the innovative thinking and personal support of Governor Doug Ducey, the city of Glendale, the [ ACA ], and their willingness to embrace our vision and commit to the support required for our rapid build-out and aggressive timeline.
“ Once complete, this new facility will be a beacon for the advanced manufacturing capabilities of the City of Glendale and the state of Arizona. ”
White Claw will also be a Super Sponsor of the South by Southwest ( SXSW) music, technology and film festival. It said it has overtaken beer as the leading sponsor within the category. SXSW 2020 will take place March 13-22 in Austin, Texas.
Phil Rosse, president of White Claw Seltzer Works, said `` This brand has been built through the great passion and celebration by our fans, connecting the brand to culture and sharing it through their social channels. We are excited to support SXSW, an event that has always been ground zero for innovation in culture and technology. ``
Roland Swenson, SXSW CEO and co-founder, said `` SXSW is excited to work with White Claw. As one of the fastest growing brands, their sponsorship of SXSW reflects the independent and innovative spirit that SXSW is known for. ``
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Ex-pope's shadow Vatican role in the spotlight | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Ex-pope Benedict XVI seems to have broken his silence recently over key Catholic issues and his comments have raised serious questions within the Church about the extent to which there are, in fact, two `` men in white '' at the Vatican
In 2013, Benedict became the first pontiff to resign in almost 600 years. He chose to be known thereafter as `` pope emeritus '' and said he would live `` hidden from the world '' in a former convent inside the Vatican grounds.
While he initially stuck to his promise to carry out a life of quiet contemplation and academic research, he has since weighed in on the explosive issues of clerical sex abuse and whether the priesthood could be opened to married men.
This week, Benedict's contribution to a book on celibacy was seen as a strategic attempt to undermine his successor Pope Francis and boost the cause of a combative ultra-conservative wing of the Church.
Experts say the problem is that no rules were drawn up to define what role Benedict should play after he stepped down as head of the church.
`` There were hints of a problem right from the start '', when Benedict gave up the papal hat but not the postal address, Richard Gaillardetz, Catholic theology professor at Boston College, told the National Catholic Reporter.
`` The publication of views on controverted issues, when offered by a man who insists that he too still deserves the title 'pope ' ( albeit pope emeritus), who continues to wear papal garb and who still resides in the Vatican, is deeply problematic, '' Gaillardetz said.
Even Benedict's supporters said he should have used his given name, Joseph Ratzinger, when signing his contribution to the book.
Historian Francesco Margiotta Broglio, head of Italy's religious freedom commission, told La Stampa that `` Ratzinger should neither write nor speak.
`` If he continues to go against the reigning pope, he could become an anti-pope ''.
- Putting words in his mouth? -
Benedict's age and physical frailty -- the 92-year old reportedly has difficulty speaking or writing -- has prompted some Vatican watchers to question whether he was the author of his published reflections, or whether someone put words in his mouth.
`` It seems likely some prelates opposed to Francis have sought to hide their plots in the mantle of the emeritus, '' said Massimo Faggioli, theology professor at Villanova University.
The ex-pope said when he resigned that he no longer had the strength of mind or body to carry on. His personal secretary Georg Gaenswein said in 2016 that he was `` slowly fading ''.
Vatican expert for the Catholic weekly The Tablet, Christopher Lamb, was not the only one to point out that Archbishop Gaenswein -- nicknamed `` Gorgeous George '' by his admirers for his dashing good looks -- occupies a crucial, gatekeeper role for the ex-pope.
`` Benedict's interventions over the past year have raised questions regarding whether, given his own infirmity... he is being manipulated by persons eager to undermine the current papacy, even if Benedict himself is not, '' Gaillardetz said.
Faggioli pointed out that not only was there still no Church law on how to deal with an incapacitated pope, it `` evidently also needs a law concerning the situation created by an incapacitated 'emeritus ' and his entourage ''.
Experts said the priority should now be to determine the role and functions of a retired pope, with some suggesting that Francis could change canon law, or set up a commission to suggest some new ground rules.
These could include either giving former bishops of Rome a new pastoral role if they are of working age, or allowing them to retire as designated bishop emeritus of Rome but insist they take off the papal regalia and live outside the Vatican.
Ex-pope Benedict XVI seems to have broken his silence recently over key Catholic issues and his comments have raised serious questions within the Church about the extent to which there are, in fact, two “ men in white ” at the Vatican
In 2013, Benedict became the first pontiff to resign in almost 600 years. He chose to be known thereafter as “ pope emeritus ” and said he would live “ hidden from the world ” in a former convent inside the Vatican grounds.
While he initially stuck to his promise to carry out a life of quiet contemplation and academic research, he has since weighed in on the explosive issues of clerical sex abuse and whether the priesthood could be opened to married men.
This week, Benedict’ s contribution to a book on celibacy was seen as a strategic attempt to undermine his successor Pope Francis and boost the cause of a combative ultra-conservative wing of the Church.
Experts say the problem is that no rules were drawn up to define what role Benedict should play after he stepped down as head of the church.
“ There were hints of a problem right from the start ”, when Benedict gave up the papal hat but not the postal address, Richard Gaillardetz, Catholic theology professor at Boston College, told the National Catholic Reporter.
“ The publication of views on controverted issues, when offered by a man who insists that he too still deserves the title ‘ pope’ ( albeit pope emeritus), who continues to wear papal garb and who still resides in the Vatican, is deeply problematic, ” Gaillardetz said.
Even Benedict’ s supporters said he should have used his given name, Joseph Ratzinger, when signing his contribution to the book.
Historian Francesco Margiotta Broglio, head of Italy’ s religious freedom commission, told La Stampa that “ Ratzinger should neither write nor speak.
“ If he continues to go against the reigning pope, he could become an anti-pope ”.
– Putting words in his mouth? –
Benedict’ s age and physical frailty — the 92-year old reportedly has difficulty speaking or writing — has prompted some Vatican watchers to question whether he was the author of his published reflections, or whether someone put words in his mouth.
“ It seems likely some prelates opposed to Francis have sought to hide their plots in the mantle of the emeritus, ” said Massimo Faggioli, theology professor at Villanova University.
The ex-pope said when he resigned that he no longer had the strength of mind or body to carry on. His personal secretary Georg Gaenswein said in 2016 that he was “ slowly fading ”.
Vatican expert for the Catholic weekly The Tablet, Christopher Lamb, was not the only one to point out that Archbishop Gaenswein — nicknamed “ Gorgeous George ” by his admirers for his dashing good looks — occupies a crucial, gatekeeper role for the ex-pope.
“ Benedict’ s interventions over the past year have raised questions regarding whether, given his own infirmity… he is being manipulated by persons eager to undermine the current papacy, even if Benedict himself is not, ” Gaillardetz said.
Faggioli pointed out that not only was there still no Church law on how to deal with an incapacitated pope, it “ evidently also needs a law concerning the situation created by an incapacitated’ emeritus’ and his entourage ”.
Experts said the priority should now be to determine the role and functions of a retired pope, with some suggesting that Francis could change canon law, or set up a commission to suggest some new ground rules.
These could include either giving former bishops of Rome a new pastoral role if they are of working age, or allowing them to retire as designated bishop emeritus of Rome but insist they take off the papal regalia and live outside the Vatican.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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Hong Kong university students paid solemn tribute to two campus statues marking Beijing's 1989 suppression of Tiananmen Square protesters.
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Good Catch nets General Mills in $ 32M financing round | Less than a year after its shelf-stable plant-based tuna product arrived at stores, investors are diving into Good Catch with a single funding round hauling in nearly twice the amount of money the company had raised to date since starting in 2016.
Created by brothers Chad and Derek Sarno, Good Catch uses a blend of peas, chickpeas, lentils, soy, fava beans and navy beans, with umami flavor from seaweed and algae extracts to make a product that looks, tastes and behaves like tuna fish.
With this funding, Good Catch is looking to make a big splash in 2020. After years of the plant-based food market being dominated by hamburgers, both consumers and funders are moving on to other animal-based proteins to replicate. It makes sense to support companies concentrating on seafood. According to data from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administation, the average American ate 16 pounds of seafood in 2017 — more than a pound more than in 2016 and the most in 10 years. About 2 pounds of that was canned tuna. In the Americas, consumer demand for canned tuna in 2018 — especially more premium tuna in a pouch — increased 44% and 30%, depending on the kind of fish, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The latest round of funding also shows Good Catch is attracting the eye of major manufacturers. General Mills ' 301 Inc was founded for the legacy manufacturer to help promising startups get established — and for General Mills to learn from the startups. Many of the companies 301 Inc has invested in through the years are in the plant-based space. Beyond Meat was among the first the venture arm put its money behind. Other 301 Inc plant-based brands include vegan cheese company Kite Hill and low sugar plant-based protein bar and spread brand No Cow.
Greenleaf Foods is also a key investor. The company spun off of Maple Leaf Foods in 2018 with the intent of becoming a plant-based powerhouse. So far, Greenleaf has mostly worked on building its Lightlife and Field Roast Grain Meat products. Good Catch is its first investment, according to Crunchbase. But it's unlikely to be Greenleaf's last. The company is currently building North America's largest plant-based protein factory in Shelbyville, Indiana, which will double its manufacturing capacity. The factory should open this year.
While these two investors lend more credibility — and bandwidth for potential manufacturing, marketing and distribution partnerships — to the plant-based seafood company, it's worth noting Good Catch has always caught the attention of major producers. In a 2018 funding round, Good Catch also received money from PHW Group, one of Europe's largest poultry producers.
Good Catch is in a position to provide these major producers with a large return on their investment. It currently has few competitors, and those who are in the plant-based seafood space have much more limited distribution. And there are no hotter areas of the food business. Investment firm UBS projects the plant-based meat and protein market could be worth $ 85 billion in 10 years, a huge leap from the $ 4.6 billion market value in 2018.
The plan to expand Good Catch to Asia is also likely to reap rewards. According to Allied Market Research, the Asia-Pacific region is responsible for about two-thirds of the $ 125.44 billion global market for seafood. Offering these consumers a viable plant-based substitute could prove lucrative and cement Good Catch's status as a global plant-based leader.
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As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
Subscribe to Food Dive to get the must-read news & insights in your inbox.
Topics covered: manufacturing, packaging, new products, R & D, and much more.
Discover announcements from companies in your industry.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach. | general |
Ghosn's top Japanese lawyers quit | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The Japanese lawyer nicknamed the `` Razor '' who was spearheading Carlos Ghosn's defence said Thursday he is quitting the case after his client skipped bail and fled Japan for Lebanon.
Junichiro Hironaka's office issued a brief statement saying they had `` filed with the Tokyo District Court letters of resignation for all lawyers... connected with all cases related to Mr Carlos Ghosn ''.
Hironaka, 74, who earned his nickname for sharp legal strategies and an enviable acquittal record, has said he was `` dumbfounded '' by Ghosn's escape, which he discovered via the media on the morning his client fled.
Another one of Ghosn's legal team, Takashi Takano, has also thrown in the towel on the case, a source close to his office told AFP.
Hiroshi Kawatsu, the third man in the legal `` dream team '' assembled by the former Nissan boss, has not publicly commented on his plans and could not be immediately reached for comment.
The resignations came after Ghosn smuggled himself out of Japan last month to Lebanon in an elaborate escape that humiliated Japan's law enforcement officials and his defence lawyers.
It was the latest twist in a saga that has captivated the automotive industry ever since November 2018 when Ghosn was arrested at a Tokyo airport after a team of prosecutors stormed onto his private jet.
He spent 130 days in detention and faced multiple financial misconduct charges in Japan.
The tycoon has denied all the charges and claimed he was a victim of a plot by Nissan and Japanese officials.
Ghosn is believed to have left Japan by hiding in a large case for audio equipment on a private jet, aided by a team of operatives.
In Lebanon, he gave a major press conference and a series of media interviews in a bid to clear his name. He also lashed out at Japan's judicial system, claiming he felt he would not receive a fair trial in Tokyo.
Legal cases are continuing against Nissan and Ghosn's right-hand man Greg Kelly, who faces related financial misconduct charges.
The Japanese lawyer nicknamed the “ Razor ” who was spearheading Carlos Ghosn’ s defence said Thursday he is quitting the case after his client skipped bail and fled Japan for Lebanon.
Junichiro Hironaka’ s office issued a brief statement saying they had “ filed with the Tokyo District Court letters of resignation for all lawyers… connected with all cases related to Mr Carlos Ghosn ”.
Hironaka, 74, who earned his nickname for sharp legal strategies and an enviable acquittal record, has said he was “ dumbfounded ” by Ghosn’ s escape, which he discovered via the media on the morning his client fled.
Another one of Ghosn’ s legal team, Takashi Takano, has also thrown in the towel on the case, a source close to his office told AFP.
Hiroshi Kawatsu, the third man in the legal “ dream team ” assembled by the former Nissan boss, has not publicly commented on his plans and could not be immediately reached for comment.
The resignations came after Ghosn smuggled himself out of Japan last month to Lebanon in an elaborate escape that humiliated Japan’ s law enforcement officials and his defence lawyers.
It was the latest twist in a saga that has captivated the automotive industry ever since November 2018 when Ghosn was arrested at a Tokyo airport after a team of prosecutors stormed onto his private jet.
He spent 130 days in detention and faced multiple financial misconduct charges in Japan.
The tycoon has denied all the charges and claimed he was a victim of a plot by Nissan and Japanese officials.
Ghosn is believed to have left Japan by hiding in a large case for audio equipment on a private jet, aided by a team of operatives.
In Lebanon, he gave a major press conference and a series of media interviews in a bid to clear his name. He also lashed out at Japan’ s judicial system, claiming he felt he would not receive a fair trial in Tokyo.
Legal cases are continuing against Nissan and Ghosn’ s right-hand man Greg Kelly, who faces related financial misconduct charges.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
A growing number of Western nations and cybersecurity groups have issued digital surveillance warnings for next month's Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Cloud ERP leader Acumatica to host annual summit on digital transformation success.
A man gets a Covid-19 jab at a vaccination station in Vienna on August 25, 2021; from February 2022, vaccinations against the virus will...
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the US embassy in Kyiv amid a standoff with Russia - Copyright AFP/File Mladen ANTONOVShaun TANDONThe...
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Japan and Thailand Confirm New Cases of Chinese Coronavirus | BEIJING — Thailand and Japan each reported new cases of a coronavirus that has left two people dead and at least 40 sick in China, adding to concerns about the spread of the virus beyond Chinese borders ahead of a major holiday.
Health officials in Thailand on Friday said they had found a second case of the mysterious pneumonialike coronavirus in that country, in a 74-year-old Chinese woman. The woman is in good and stable condition, said a spokesman for Thailand’ s public health ministry, Rungrueng Kitphati.
The woman entered Thailand through Bangkok via a flight from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. Investigators were still trying to gather information from the woman but have been hindered by a language barrier, Mr. Rungrueng said.
On Thursday, Japan’ s Health Ministry said that a Chinese man in his 30s tested positive for the coronavirus. The man, a resident of Kanagawa Prefecture, just south of Tokyo, returned to Japan on Jan. 6 after traveling to Wuhan. The man, who came down with a fever on Jan. 3, was hospitalized on Friday but was discharged five days later because he had recovered, according to the Health Ministry.
The World Health Organization said it was highly likely that the virus had spread from a seafood market in Wuhan that also sells live birds and other animals. But Japan’ s Health Ministry said the patient had not visited any seafood markets in China, adding that “ it is possible that the patient had close contact with an unknown patient with lung inflammation while in China. ”
Malik Peiris, a public health virologist at the University of Hong Kong, said, “ If that was the case, that there had been no direct exposure to animals, then that is very concerning, for sure. ”
The disclosures on Thursday and Friday brought to three the total number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus reported outside of China in the last week.
[ Read: China’ s coronavirus outbreak tests the transparency of China’ s Communist Party. ]
On Monday, the authorities in Thailand detected the virus in a 61-year-old Chinese woman who was visiting from Wuhan, the capital of the central Chinese province of Hubei.
Dr. Sopon Iamsirithaworn, director of the communicable diseases division at Thailand’ s Ministry of Public Health, said the woman had not visited the Wuhan seafood market, and had come down with a fever on Jan. 5. However, the doctor said, the woman had visited a different, smaller market in Wuhan, in which live and freshly slaughtered animals were also sold.
The woman is in good health now, according to Dr. Suthat Chottanapund, a senior official in the disease control department of Thailand’ s Public Health Ministry. But, he said, the health authorities were waiting for laboratory results to confirm that the woman is free of the coronavirus before discharging her. She said that she wanted to do some sightseeing after she leaves the hospital, he said.
The revelation that neither the patient in Japan nor the first one found in Thailand had visited the Huanan Seafood Market, to which most of the cases have been linked, is a troubling sign that the outbreak could be spreading in Wuhan. The market was shut down and disinfected on Jan. 1, but new cases have appeared since, suggesting the virus has not been eradicated.
Concerns have grown across the region since the Chinese health authorities announced the discovery of the mysterious new virus, which has sickened dozens of people in Wuhan with pneumonialike symptoms. The city’ s health commission said on Wednesday that the risk of human-to-human transmission is low but possible. Officials also said they detected the first cluster of the virus involving members of a single family.
The new virus has stirred memories in China of the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. That virus, which is believed to have jumped to humans from animals at markets, originated in China and killed more than 800 people worldwide in 2002 and 2003. At the time, the Chinese government tried to cover up the problem, resulting in a backlash among its people. While flu experts have said the Chinese government is trying to be more transparent now, many in China are skeptical.
The local authorities in Wuhan and the W.H.O. have reiterated for weeks that no cases of human-to-human transmission have been confirmed.
Last week, researchers in China said they had “ initially identified ” a new coronavirus as the pathogen behind the mysterious respiratory illness. Of the 40 cases diagnosed in Wuhan, the majority of patients are middle-age and older men, the city’ s health commission said on Wednesday. Five people are in critical condition, officials said.
Two deaths have been reported in China, both in Wuhan: a 69-year-old man who fell ill on New Year’ s Eve and died Wednesday, and a 61-year-old man who died last week and had previously been diagnosed with abdominal tumors and liver disease.
The most recent case in China was detected on Jan. 3. The minimum incubation period for some viral infections is 15 days, suggesting that it could be a few more days before the authorities are able to determine the full extent of the outbreak.
That timeline has fueled concerns among governments across the region, especially ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins next week. Hundreds of millions of people in China are expected to travel during the holiday. Thailand expects more than 300,000 Chinese visitors during the holiday, according to local tourism officials.
Updated June 12, 2020
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’ s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “ very rare, ” but she later walked back that statement.
A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’ s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.
Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “ start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid, ” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “ When you haven’ t been exercising, you lose muscle mass. ” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.
States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’ t being told to stay at home, it’ s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. ( Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
Taking one’ s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “ normal ” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’ t have a thermometer ( they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’ t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’ t replace hand washing and social distancing.
If you’ ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
If you’ re sick and you think you’ ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’ s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’ re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’ t be able to get tested.
Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and South Korea have taken precautionary measures, quarantining patients with flulike symptoms and increasing temperature screenings at their airports. Japan said it was investigating who the patient there had been in contact with since he returned from China and has asked people who experience symptoms to report them.
While the new coronavirus appears to be less virulent and deadly than SARS, many questions remain, including the source of the virus and its transmission route. Infectious disease experts say the source is very likely to be a mammal because coronaviruses spread easily from mammals to humans.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that infect animals and people. Symptoms of different coronaviruses can include those that resemble the common cold, influenza or pneumonia.
“ There’ s no need to panic but I think there needs to be an urgency to address these questions, ” said Dr. Peiris of the University of Hong Kong. “ The problem is that most of these animals are illegally sold, so that might not be so easy to do. ”
Dr. Peiris said he was encouraged that there were no cases of hospital workers falling ill, reducing the likelihood of a widespread outbreak within the community, as there had been with SARS.
Guan Yi, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong, said he was also reassured that the Wuhan government had not reported any new cases in recent days.
“ If there are no new cases in the next few days, the outbreak is over, ” said Dr. Guan, who was part of a team that successfully identified the coronavirus that caused SARS.
Eimi Yamamitsu contributed reporting from Tokyo, and Hannah Beech and Muktita Suhartono from Bangkok. Elsie Chen contributed research from Beijing.
| business |
Celebrity lawyer Dershowitz to defend Trump | Hi, what are you looking for?
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America's most famous celebrity attorney, Alan Dershowitz, said Friday he would be part of the legal team defending President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial.
According to US media reports, another high-profile member of the team will be Ken Starr, the special prosecutor in the 1988 Bill Clinton impeachment.
Starr is a hero to many on the right, even if Clinton ultimately was acquitted in the Senate.
`` Professor Dershowitz will present oral arguments at the Senate trial to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal, '' said a statement on his personal Twitter account.
`` He believes the issues at stake go to the heart of our enduring Constitution. ''
With past clients including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, O.J. Simpson, film director Roman Polanski and Mike Tyson, Dershowitz is probably the best known lawyer to the stars in the United States.
He will be part of a team with serious firepower headed by the White House's discreet but uncompromising counsel Pat Cipollone.
Trump, a Republican, is accused of abusing his office by pressuring Ukraine to dig up dirt on a Democratic election rival Joe Biden.
Cipollone is behind the White House's strategy of refusing to cooperate with Democratic investigators throughout the impeachment probe.
The White House has yet to announce the full team but confirms that Cipollone will be the lead lawyer, backed by Trump attorney Jay Sekulow.
America’ s most famous celebrity attorney, Alan Dershowitz, said Friday he would be part of the legal team defending President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial.
According to US media reports, another high-profile member of the team will be Ken Starr, the special prosecutor in the 1988 Bill Clinton impeachment.
Starr is a hero to many on the right, even if Clinton ultimately was acquitted in the Senate.
“ Professor Dershowitz will present oral arguments at the Senate trial to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal, ” said a statement on his personal Twitter account.
“ He believes the issues at stake go to the heart of our enduring Constitution. ”
With past clients including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, O.J. Simpson, film director Roman Polanski and Mike Tyson, Dershowitz is probably the best known lawyer to the stars in the United States.
He will be part of a team with serious firepower headed by the White House’ s discreet but uncompromising counsel Pat Cipollone.
Trump, a Republican, is accused of abusing his office by pressuring Ukraine to dig up dirt on a Democratic election rival Joe Biden.
Cipollone is behind the White House’ s strategy of refusing to cooperate with Democratic investigators throughout the impeachment probe.
The White House has yet to announce the full team but confirms that Cipollone will be the lead lawyer, backed by Trump attorney Jay Sekulow.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
There is no stated power in the US Constitution to regulate human reproduction.
A small dog looking at a christmas tree which has colored lights. Source - Trogain, CC SA 4.0.If you are having trouble finding a...
The hunt for answers - like whether the Omicron variant will trigger new waves of infection.
The new Omicron coronavirus variant has a high number of mutations which the WHO believes may make it more transmissible or resistant to vaccines...
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Fiji cyclone leaves two missing, 119 in emergency shelter | Hi, what are you looking for?
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A father and daughter were swept away in a swollen stream as Tropical Cyclone Tino caused widespread flooding in Fiji, forcing more than 100 people to take refuge in evacuation centres.
It is the second cyclone to hit the Pacific island nation in three weeks and the Meteorological Service has warned of `` destructive force winds '' with gusts up to 130 kilometres per hour ( 80 mph) and floods caused by heavy rain.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama on Friday told Fijians to `` stay safe, remain away from floodwaters '' as police searched for a schoolteacher and his daughter, believed to be aged nine or 10.
The pair were attempting to swim across a flooded river when they were caught in the strong currents.
The incident happened on Thursday before the storm developed into a tropical cyclone, but a police spokesman linked the tragedy to `` heavy rain brought about by the current weather system ( which) raised the river level ''.
On Fiji's outer islands, as locals were evacuated from their homes, many tourists fled beach resorts and made their way to the capital Suva before regional flights and inter-island ferry services were suspended.
Initial reports said damage was not extensive, but by Friday evening 119 people were housed in temporary shelters with National Disaster Management Office director Vaisiti Soko appealing for people to use the refuge serve and not take risks.
`` Please make the move as soon as you see the water begins to rise so that you and your family are safe, '' she said.
- 'Scary experience ' -
Nischal Prasad, who lost his home in northern Vanua Levu when Cyclone Sarai struck just after Christmas, told AFP he had no choice but to seek shelter.
`` Sarai destroyed my house and almost left my family homeless. My daughters had to hide under their bed from the strong winds. It was a scary experience, '' he said.
`` I haven't fully rebuilt my house yet and another cyclone is coming our way. I am very worried about my house, but I can not stay here when the cyclone hits. ''
Russian tourist Inna Kostromina, 35, said she had sought safety in Suva after being told her island resort was in the path of the cyclone.
`` We didn't want to get stuck in there and with the authorities warning of coastal flooding, anything can happen. So we decided to move to Suva for now. I think we will be much safer here. ''
While the Pacific islands are popular tourist destinations during the southern-hemisphere summer, it is also cyclone season.
Tropical Cyclone Sarai left two people dead and more than 2,500 needing emergency shelter as it damaged houses, crops and trees and cut electricity supplies.
On its present track, Tino would hit Tongatapu, the main island of neighbouring Tonga, on the weekend.
Two years ago, Tongatapu was hit by Cyclone Gina, with two people killed and nearly 200 houses destroyed.
A father and daughter were swept away in a swollen stream as Tropical Cyclone Tino caused widespread flooding in Fiji, forcing more than 100 people to take refuge in evacuation centres.
It is the second cyclone to hit the Pacific island nation in three weeks and the Meteorological Service has warned of “ destructive force winds ” with gusts up to 130 kilometres per hour ( 80 mph) and floods caused by heavy rain.
Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama on Friday told Fijians to “ stay safe, remain away from floodwaters ” as police searched for a schoolteacher and his daughter, believed to be aged nine or 10.
The pair were attempting to swim across a flooded river when they were caught in the strong currents.
The incident happened on Thursday before the storm developed into a tropical cyclone, but a police spokesman linked the tragedy to “ heavy rain brought about by the current weather system ( which) raised the river level ”.
On Fiji’ s outer islands, as locals were evacuated from their homes, many tourists fled beach resorts and made their way to the capital Suva before regional flights and inter-island ferry services were suspended.
Initial reports said damage was not extensive, but by Friday evening 119 people were housed in temporary shelters with National Disaster Management Office director Vaisiti Soko appealing for people to use the refuge serve and not take risks.
“ Please make the move as soon as you see the water begins to rise so that you and your family are safe, ” she said.
– ‘ Scary experience’ –
Nischal Prasad, who lost his home in northern Vanua Levu when Cyclone Sarai struck just after Christmas, told AFP he had no choice but to seek shelter.
“ Sarai destroyed my house and almost left my family homeless. My daughters had to hide under their bed from the strong winds. It was a scary experience, ” he said.
“ I haven’ t fully rebuilt my house yet and another cyclone is coming our way. I am very worried about my house, but I can not stay here when the cyclone hits. ”
Russian tourist Inna Kostromina, 35, said she had sought safety in Suva after being told her island resort was in the path of the cyclone.
“ We didn’ t want to get stuck in there and with the authorities warning of coastal flooding, anything can happen. So we decided to move to Suva for now. I think we will be much safer here. ”
While the Pacific islands are popular tourist destinations during the southern-hemisphere summer, it is also cyclone season.
Tropical Cyclone Sarai left two people dead and more than 2,500 needing emergency shelter as it damaged houses, crops and trees and cut electricity supplies.
On its present track, Tino would hit Tongatapu, the main island of neighbouring Tonga, on the weekend.
Two years ago, Tongatapu was hit by Cyclone Gina, with two people killed and nearly 200 houses destroyed.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
There are two confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Ottawa, the Ontario government announced Sunday.
Drug and alcohol addiction treatment experts blame treatment services closing their doors to addicts during the pandemic.
New York's Empire State Building lit up in the French national colors on Monday evening to honor Josephine Baker.
The Parkland Refinery in Burnaby recently announced that it was pausing its refining process due to a shortage in crude oil. Source - https: //www.flickr.com/photos/keepitsurreal/....
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Ilyah talks Overnight boy band tribute, love for soccer and Drake ( Includes interview) | Hi, what are you looking for?
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“ It’ s a great experience to be a part of Overnight, ” he admitted. “ We have Jeff Timmons taking care of us. He has had us learning new things. ”
Speaking of Timmons, Ilyah had nothing but the kindest words about the 98 Degrees founding member. “ Jeff is a great mentor, ” he said. “ He really supports us and he builds the courage inside of us. He is an awesome guy. ”
On his plans for 2020, he said, “ We hope to do a consistent tour that will have other musical acts touring alongside of us. I am also working on new solo music. I have a new solo single coming out tomorrow called ‘ Habibi,’ which is an Arabic word that means ‘ my dear.’ I am originally from Morocco and it touches on my roots. ”
He noted that he does a lot of melodic songs and he listed such artists as Drake and Maluma as his dream collaboration choices. “ Drake is one of the best in the industry and I would love to do a song with him, ” he said. “ I would also love to do some Spanish Reggaeton with Maluma. ”
On being an artist in the digital age, he said, “ These days, you can record and you can upload it and the song can be on YouTube, Apple and on Spotify. You are not relying on other people to tell you what you do. The digital age allows you to do your own thing. You go from there and you build yourself up. ”
He also spoke about his love for soccer. “ Soccer has been like a religion where I am from in Morocco, ” he said. “ Most of the players I played with were French soccer players. ”
Ilyah’ s music is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about Ilyah and his music, check out his Facebook page and follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.
Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 16,000 original articles over the past 15 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a five-time consecutive `` Best of Long Island '' winner, and in the past two years, he was honored as the `` Best Long Island Personality '' in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.
There are two confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Ottawa, the Ontario government announced Sunday.
Sweden's first female prime minister Magdalena Andersson, leader of the minority Social Democrats, was reappointed on Monday.
An episode of `` The Simpsons '' in which the cartoon American family visit Tiananmen Square is missing from the Disney+ in Hong Kong.
Australia on Monday halted a plan to relax border restrictions imposed last year to fight the Covid pandemic.
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Ken Starr, celebrity lawyer Dershowitz join Trump defense team | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Ken Starr, who was at the center of Bill Clinton's impeachment in the 1990s, and America's biggest celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz were announced Friday to be joining President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment defense.
The administration has yet to unveil the full team but confirmed that White House counsel Pat Cipollone will be lead lawyer, backed by Trump's personal attorney Jay Sekulow.
`` President Trump has done nothing wrong and is confident that this team will defend him, the voters, and our democracy from this baseless, illegitimate impeachment, '' the White House said in a statement Friday evening.
But where Cipollone is ultra-discreet, and rarely speaks on the record, Dershowitz and Starr will bring the legal world's equivalent of rock stardom when the trial begins on Tuesday.
US media reports said Starr, the special prosecutor in the 1998 Clinton impeachment saga, was joining the Trump legal team. He is a hero to many on the right, even if Clinton ultimately was acquitted in the Senate.
Among the first to react -- with expletive-laden astonishment -- was Monica Lewinsky, whose affair with Clinton was the subject of Starr's investigation.
`` This is definitely an 'are you fucking kidding me? ' kinda day, '' she tweeted.
No less controversial is the choice of Dershowitz, whose past clients include disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, as well as film director Roman Polanski and former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, both embroiled in notorious rape cases.
Dershowitz himself has been accused of being a witness and participant in Epstein's sex crimes -- allegations he strenuously denies.
Dershowitz's most famous case was the successful defense of former NFL star O.J. Simpson, whose televised 1995 murder trial riveted the nation.
In the Senate, Dershowitz, who teaches at Harvard University, says he 'll be pursuing loftier matters.
In a post on Twitter Friday, Dershowitz said he would `` present oral arguments at the Senate trial to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal. ''
Lead lawyer Cipollone is the author of the Republican president's uncompromising strategy to stonewall the Democrats ' impeachment investigation, calling it `` partisan and unconstitutional. ''
Another high-powered player will be Sekulow, a stalwart in the White House pushback against a two-year probe by special counsel Robert Mueller into Trump's controversial dealings with Russia.
A Supreme Court veteran and a big name on the right-wing evangelical Christian scene, he won't be dazzled by the bright lights of Washington's ultimate fight.
Rounding off the roster will be Robert Ray, another figure from the investigations into Clinton that rocked Washington in the 1990s, US media reported.
- Reliable Republican jurors -
Trump has been impeached by the House of Representatives on accusations that he abused his office to try and force Ukraine into digging up dirt on leading Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
He was also impeached for allegedly obstructing Congress.
But the White House enters the Senate trial with a massive advantage: Trump's Republicans have 53 of the 100 seats and the party is in lockstep.
The majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, echoes Trump's claim that the impeachment is a political hit job.
- Trump's lawyers -
As a man who has been fighting legal battles for decades -- including rape allegations, multiple real estate disputes, and bankruptcy -- Trump is no stranger to colorful lawyers.
His former longtime attorney Michael Cohen is serving a three-year sentence and has turned on his old boss. Before going behind bars for a variety of crimes last year, Cohen called Trump a `` con man '' and a `` cheat. ''
Where Cohen left off, an even bigger firebrand, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, stepped in to serve as attorney and roving political fixer.
Giuliani's relentless attempts to prove conspiracy theories around Biden's family activities in Ukraine are interwoven with the whole impeachment case against Trump. Although Giuliani is not a government employee, he has traveled to Ukraine to lead the search for dirt on Biden.
And the outspoken former federal prosecutor who was in charge of New York on 9/11, has pushed to be allowed in on the Senate impeachment trial team. A wary White House has shut the door.
Friday evening, House Democrats released documents showing Lev Parnas, who served as Giuliani's envoy to Ukrainian officials, had been in extensive contact with an aide to Representative Devin Nunes, the highest-ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.
The WhatsApp messages, which run from February to May of last year, indicate that Nunes's office was aware of the alleged efforts to try and force Ukraine into investigating Biden.
Parnas made headlines Thursday when, hours before Trump's impeachment trial opened, he broke ranks to charge that the president `` knew exactly what was going on '' regarding his and business partner Igor Fruman's efforts to influence Ukrainian authorities.
Trump denied knowing Parnas. `` I don't believe I 've ever spoken to him, '' he told reporters.
But Parnas told MSNBC that Trump was lying. `` We're not friends, '' the Ukrainain-born businessman said. `` But he knew exactly who we were. ''
Ken Starr, who was at the center of Bill Clinton’ s impeachment in the 1990s, and America’ s biggest celebrity lawyer Alan Dershowitz were announced Friday to be joining President Donald Trump’ s Senate impeachment defense.
The administration has yet to unveil the full team but confirmed that White House counsel Pat Cipollone will be lead lawyer, backed by Trump’ s personal attorney Jay Sekulow.
“ President Trump has done nothing wrong and is confident that this team will defend him, the voters, and our democracy from this baseless, illegitimate impeachment, ” the White House said in a statement Friday evening.
But where Cipollone is ultra-discreet, and rarely speaks on the record, Dershowitz and Starr will bring the legal world’ s equivalent of rock stardom when the trial begins on Tuesday.
US media reports said Starr, the special prosecutor in the 1998 Clinton impeachment saga, was joining the Trump legal team. He is a hero to many on the right, even if Clinton ultimately was acquitted in the Senate.
Among the first to react — with expletive-laden astonishment — was Monica Lewinsky, whose affair with Clinton was the subject of Starr’ s investigation.
“ This is definitely an ‘ are you fucking kidding me?’ kinda day, ” she tweeted.
No less controversial is the choice of Dershowitz, whose past clients include disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, as well as film director Roman Polanski and former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, both embroiled in notorious rape cases.
Dershowitz himself has been accused of being a witness and participant in Epstein’ s sex crimes — allegations he strenuously denies.
Dershowitz’ s most famous case was the successful defense of former NFL star O.J. Simpson, whose televised 1995 murder trial riveted the nation.
In the Senate, Dershowitz, who teaches at Harvard University, says he’ ll be pursuing loftier matters.
In a post on Twitter Friday, Dershowitz said he would “ present oral arguments at the Senate trial to address the constitutional arguments against impeachment and removal. ”
Lead lawyer Cipollone is the author of the Republican president’ s uncompromising strategy to stonewall the Democrats’ impeachment investigation, calling it “ partisan and unconstitutional. ”
Another high-powered player will be Sekulow, a stalwart in the White House pushback against a two-year probe by special counsel Robert Mueller into Trump’ s controversial dealings with Russia.
A Supreme Court veteran and a big name on the right-wing evangelical Christian scene, he won’ t be dazzled by the bright lights of Washington’ s ultimate fight.
Rounding off the roster will be Robert Ray, another figure from the investigations into Clinton that rocked Washington in the 1990s, US media reported.
– Reliable Republican jurors –
Trump has been impeached by the House of Representatives on accusations that he abused his office to try and force Ukraine into digging up dirt on leading Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
He was also impeached for allegedly obstructing Congress.
But the White House enters the Senate trial with a massive advantage: Trump’ s Republicans have 53 of the 100 seats and the party is in lockstep.
The majority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, echoes Trump’ s claim that the impeachment is a political hit job.
– Trump’ s lawyers –
As a man who has been fighting legal battles for decades — including rape allegations, multiple real estate disputes, and bankruptcy — Trump is no stranger to colorful lawyers.
His former longtime attorney Michael Cohen is serving a three-year sentence and has turned on his old boss. Before going behind bars for a variety of crimes last year, Cohen called Trump a “ con man ” and a “ cheat. ”
Where Cohen left off, an even bigger firebrand, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, stepped in to serve as attorney and roving political fixer.
Giuliani’ s relentless attempts to prove conspiracy theories around Biden’ s family activities in Ukraine are interwoven with the whole impeachment case against Trump. Although Giuliani is not a government employee, he has traveled to Ukraine to lead the search for dirt on Biden.
And the outspoken former federal prosecutor who was in charge of New York on 9/11, has pushed to be allowed in on the Senate impeachment trial team. A wary White House has shut the door.
Friday evening, House Democrats released documents showing Lev Parnas, who served as Giuliani’ s envoy to Ukrainian officials, had been in extensive contact with an aide to Representative Devin Nunes, the highest-ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee.
The WhatsApp messages, which run from February to May of last year, indicate that Nunes’ s office was aware of the alleged efforts to try and force Ukraine into investigating Biden.
Parnas made headlines Thursday when, hours before Trump’ s impeachment trial opened, he broke ranks to charge that the president “ knew exactly what was going on ” regarding his and business partner Igor Fruman’ s efforts to influence Ukrainian authorities.
Trump denied knowing Parnas. “ I don’ t believe I’ ve ever spoken to him, ” he told reporters.
But Parnas told MSNBC that Trump was lying. “ We’ re not friends, ” the Ukrainain-born businessman said. “ But he knew exactly who we were. ”
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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The hunt for answers - like whether the Omicron variant will trigger new waves of infection.
The new Omicron coronavirus variant has a high number of mutations which the WHO believes may make it more transmissible or resistant to vaccines...
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On Nov. 30, 2020, S & P Global and IHS Markit announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to combine in an all-stock transaction which values IHS Markit at an enterprise value of $ 44 billion, including $ 4.8 billion of net debt.
In 2020, our people showed tremendous resilience, responsibility and resolve to support one another, our customers, our communities, our suppliers, and in doing so, have served our shareholders.
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After a year that saw the dissemination of coronavirus vaccines, historic net-zero policy discussions, and the disruption of supply chains and energy markets, 2022 is likely to result in a recalibration of the global economy.
We enter 2022 with largely positive credit momentum, reflecting favorable financing conditions and a powerful economic recovery. This could be derailed if persistently high inflation pushes central banks to aggressively tighten monetary policy, triggering significant market volatility and repricing risks.
2021 brought hope for global economic growth following 2020’ s coronavirus-caused downturn, largely tied to the development and widespread deployment of COVID-19 vaccines and despite the rise of new variants.
Our industry reports suggest a difficult operating environment, as companies battle the headwinds of disruption, cost pressures, regulation and adapting to environmental concerns. Economic worries and trade disputes head the list of immediate concerns. Looking ahead, there’ s a mixture of short- and long-timeframe risks and opportunities to consider for all sectors detailed in our collection of 2020 outlooks.
The past 10 years have seen a recovery in growth of trade after the great recession with a 4.4% annual growth in global exports. The decade saw the rise of China past the U.S. as a trader in goods, while the rise of populism versus globalization accelerated with the arrival of the Trump administration’ s trade war with China. The restructuring of global supply chains has accelerated as a result. Looking ahead there’ s a mixture of short- and long-timeframe risks and opportunities to consider.
Come for the Commitments, Stay for the Enforcement – Trade War Show Season 4 BeginsWhat is the U.S. committing to? What’ s China committing to? What’ s the impact on supply chains?
This digital report showcases views from S & P Global Platts Analytics on key trends that will unfold in sectors such as oil, gas, power, coal, petrochemicals and agriculture. The interactive timeline allows you to explore the news events that will shape 2020, while S & P Global Platts president Martin Fraenkel also talks through his five commodity themes to watch.
S & P Global Platts President Martin Fraenkel lays out his five themes to focus on in commodity markets in 2020. The landscape for commodity markets is marked by geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic concerns, rangebound commodity prices and rising consumer awareness of climate change. As we look ahead to 2020, we think the year will bring some of these themes into even sharper focus.
Despite concerns over slowing global macroeconomic growth, 2019 was an active year in the structured finance markets, with over $ 1.1 trillion issued across the globe, up nearly 10% on a year-over-year basis. By country/region, the U.S., China, Australia, and Latin America all printed higher new issue volumes, while Europe, Japan, and Canada were down modestly. Looking into 2020, our baseline macroeconomic view is broadly neutral, but with risks weighted to the downside -- a precarious balance. Some factors that could have knock-on effects for structured finance credit and issuance are global trade-related tensions, continued Brexit uncertainty, an unforeseen increase in interest rates, and market volatility that negatively affects liquidity. That said, our baseline view is still for global macroeconomic growth and relatively low ( historically speaking) interest rates. As such, we expect 2020 issuance volume to remain in the $ 1 trillion neighborhood, with all covered countries/regions posting totals close to their 2019 volumes. On the credit side, we generally expect stability, albeit with pockets of weakness in some sectors and regions.
As the new decade begins, U.S. state credit is generally strong. Possibly nearing the end of the longest economic expansion in modern history, states are delicately balancing service delivery costs, building reserves, and mitigating future risks like climate change. This balancing act is occurring during a time of growing fixed-cost obligations and a pace of economic growth likely to remain below that seen in past expansionary periods. The shallow nature of this economic expansion has led to narrow fiscal margins for many states, but for fiscal 2019 state revenues came in higher than in fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2020 revenue projections remain positive. State officials are adjusting expenditure needs within the slower growing revenue-generating environment leading to this stability. Even though states are adjusting to the lower-for-longer economy and generating favorable results, some credit challenges remain and others are emerging. Management continues to play a critical role in maintaining balanced operations and credit stability.
Podcast - 2020 Sector Outlook: State and Local Governments, and Not-for-profit Health CareIt’ s January – and that means the start of outlook season here at Extra Credit. Listen in as host Tiffany Tribbitt kicks off the New Year with S & P Global Ratings sector leaders Geoff Buswick, Jane Ridley, and Suzie Desai to tackle what Ratings is watching during 2020 for State and Local Governments, as well as the not-for-profit Health Care sector.
While simmering trade tensions, uncertainty around the upcoming U.S. presidential election, and the possibility of a shift in the credit cycle pose significant risks to non-financial corporate borrowers, 2020 looks set to be a year of sustained -- if subdued -- growth for American companies in most sectors.
Outlook For U.S. Leveraged Finance And CLO VideoIn this video, Ramki Muthukrishnan, S & P Global Ratings Head of U.S. Leveraged Finance, discusses the 2020 outlook for U.S. Leveraged Loan and High Yield market and the U.S. CLO Market along with Steve Wilkinson and Robert Schulz, Sector Leads for U.S. Leveraged Finance, and with Stephen Anderberg, Sector Lead for U.S. CLOs.
Global petrochemical markets are entering a new decade with vast opportunities as well as challenges ahead. In this report, S & P Global Platts takes a closer look at what to expect in the first half of 2020 -- narrowing petrochemical margins on high naphtha and shipping costs as well as changing trade flows amid trade tensions between nations and China's drive towards self-sufficiency.
New refinery capacity in China, US-China trade relations to shape global aromatics market in H1 2020S & P Global Platts managing editor Samar Niazi examines how refinery capacity additions in China and the volatile trade relationship between Washington and Beijing will affect global aromatics market in the first half of 2020.
Electricity from renewable power sources is transforming the U.S. electricity grid in ways few would have anticipated just a few years ago. Here, we highlight major trends in markets, technology and regulation to watch for in the year ahead, based on data analysis conducted across our team of energy experts. Compared to an average installation rate of 10.5 GW per year since 2010, wind and solar installations in 2020 appear likely to exceed 20 GW as developers take advantage of expiring subsidies. S & P Global Market Intelligence further flags nearly 36 GW of wind and solar capacity likely to be added across the country by 2021. Even after federal tax incentives step down, renewable portfolio standard, or RPS, compliance markets will drive 6 GW to 9 GW per year of additions. | business |
Has OrganiGram Started to Find the Formula for Success? |
OrganiGram ( NASDAQ: OGI) shares are up over 40% year-to-date. Most of that gain came on January 15 when the stock jumped 35% after it posted first-quarter revenue that beat analysts’ expectations. More importantly, OrganiGram’ s revenue was more than double on a year-over-year basis.
The Canadian cannabis producer posted net revenue of CA $ 25.2 million ( $ 19.3 million) for the quarter. This was nearly double the prior quarter when the company posted $ 12.29 million in revenue. For the same quarter in 2018, OrganiGram posted CA $ 12.4 million. As many investors will remember, the Canadian market opened up for recreational cannabis sales in October 2018.
For investors, the fundamental question is whether OrganiGram’ s increased revenue is indicative of a larger tide that is lifting the sector? That has yet to be seen.
The revenue problems are not unique to OrganiGram
To say 2019 was a disaster for cannabis companies is not an understatement. The problem that beset the industry is a tale of investors getting ahead of the story. When Canada lifted the ban on recreational cannabis, investors heard what they wanted to hear. The truth was a lot different.
Each province was free to set its own regulations regarding when product would be available. So while in some areas ( such as Alberta) there were many shops that were open for business. In some of the other heavily populated areas such as Ontario and Quebec, the availability was limited.
Plus, the country’ s regulatory agency, HealthCanada, had to work its way through the large volume of applications. It was a toxic recipe for cannabis companies that were already oversupplied.
So what’ s different about this report?
document.write ( ' < a style= '' text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal; color: # 696969; '' target= '' blank '' rel= '' nofollow '' href= '' https: //www.ame ' + 'ricanconsumernews.net/scripts/click.aspx? NativeDisplayAdID=588 & ImpressionID=0 & UserID=0 & Placement=PlaceOnArticlePage '' > '); Wall Street legend who picked Apple in 2003 — and Bitcoin in 2016 — shares his # 1 pick for 2020s.
There’ s little doubt that cannabis is going to be a big story for the next decade, and beyond. The question that was troubling investors was whether the issues that beset the industry last year were finally going to ease or would 2020 bring more of the same?
OrganiGram’ s most recent earnings report shows that, at least initially, there is reason for optimism. First, nearly two-thirds of the company’ s revenue came from the adult-use and medical cannabis markets in Canada. This supported the optimistic vision of “ Cannabis 2.0 ” that many cannabis companies were espousing.
Cannabis 2.0 is when the market for derivative cannabis products such as vapes and edibles became available. That did not occur until October of last year. So this quarter’ s earnings reports will be the first chance for investors to see if the industry may be able to deliver on its promise. For its part, OrganiGram looks to have delivered.
“ Our team was also successful in shipping the first of our Rec 2.0 products as planned and on schedule, ” said OrganiGram CEO Greg Engel. “ We also look forward to the launch of the remainder of our vape pen portfolio followed soon after by our premium cannabis-infused chocolate products. ”
The second key reason for optimism is that it appears that there should be an increase in retail store openings in Ontario and Quebec. And OrganiGram recently announced that they will be getting a significant piece of that action. In a deal that was announced on January 16, OrganiGram will partner with Medical Cannabis by Shoppers, a specialty e-shop run by Toronto-based Shoppers Drug Mart.
The three-year deal obligates OrganiGram to supply Shoppers with a variety of medical cannabis goods. This includes dried flower, oils and derivative products such as edibles and vapes.
Although financial terms for the deal were not released, investors were encouraged because OrganiGram is already considered to be one of the cannabis companies that are expected to benefit the most from the growth of medical marijuana.
Are there any concerns in the OrganiGram report?
The company did not post a net loss number. This is significant because OrganiGram, like virtually all cannabis companies, is not yet profitable. The company posted a negative EPS of 5 cents per share in its last earnings report in November.
While investors were not expecting OrganiGram to be profitable in this quarter, the company – and indeed other companies in the sector – will have to show that there is a path to profit. One of the concerns for all of the major cannabis providers is cash flow. However, on this front, it appears that analysts are more encouraged by what they are considering smart and prudent cash management.
7 Tech Stocks to Buy Now For a Post Coronavirus Economy
The Covid-19 pandemic has created a new “ tech wreck ”. But unlike the broad selloff at the end of 2018, this downturn has been more selective. Some stocks that looked like they were a little overbought have seen their share prices lowered. In some cases, there was a legitimate reason for this. However, in other cases, it was likely a result of profit-taking disguised as something else. That’ s the nature of a crisis. It gives investors the cover to do what they wanted to do anyway. But once investors start to sell, it can trigger a herd mentality. And that’ s when savvy investors start to look for opportunities. Because as Warren Buffett famously said, “ Be greedy when others are fearful. ” Tech stocks will lead the way back when the pandemic is over. Because if there’ s one thing this moment in time is teaching us, it’ s that we’ re not going to be less dependent on technology. Businesses aren’ t going to be doing less digital advertising. Consumers aren’ t going to do less e-commerce. But the fundamentals still matter. That’ s why one of the common traits of many of these companies is that they have rock-solid balance sheets.
View the `` 7 Tech Stocks to Buy Now For a Post Coronavirus Economy ''.
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Australian bushfires: Artisan distillery pledges to battle flames | Or wait...
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By Richard Whitehead
17-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 17-Jan-2020 at 11:18 GMT
Related tags: Wine, Australia function sanitize gpt value2 ( gptValue) { var vOut= '' ''; var aTags = gptValue.split ( ', '); var reg = new RegExp ( '\\W+ ', `` g ''); for ( var i=0; i < aTags.length; i++) { vOut += aTags [ i ].trim ().replace ( reg, '- ').substring ( 0,40); if ( i! = ( aTags.length-1)) vOut += ', '; } vOut = vOut.toLowerCase (); return vOut; } $ ( document).ready ( function () { dataLayerNews = { }; dataLayerNews.related tags = sanitize gpt value2 ( `` Wine, Australia ''); dataLayer.push ( dataLayerNews); });
The fledgling artisanal gin brand - whose rural distillery is in the heart of an Australian bushfire inferno - has pledged to battle the flames and reopen when things finally get safer.
When owner Gavin Hughes spoke to BeverageDaily, the closest blaze was just 3km and the survival of his property was dependent on the easterly wind staying true. On other sides, bushfires roared 6km away to the north, while the Werri Berri blaze had retreated to 8km.
“ We are only a short way from having issues again, so we are on constant alert. They are predicting that later today we could be getting some strong gusts, ” he said.
Hughes and his partner, Karen Touchie, had chosen to stay in their property and defend it from the fires that have roared out of control across southern and eastern Australia over the last month.
They could have joined others in the area around Bega, in southern New South Wales, and retreat to safety. But their gin distillery was brand new, having only started producing spirits less than a year ago, they figured. It was also still uninsured. More than anything it remains their livelihood.
NYE 2019 here at the farm. Current situ is that we're sandwiched between the Badja Forest ( Cobargo) fire to our north and the Werri Berri fire to our south and west. Grateful to have escaped yesterday unscathed. Absolutely heartbroken for those who weren't so lucky. Terrified about the coming days. Utter respect and gratitude for all our emergency services personnel and volunteers who are working so tirelessly to keep us all safe in the midst of this nightmare. # climatecrisis # nswbushfires # sapphirecoastnsw # northofedengin
A post shared by Stony Creek Farm Distillery ( @ stonycreekfarmdistillery) on Dec 31, 2019 at 8:01pm PST
Since the couple were given the option to leave the property Hughes has managed to install a sprinkler system on top of the distillery. He now has two fire pumps and percolated hoses and has watered the land outside to make a wet boundary in areas the fire is likely to approach from.
“ We actually lost the sun for two days. It was like midnight, just this deep dark orange glow and the property was choking with smoke. Those were really worrying times because you can’ t see something approaching until it arrives, ” said Hughes.
In 2017, Hughes and Touchie had exchanged corporate lives in Melbourne for Stony Creek Farm, with its 12 acres just outside Bega on Australia’ s Sapphire Coast. The following year, they converted an old farm shed on the property into a small gin distillery, and in March 2019, they sold their first bottles of gin under the North of Eden brand.
Within just a couple of months, their two lines had won silver and bronze medals at an international competition in London. By November, it picked up the same tally at the Australian Gin Awards.
North of Eden’ s The Classic is London dry-style gin with a citrus foundation that features Australian finger limes that are grown on the property.
“ We try and use as much produce as we can from our property and around it. It’ s what a gin used to taste like, ” Hughes said.
The second gin is The Connoisseur, which features kelp harvested from Mystery Bay up the coast among 14 botanicals.
“ I designed it to give a a full palate experience, rather than a traditional gin which is more front of the palate. It has things like elderflower and rose to round out that mouthfeel. It’ s a really nice sipping gin and it’ s fantastic in cocktails, ” he added.
The drinks industry executive-turned-distiller is currently looking for an international distributor, after already receiving a mass of orders from overseas.
With its online store open and sales growing nicely, the couple were looking forward to opening their gin school on January 8. They expected these courses for tourists and spirits lovers, which had been booked out for January and into February, to be a revenue spinner for their business.
Guests were to be given their own stills, asked to choose their own botanicals and taught how to make gin. At the end of the day they would be handed a bottle of their handmade spirit, which they would give a name and take home.
“ We are still at the establishment stage getting our business to where it is going to support us. We are only starting with trade customers and local bottle shops, restaurants and bars, ” said Hughes.
“ The gin school would provide us a bridge, another source of income to help us become financial. We sold out for January but we had to refund it all all because of the bushfires. You can’ t have people coming to this area when it’ s too dangerous. Plus it’ s an unpleasant place to be with all this smoke. ”
Situation update. We're safe. Very hard day but we were so lucky with the wind! AND we had the best help to save the # gin. @ majormatty and @ bgh083 - you are legends
A post shared by Stony Creek Farm Distillery ( @ stonycreekfarmdistillery) on Jan 4, 2020 at 2:06am PST
What is sorely needed in the area is a downpour of at least 200mm in one go, but there is nothing in the weather forecast that suggests that will happen in January. Some rains are expected next month, but if they come together there would then be a strong risk of flooding.
The local community has rallied. Hughes mentions seeing a friend the previous day from Cobargo, a township about 50km north that had been devastated by the blaze. He had lost his cousin and uncle, who were on their property when a bushfire raced past it, razing it to the ground. Much of the historic settlement has also been destroyed.
He also knows dozens of people who have lost their own properties. As one of the areas of lowest socioeconomic development in New South Wales, many home- and business owners do not have insurance. In their darkest moment, the community has been pulling together to support one another.
North of Eden has been doing its bit by donating 10% of what it sells online to the community. He has also been able to employ local people to fulfil a rush of orders that have come with the help of the @ spendwiththem campaign, a mass movement by Australian consumers to buy products from businesses affected by the fires.
We’ ve brought in the young guns! Bottling and packing is continuing here today, and thanks to the huge volume of orders from @ spendwiththem we’ ve been able to give some work to some lovely locals! ❤️ Thanks again for the love, and please be patient. Major highways are still blocked, causing delays not only in supplies getting here, but also in our shipments reaching you. Orders are currently taking up to 21 days, but we promise it’ ll be worth the wait! # spendwiththem # thankyou # sharingthelove # gindistillery # smallbatchgin # craftgin # bushfireaffected # nswbushfires # sapphirecoastnsw
A post shared by Stony Creek Farm Distillery ( @ stonycreekfarmdistillery) on Jan 13, 2020 at 7:19pm PST
Orders have closed now, however. With local highways closed, it takes time for orders to arrive, but worse, the materials Hughes needs like boxes and bottles are in short supply.
“ We’ ve had such an enormous amount of support from the public, ” said Hughes. “ This area relies on tourism, but there is nobody here. All their that income has gone so we have all these people who are living hand to mouth.
“ As soon as we get supplies through again, hopefully we can reopen our shop and continue to employ people. The best thing we can do in this district is provide some economic stimulus. It’ s just been smashed as a result of this bushfire crisis. ”
Faced with the daily struggle of fireproofing his property and willing the wind not to change direction, Hughes is staying positive. Others in the area have lost so much more, while rural spirits distillers elsewhere in Australia have also been hit hard.
The owners of Joadja distillery, one of a handful of single malt distilleries in the world who grow their own barley and have a spring on-site, were forced to flee when their community was evacuated due to the fires.
Schnapps, gin and vodka maker Wildbrumby Distillery, in the Snowy Mountains, has had to close its cellar door. The owners of Reed & Co Distillery were forced to leave their gin distillery and restaurant in Bright, Victoria.
Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia, had a thriving distillery community. The fires there have been shocking for their speed and extreme behaviour and it is now feared that half of the island has been scorched.
“ We are the lucky ones: we are still all here; our property hasn’ t been burnt and, touch wood, it will stay that way, ” Hughes said.
“ We are determined to continue, we are determined to build this business. We think we have a good product and we know what we are doing. ” | general |
BRIEF-CDC Says Public Health Screening To Begin At 3 U.S. Airports For 2019 Novel Coronavirus | Novel Coronavirus @
Jan 17 ( Reuters) - U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
* CDC SAYS PUBLIC HEALTH SCREENING TO BEGIN AT 3 U.S. AIRPORTS FOR 2019 NOVEL CORONAVIRUS ( `` 2019-NCOV '')
* CDC SAYS TRAVELERS FROM WUHAN, CHINA TO U.S. TO UNDERGO ENTRY SCREENING FOR SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH 2019-NCOV AT 3 U.S. AIRPORTS
* CDC SAYS HEALTH SCREENING IS IN RESPONSE TO OUTBREAK IN CHINA CAUSED BY 2019-NCOV, WITH EXPORTED CASES TO THAILAND AND JAPAN
* CDC SAYS THE 3 U.S. AIRPORTS THAT WILL BE SCREENING TRAVELERS FROM WUHAN ARE SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK, AND LOS ANGELES
* CDC SAYS BASED ON CURRENT INFORMATION, RISK FROM 2019-NCOV TO AMERICAN PUBLIC IS CURRENTLY DEEMED TO BE LOW Source text: ( http: //bit.ly/2syXF7w) | business |
Emerging Strategies in the Evolving Area of Predictive Scheduling | States and cities nationwide have instituted predictive scheduling laws, aiming to give employees a greater sense of certainty around their work schedule. However, with laws varying by jurisdiction, employers don’ t enjoy the same level of certainty. Fisher Phillips’ Collin Cook and Anthony Guzman shed some light.
For decades, the problem of scheduling has plagued employers and employees alike. Employees prefer predictable and reliable schedules. Employers, however, need flexibility.
To address this tension, regulators throughout the United States have recently begun to insert themselves into the struggle through the passage of predictive scheduling laws that seek to strike a tenuous balance between these competing interests. Given the recent rise in the popularity of these laws, it is important for organizations to understand what these laws are, where they are most likely to be encountered and what steps they can take to make stay abreast of the most up-to-date compliance strategies.
Predictive scheduling laws are straightforward. In short, they require employers to post employee work schedules a certain number of days in advance of when the work is to be performed. Once posted, however, employers can be penalized for making any subsequent scheduling changes.
In theory, these laws seek to balance respective interests between employers and employees — a balance that was recently addressed in the landmark California decision, Ward v. Tilly’ s. Therein, the court assumed the role of the employee’ s champion and explained that, from the employee’ s perspective, schedule predictability was an absolute necessity that allowed employees to, among other things, plan around second jobs, make child-care arrangements, coordinate school schedules and commit to social plans. Glaringly absent from this analysis, however, was the employer’ s perspective and concurrent recognition that scheduling changes and fluctuating staffing needs are often caused by unforeseeable market realities, such inclement weather, employee call outs and unposted community events.
In practice, unfortunately, legislators have expressed wide disagreement over how to address this problem, causing many jurisdictions to take wildly different approaches. For example, in New York City, certain employers are only required to post schedules 72 hours in advance, with changes thereafter being completely prohibited. In contrast, San Francisco requires employers to post schedules not less than two weeks in advance. Once posted, however, any changes require the employer to pay the affected employee anywhere between one and four hours of additional “ predictability pay, ” depending on how last minute the change actually was. As these examples demonstrate, the lack of a centralized model for predictive scheduling laws has created a potential minefield for employers who attempt to apply consistent scheduling practices in multiple jurisdictions.
Since the first predictive scheduling law arose in San Francisco in 2016, other states and major U.S. cities have contributed to a precipitous rise in these laws. Places like Vermont, Oregon, New York City, Chicago, Seattle and Philadelphia have all proposed and implemented their own unique frameworks. Simultaneously, other states have actively sought to combat the rise of these practices. In the wake of San Francisco’ s law, states like Arkansas, Iowa, Georgia and Tennessee quickly implemented legislation that prohibited their own major cities from enacting similar predictive scheduling laws, seeking to stifle an already emerging trend.
To date, however, the retail and hospitality industries have taken the brunt of the regulatory force, with the vast majority of predictive scheduling laws targeting these industries exclusively. As justification for this disparate treatment, legislators have pointed to the disproportionate number of low-wage workers present in these industries who, by their nature, warrant greater protection. For these employees, securing a reliable schedule through traditional means, such as direct negotiation, is far less likely. Accordingly, in these industries, employer/employee tension between scheduling flexibility and predictably is at its zenith.
Unsurprisingly, established players in these industries have already begun to feel the impact of these new scheduling strictures. For example, in September 2019, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection filed a substantial lawsuit against certain private businesses for various compliance failures, such as:
As a result, the lawsuit alleges nearly $ 1 million in prospective liability amidst a combination of employee restitution and state penalties — a figure that’ s certainly nothing to balk at.
Unfortunately, compliance with predictive scheduling laws is far from easy.
Although larger employers with locations throughout multiple jurisdictions tend to be the most affected, smaller employers can also find themselves in a position that requires a full overhaul of their current staffing model. Accordingly, it’ s important to keep a few points in mind:
In the modern day, employment laws are changing at an ever-increasing pace. Additionally, when it comes to employment policies, there is rarely a one-size-fits-all approach, and what’ s right for one company may not be right for another. As a result, it is important to keep up to date on the newest changes in both law and compliance strategies.
Collin D. Cook is a partner with national labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips in San Francisco. Collin defends employers in matters involving wrongful termination, discrimination and retaliation claims, as well as wage-and-hour class and collective actions. A skilled litigator, Collin defends employers against OSHA enforcement actions from inspection through litigation. Anthony E. Guzman II is an associate attorney with national labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips in San Francisco. Anthony represents employers in the defense of wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment claims, wage-and-hour class and collective actions and trade secret disputes.
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CDC and Homeland Security begins screening for Coronavirus at major US airports | U.S. health and Homeland Security officials will begin screening at major U.S. airports for the new Chinese Coronavirus that has caused two deaths and more than 40 infections in China.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Homeland Security plans to screen travelers starting Saturday on direct and indirect flights from Wuhan, China to three U.S. airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and Los Angeles International airport.
Martin Cetron, the director for the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine at the CDC, said in a press briefing Friday that he expects the screening to include as many as 5,000 people coming from Wuhan to the U.S. in the following airports.
`` Investigations into this novel coronavirus are ongoing and we are monitoring and responding to this evolving situation, '' he said in a statement.
The CDC will monitor the outbreak of the coronavirus, which originally started in Hubei Province, China. There have been two reported deaths and one case confirmed in Thailand and another in Japan.
Symptoms of most coronaviruses are similar to any upper-respiratory infection such as a runny nose, coughing, sore throat or fever. It is a part of a large family of viruses that can cause illness in people and animals such as camels, cats and bats. But it's rare for an animal coronavirus to evolve and infect people, according to the CDC.
The CDC said the risk of the virus spreading to the American public is considered low. `` Nevertheless, CDC is taking proactive preparedness precautions, '' it said in a statement.
The patients in the outbreak in Wuhan, China have reportedly said the large seafood and animal market may have resulted in an animal-to-person spread. However, some patients have said that they have not had any exposure to the animal market.
Concerns have grown in China since the Chinese health authorities announced the discovery of the mysterious new virus which has sickened dozens of people in Wuhan. Similar viruses in China have occurred in the past, such as the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, a virus that killed more than 800 people worldwide in 2002 and 2003.
The Greater New York Hospital Association will host a webinar with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Jan. 22 to brief hospitals on the developments of the outbreak and the hospital's role in screening and treating patient cases. | business |
Coronavirus: more cases and second death reported in China | More cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the Chinese city of Wuhan and a second person has died, according to local authorities. It comes as disease-modelling experts warned that far more people may have been affected by the previously unknown virus than thought.
The Wuhan municipal health commission said in a statement that four patients diagnosed with pneumonia on Thursday were in a stable condition, taking the total number of cases to nearly 50. The statement released in the early hours on Saturday is the first confirmation of new cases by the commission in nearly a week.
On Friday, the commission announced the second death from the virus. A 69-year-old man was admitted to hospital with abnormal renal function and severe damage to multiple organs, and died on 15 January, the commission said.
Preliminary lab tests cited by state media showed the pathogen could be from a new type of coronavirus, a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome ( Sars).
World Health Organization disease-modelling experts based at Imperial College, London, said that far more people may have been infected and they warned human-to-human transmission could not be ruled out.
Prof Neil Ferguson and colleagues, from the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial, calculated that the number of cases in Wuhan may be more than 1,700. “ It is likely that the Wuhan outbreak of a novel coronavirus has caused substantially more cases of moderate or severe respiratory illness than currently reported, ” they said in a report.
The report said all hospitalised cases of pneumonia or severe respiratory disease in the Wuhan area and other well-connected Chinese cities should be investigated.
They cautioned that because of the unknown factors in their estimates, the case numbers could be anywhere from 190 to over 4,000. But in a tweet, they said that “ the magnitude of these numbers suggests that substantial human-to-human transmission can not be ruled out. Heightened surveillance, prompt information sharing and enhanced preparedness are recommended. ”
Their calculation is based on the two people in Thailand and one in Japan who were diagnosed with the virus. Based on flight and population data, said Ferguson, “ there is only a 1 in 574 chance that a person infected in Wuhan would travel overseas before they sought medical care. This implies there might have been over 1,700 ( 3 x 574) cases in Wuhan so far. ”
US authorities announced they would begin screening passengers arriving from Wuhan on direct or connecting flights at three airports: San Francisco, New York’ s JFK and Los Angeles. Authorities in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines have all stepped up screening.
In Australia, the New South Wales and Victorian governments both issued alerts to health professionals about the virus, but there was no specific screening for the virus or change to travel advice.
Japan and Thailand both reported new cases of the mystery strain of coronavirus virus this week and experts say it might spread further as a result of the Chinese lunar new year holiday starting next week, which sees millions of people travel across the country.
On Thursday Japan confirmed a man in his 30s had been infected with the virus, and a Chinese woman was quarantined in Thailand. The World Health Organization ( WHO) has warned a wider outbreak is possible.
On Friday, Thailand confirmed a second case. A 74-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan had been quarantined since her arrival on Monday and was found to be infected with the newly identified coronavirus, said Sukhum Karnchanapimai, permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry.
Sukhum also urged Thais to remain calm, saying that there was no outbreak in the country.
The Wuhan health commission said late on Thursday that 12 people had recovered and been discharged from hospital but five others were in serious condition. It also said no human-to-human transmission had been confirmed but the possibility “ can not be excluded ”.
Another WHO doctor said it would not be surprising if there was “ some limited human-to-human transmission, especially among families who have close contact with one another ”.
“ It is not surprising that we are starting to hear of more cases in other countries and a range of severity from asymptomatic, to mild and severe illness, ” said infectious disease expert and director of Wellcome Dr Jeremy Farrar.
“ It is possible that the often mild symptoms from this coronavirus may be masking the true numbers of people who have been infected, or the extent of person-to-person transmission. It is probable that we are looking at patients being affected over a number of days from multiple animal sources and with some degree of human-to-human transmission. ”
The first confirmed fatality from the virus was a 61-year-old man in Wuhan who died of pneumonia after testing positive.
Memories remain fresh in Asia of a 2002-03 outbreak of Sars, which emerged in China and killed nearly 800 people around the world.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse | general |
CDC to start screening some travelers from China at three major U.S. airports for signs of Coronavirus | The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday it will
start screening
people traveling to the U.S. from Wuhan City in the Hubei Province of central China through three major airports for signs of a new virus that has sickened 40 people and killed two. The Coronavirus has been compared to pneumonia, as well as to SARS and MERS, two former respiratory illnesses that broke out in Asia. Symptoms include fever, coughing and difficulty breathing. The initial screenings will take place at the airports that receive the most travelers from Wuhan, namely San Francisco International, New York's JFK and Los Angeles International. Cases of the illness have now been confirmed in Thailand and Japan, according to a CDC advisory from Thursday. Most of the patients in Wuhan had some link to a large seafood and animal market, suggesting animal-to-person spread, although others had no exposure to animals, suggesting the disease can also be transmitted from person-to-person. | business |
Coronavirus: Second death from SARS-like illness in Wuhan, China | A 69-year-old man identified only by his surname, Xiong, died on Wednesday in the central city of Wuhan in Hebei province, which is where the pneumonia-like outbreak originated, local health officials said in a statement.
His death follows that of a 61-year-old man in the same city on January 9, who died after respiratory failure caused by severe pneumonia.
Chinese scientists identified the illness as a new strain of coronavirus, which is in the same family as the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome ( MERS). Symptoms of coronaviruses can range from fever and coughing to kidney failure, and in some cases lead to death.
But the new coronavirus in Wuhan appears to not be as lethal as MERS, or SARS, which infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774 in a pandemic that ripped through Asia in 2002 and 2003.
Currently, 41 cases of the new coronavirus have been reported in Wuhan, central China's largest city. Five of those patients are in serious condition while 12 have been discharged after treatment, local health authorities said. Other patients are stable and under treatment.
In total, 763 people who had close contact with the infected patients have been traced. Of those, 644 people have been discharged and 119 are still under medical observation, but no infected cases have been found among them, according to health officials.
The man who died on Wednesday fell ill on December 31 and was admitted to Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital five days later, where his condition worsened.
Health officials said he suffered from abnormal renal function, inflammation of the heart muscle and severe damage to multiple organ functions. Scans also showed lung damage with possible tuberculosis.
Thailand confirmed its second case of the new coronavirus on Thursday -- the third case in total found outside of China. The virus was also confirmed Thursday to have been detected in Japan. In all three cases, the infected people had traveled to Wuhan.
In Wuhan, the first, and the majority, of the infected patients have been traced to the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, which has been shut down for disinfection since January 1. Wuhan health authorities said on Wednesday that some `` environmental samples '' taken from the market tested positive for the virus.
Apart from fish, the market also sold other live animals, including birds, rabbits and snakes -- sparking concerns that the virus might have been transmitted to humans from animals, just like SARS and MERS.
The outbreak has cast a shadow over celebrations for Lunar New Year, which falls on January 25, and put the rest of Asia on edge. Hundreds of millions of people in China are expected to travel over the course of the new year period, both within the country and overseas.
Researchers have yet to rule out the possibility that the virus could be transmitted from person to person and virologists around the world are now studying its genome sequence shared by Chinese researchers.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong's Food and Health officials said there is a `` limited '' chance of human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus, though added that such a possibility could not be ignored.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Watch Level 1 Alert -- the lowest of a three-tier travel health notice that warns visitors to Wuhan to `` be aware and practice usual precautions. '' | business |
Three U.S. Airports to Check Passengers for a Deadly Chinese Coronavirus | Airports in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles will begin screening passengers arriving from Wuhan, China, for infection with a mysterious respiratory virus that has killed two people and sickened at least 45 overseas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Friday.
Most people with the infection are believed to have contracted it through exposure to animals at a market that sells seafood and meat in Wuhan. It is not certain that the virus spreads from person to person.
But a few cases have not been linked to animals, and researchers say some human-to-human transmission may be possible. Related viruses, called SARS and MERS, have led to enormous, deadly outbreaks in recent years.
[ Read: China’ s coronavirus outbreak tests the transparency of China’ s Communist Party. ]
“ This is a serious situation, ” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said at a news briefing. “ We know it is crucial to be proactive and prepared. ”
But while there will probably be cases in the United States at some point, “ we believe the current risk from the virus to the general public is low, ” she added.
The C.D.C. is also developing a diagnostic test that will be sent to hospitals and state health departments to determine whether people are infected.
About 100 experts from the C.D.C. are being deployed to the three airports. The first flight to be screened will arrive at New York’ s Kennedy International Airport on Friday night, Dr. Martin Cetron, director of the C.D.C.’ s division of global migration and quarantine, said at a news briefing.
J.F.K. is the only airport in New York where the screening will take place. Screenings at San Francisco International and Los Angeles International will begin on Saturday.
About 60,000 to 65,000 people a year travel to the United States from Wuhan. Over the next few weeks, some 5,000 passengers are likely to be checked for signs of the new infection, Dr. Cetron said.
Only New York and San Francisco receive direct flights from Wuhan; passengers arriving in Los Angeles are on connecting flights.
Travelers will be asked to fill out questionnaires asking if they have symptoms like a cough or a fever, and whether they have visited meat and seafood markets in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.
Screeners will also use thermal scanners that can be pointed at the forehead or temple to look for fever. People with signs of illness will be examined further, along with family members or others traveling with them.
Those who seem likely to be infected with the virus will be sent to area hospitals for further testing and treatment. Dr. Cetron said hospitals in each city had been designated to handle possible cases, but declined to name them.
It may not be easy to identify likely cases at airports, because the flu season is well underway, and winter is the peak period for common colds and other respiratory viruses that can cause coughing, fever and runny noses.
The screening could take time, Dr. Cetron said, and some passengers may miss connecting flights.
The illness was first reported in late December in Wuhan, in central China. Fears of a more widespread outbreak arose when two cases were found in Thailand and one in Japan, apparently carried to those countries by air travelers from Wuhan.
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The disease is caused by a coronavirus, a member of a family of viruses that can cause respiratory ailments ranging from colds to pneumonia.
A different coronavirus caused the SARS outbreak that began in 2003. It originated in China and was spread to other countries by travelers, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing nearly 800.
Updated June 12, 2020
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’ s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “ very rare, ” but she later walked back that statement.
A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’ s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.
Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “ start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid, ” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “ When you haven’ t been exercising, you lose muscle mass. ” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.
States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’ t being told to stay at home, it’ s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. ( Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
Taking one’ s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “ normal ” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’ t have a thermometer ( they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’ t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’ t replace hand washing and social distancing.
If you’ ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
If you’ re sick and you think you’ ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’ s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’ re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’ t be able to get tested.
That virus is also believed to have jumped to humans from animals at markets selling meat, poultry and sometimes live animals like civets. SARS turned out to be highly contagious among humans.
A coronavirus is also the cause of MERS, another severe respiratory ailment that has been present in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries since 2012.
The MERS virus is carried by camels, and most cases have resulted from contact with the animals, but infected people can spread it to one another. The death rate is high, from 30 percent to 40 percent of patients.
The new coronavirus appears to cause a less serious illness than SARS or MERS. But Dr. Cetron and Dr. Messonnier warned that the infection is new, little is known about it and the situation is rapidly evolving.
“ Humility is important, ” Dr. Cetron said.
The severity of SARS and MERS puts health officials on high alert when dealing with new coronaviruses, Dr. Messonnier said. If the virus is jumping from animals to humans for the first time — which may be the case in the current outbreak — people almost certainly have no immunity to it.
Whether the new coronavirus is contagious among people is not clear. The best treatment is not known, and there is no vaccine.
“ It doesn’ t take much for a virus in general to go from being worrisome to being extremely worrisome, because they tend to morph and mutate a lot, ” Dr. Messonnier said. | business |
AIG Lynn Oldfield Named CEO of the Year | Lynn Oldfield, President and CEO of AIG Canada, was recently named CEO of the year at the Insurance Business Canada awards, in recognition of her “ exceptional leadership ” and other criteria in excellence.
“ This award is a reflection of all Team Canada has done to create a winning and inclusive culture where everyone feels valued and respected. It was an honor to share the evening with our ERG leaders, senior team members and family, ” said Lynn.
Finalists in the “ CEO of the Year ” category were judged based on their demonstration of vision, leadership and engagement of workforce, corporate growth and achievements, commitment to corporate values and the insurance industry, and industry reputation.
After being found guilty of second- and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter for holding his knee on George Floyd’ s neck for nine-and-a-half minutes, Derek Chauvin may no longer be claiming innocence to additional pending charges related to the case. Janelle Griffith of NBC News reported that “ Derek Chauvin, …
Two years after her son died tragically at the hands of police officers, a mom in Louisiana is still demanding answers and justice. Jim Mustian of the Associated Press reported that “ Ronald Greene’ s mother chastised Louisiana lawmakers on Monday, Dec. 13, for not acting quickly enough to hold state troopers…
In a case that has unveiled some of the deepest and darkest parts of athletics, USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee have agreed to pay a $ 380-million settlement to hundreds of survivors, all of whom were sexually abused by their former team doctor Larry Nassar. NPR’ s Joe…
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While LGBTQ advocates in the U.S. have fought for years for a nationwide ban on conversion therapy — the controversial idea that medical treatments such as electric shock, starvation and hypnosis can “ turn ” a gay person straight — our neighbors to the North have beat us to it, approving legislation…
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Originally published at abbott.mediaroom.com. Abbott ranked No. 4 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2021. Abbott announced that its Board of Directors has elected Chief Executive Officer Robert B. Ford as Chairman of the Board, effective Dec. 10, 2021. Miles D. White, executive chairman and…
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Nestlé to invest up to $ 2B in sustainable packaging | As Big Food feels consumer pressure to go green and hustles to meet previously pledged sustainability goals, Nestlé is ramping up its efforts with a big investment.
Food and beverage companies trying to reduce their plastic dependence have faced difficulty finding suitable recycled material to replace it. Although more companies have made sustainability commitments, developing sustainable packaging that keeps products fresh, endures temperature shifts and remains affordable has not been an easy feat. Putting in up to $ 2 billion to make the shift away from plastics could help Nestlé lead the way when it comes to the development of more sustainable solutions.
Two years ago, Nestlé promised by 2025 it will make all of its packaging recyclable or reusable, and aims to reduce use of virgin plastic by a third. Nestlé's plan to pay a premium rate for the recycled material could alleviate any future shortages of used plastics for food packaging by tempting new suppliers to get into the business.
This large investment could be a result of pressure Nestlé has been feeling. A recent Greenpeace report found CPG companies haven't shown significant progress on sustainability goals. Nestlé was found to be one of the worst plastic polluters in North and South America. Although other companies were named in Greenpeace's report, Nestlé is showing it wants to get off this list.
Nestlé's total plastic packaging usage in 2018 was 1.7 million metric tons, according to the company's website. Globally, the company currently uses just 2% recycled plastic, though usage is a bit higher for PET water bottles, which have 5% recycled content. Nestlé Waters, the company's bottled water division, is the biggest in the world with brands including S.Pellegrino and Poland Spring, so there is a lot of room for progress.
Nestlé's new research initiative for start-ups could also prove to be a good forward-looking move. Many start-ups and smaller firms have been working on sustainable packaging solutions on a smaller scale, and an investment from Nestlé could give them the ability to scale.
The company is already working on packaging projects. Nestlé opened a research site near its global R & D headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, to develop more sustainable solutions to packaging different food products. The company recently announced it would be offering its Yes snack bars in a recyclable paper wrapper. It also introduced paper packaging last year for its Nesquik flavored milk powder. And it's developing biodegradable water bottles and plans to use paper-based pouches for its Milo health drink.
Nestlé is not alone in these efforts. The Swiss company has been experimenting with water dispensers in an effort to shift to selling beverages without bottles, but so have PepsiCo and Danone. A number of other major food makers are also participating in recyclable packaging programs, including PepsiCo, Unilever, Mars, Coca-Cola, Mondelez and Danone. Additionally, packaging firms such as Tetra Pak have been working on more sustainable, paper-based options.
Sustainability is an increasingly important factor for companies as consumers and investors are looking for more brands to take the initiative on environmental issues. About 66% of consumers said they would pay more for products from brands committed to environmentally friendly practices, according to the Nielsen Global Corporate Sustainability Report. With the increasing demand for sustainable solutions, Nestlé's investment could be a good bet for the future.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
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With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation. | general |
IHSE Launches Draco Ultra DP 1.2 Dual-Head Option Kit | IHSE has announced the launch of Draco ultra DP 1.2 Dual-Head option kit.
With new dual-screen capabilities, it supports up to two 4K60 displays in one extender set.
Packaged in a compact 2-slot Draco vario enclosure are two DisplayPort KVM extenders that create a unique extender solution for business and professional users focused on high-resolution imaging for broadcast applications, command and control, air traffic control, visual medicine, and geospatial mapping.
Head of product management for IHSE, Mark Hempel said: “ Whether they’ re in a classroom, a boardroom, a military war room or an editing suite, or anywhere in between, organisations are increasingly taking advantage of UHD screens and can achieve more by putting them together.
“ With this Dual-Head 4K DP extender, we’ re bringing the next level of dual-screen capability; to increase productivity with large UHD dual-display workstations for ultra-high-resolution imaging, mapping, or multiapplication setups. Organisations will benefit in terms of both capex and ROI. ”
The Draco ultra DP main module is the first 4K DisplayPort KVM extender with 60Hz refresh rate in full-colour depth ( Deep Color). The device uses the Lightweight Image ( Lici®) codec, developed in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits. This coding technology allows for good image quality at the highest video resolutions with outstanding colour accuracy.
The Draco ultra DP Dual-Head extender kit allows users to operate CPUs from a remotely located workstation over two duplex fibre cables or two Cat X cables. The extender transfers digital video in 4K resolutions at 60Hz refresh rate and full-colour depth ( 10 bit, 4:4:4). Users can either create a stretched desktop of 8192 x 2160 across two displays or run them in clone mode to show the same content on both displays.
These extenders can also support digital audio transmission via the DisplayPort interface, eliminating the need for additional audio modules and enabling playback of the audio signal on monitors with integrated loudspeakers. It is also possible to integrate optional Draco vario upgrade modules for additional interfaces, including USB 2.0 and RS232.
In addition to extending point-to-point high-resolution images up to 5 kilometres, the DP Dual-Head extenders can be integrated into IHSE’ s XV models of KVM matrix switches, allowing users to share Dual-Head 4K sources across multiple workstations.
IHSE’ s KVM switching, extension and sharing solutions are available for demonstration at upcoming trade fairs:
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In the new major international airport in Berlin-Brandenburg, KVM technology from the German developer and...
In the new major international airport in Berlin-Brandenburg, keyboard, video and mouse ( KVM) technology from...
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| general |
CSX delivers record service, but taking traffic from trucks is a long game | Efficient, reliable intermodal service is what railroads have held up as the key to converting freight from highway to rail. As Jim Foote, president and CEO of CSX described it, unreliable service is what sent volume from rail to truck.
`` When a couple of years ago, your trip plan compliance was 35% and you were trying to get a customer to switch from moving his freight in a truck to rail, he didn't have a lot of confidence, '' said Foote on the call.
The CEO said trip plan compliance, a metric showing how often cars follow their intended route, was a difficult piece of the PSR puzzle for the CSX team. He still isn't satisfied with the carload number, but putting the individualized trip plan data in the hands of the customer, which began rolling out in the third quarter, is an important step toward proving the reliability the macro stats would suggest.
`` It took the railroad industry decades of poor service to drive the business off the railroads onto the trucks. We are not going to get the business off the highway back on to the railroad in two weeks. So we're going to have to earn it, '' said CFO Kevin Boone.
What CSX won't do to win over shippers is slash rates. Foote said there are billions of dollars in opportunity in converting the freight existing customers currently put on trucks, so underpricing other railroads is not a healthy strategy long-term.
`` It is crazy for me to go over there and price my service as a commodity to try and pick up a couple of million bucks of the other railroad. That's the business model that has run the railroad industry down for decades. And that is not the business model that we are pursuing, '' said Foote.
Total revenue for the railroad in 2019 was down in every freight category except agriculture and food, and minerals, with coal down a dramatic 22% year-over-year — coal volume is unlikely to ever fully return, according to executives.
Regarding 2020, the railroad expects revenue to be flat to down 2%, which means CSX likely won't get the opportunity to prove it can maintain such high service metrics with more volume in the near term.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
The information the FTC will solicit is at the forefront of supply chain managers ' day-to-day operations, such as the disruptions to obtaining and transporting products.
Brands with high exposure to Vietnam are seeing port delays, canceled orders and slow capacity recovery after months of COVID-19 related restrictions.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more.
The information the FTC will solicit is at the forefront of supply chain managers ' day-to-day operations, such as the disruptions to obtaining and transporting products.
Brands with high exposure to Vietnam are seeing port delays, canceled orders and slow capacity recovery after months of COVID-19 related restrictions.
Topics covered: logistics, freight, operations, procurement, regulation, technology, risk/resilience and more. | general |
Trophy hunt of protected Alpine ibex sparks Swiss debate | Hi, what are you looking for?
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A woman wearing a bright orange vest aims her rifle and on her second shot, a large Alpine ibex with majestic curved horns collapses in the snow.
Olivia Opre is one of many wealthy foreigners to travel to the southern Swiss canton of Wallis, having paid large sums to shoot the protected species of wild goat and take the horns as a trophy.
In a video aired by Swiss public broadcaster RTS late last year, the former Mrs. Nebraska winner, a renowned trophy hunter, strides towards the animal and proudly pats its muscular neck, exclaiming: `` He's so fat, so thick! ''
The canton has for years quietly allowed trophy hunters to shoot ageing male ibexes already destined for elimination.
But the recent RTS documentary brought the trophy hunt to the attention of the broader public, sparking a heated debate about the practice and its potential impact on the viability of the species.
Outraged citizens launched a petition demanding the `` disgraceful '' hunt be halted, gathering nearly 75,000 signatures in two months.
The regional parliament will soon debate whether Wallis, the only Swiss region to permit this type of hunting, should continue doing so.
- 'Ethically questionable ' -
`` Ethically, this is a very questionable practice, '' said Jeremy Savioz, who heads the Wallis chapter of Swiss conservation organisation Pro Natura.
But hunters and cantonal authorities insist the issue has been misrepresented.
They argue that regulating the ibex population by strategic culling has allowed it to grow steadily in recent years.
The entire Swiss ibex population was wiped out at the end of the 19th century, but since they were reintroduced from Italy the population has grown to around 17,000 here.
Wallis counted 5,240 ibexes at the end of 2018, up from around 3,500 15 years earlier. The canton allows 300-400 of the animals to be culled each year.
`` The ibex culls are motivated by ethical and biological considerations, '' the office of Wallis environment minister Jacques Melly told AFP in an email.
Animals across all age groups and of both sexes can be listed for culling, but males over the age of 11 -- nearly 60 of them in 2018 -- are typically offered to trophy hunters, at a price.
The cost depends on the length of the horns, with the longest specimens, measuring around 1.10 metres ( 3.6 feet), raking in up to $ 20,000 for a pair.
The canton pockets hundreds of thousands of dollars in income from this hunt annually.
- Destined to die anyway -
Narcisse Seppey, who was head of the Wallis wildlife service when the trophy hunts began in the 1980s, told AFP he saw nothing wrong with the canton making money on the planned cull.
The older animals were placed on the list when they began looking weaker or sick, he said.
`` They would die the next winter anyway, '' the 77-year-old hunter said, standing in front of a large pair of ibex horns mounted on the wall in his private hunting trophy museum in the small village of Vex in the Swiss Alps.
A number of international travel agencies dedicated to trophy hunting worldwide offer trips to Wallis. A guard with the cantonal hunting authority accompanies foreign hunters and points them to the specific animal their permit covers.
Seppey stressed that no ibexes are added to the Wallis cull list without federal government approval. Trophy hunters often waited years to obtain their permit, he added.
And before Wallis launched the trophy hunt, he said, poachers satisfied the international demand for Alpine ibex trophies, pocketing large sums.
`` What is smarter: to push people into illegal poaching, or ensure that the high cost of a pair of interesting horns can go into the cantonal coffers? '' he asked.
But conservationists question the need to regulate the Alpine ibex population at all, since they cause little damage to crops and forests. They also worry about the sustainability of targeting large numbers of older males.
- Not really hunting -
Female ibexes typically prefer mating with older males which have the longest horns -- a signal of genetic superiority.
`` If you systematically cull the old males from the population,... you might disrupt the mating system, '' Raphael Arlettaz, a biologist at the University of Bern, told AFP.
Arlettaz acknowledged there was not yet scientific evidence demonstrating negative biological effects of culling older males, but said he believed the results could be `` catastrophic ''.
He said he had launched a research project to study the issue, with preliminary results expected within a year or so.
Hunters in Wallis say there is no question that older males are important to ibex reproduction, but they insist that after around 12 years of age they are too old and weak to reproduce.
`` After that, they are no longer important '' to reproduction, said Daniel Kalbermatter, head of the Wallis hunting society which counts some 5,500 members.
He told AFP he was not opposed to the trophy hunt, welcoming the cash it brings in, which goes in part to subsidise local hunting permits.
But he stressed that the practice `` is not really hunting '', since ibexes are quite calm and easy to approach.
`` It's not good for the image of hunters. ''
A woman wearing a bright orange vest aims her rifle and on her second shot, a large Alpine ibex with majestic curved horns collapses in the snow.
Olivia Opre is one of many wealthy foreigners to travel to the southern Swiss canton of Wallis, having paid large sums to shoot the protected species of wild goat and take the horns as a trophy.
In a video aired by Swiss public broadcaster RTS late last year, the former Mrs. Nebraska winner, a renowned trophy hunter, strides towards the animal and proudly pats its muscular neck, exclaiming: “ He’ s so fat, so thick! ”
The canton has for years quietly allowed trophy hunters to shoot ageing male ibexes already destined for elimination.
But the recent RTS documentary brought the trophy hunt to the attention of the broader public, sparking a heated debate about the practice and its potential impact on the viability of the species.
Outraged citizens launched a petition demanding the “ disgraceful ” hunt be halted, gathering nearly 75,000 signatures in two months.
The regional parliament will soon debate whether Wallis, the only Swiss region to permit this type of hunting, should continue doing so.
– ‘ Ethically questionable’ –
“ Ethically, this is a very questionable practice, ” said Jeremy Savioz, who heads the Wallis chapter of Swiss conservation organisation Pro Natura.
But hunters and cantonal authorities insist the issue has been misrepresented.
They argue that regulating the ibex population by strategic culling has allowed it to grow steadily in recent years.
The entire Swiss ibex population was wiped out at the end of the 19th century, but since they were reintroduced from Italy the population has grown to around 17,000 here.
Wallis counted 5,240 ibexes at the end of 2018, up from around 3,500 15 years earlier. The canton allows 300-400 of the animals to be culled each year.
“ The ibex culls are motivated by ethical and biological considerations, ” the office of Wallis environment minister Jacques Melly told AFP in an email.
Animals across all age groups and of both sexes can be listed for culling, but males over the age of 11 — nearly 60 of them in 2018 — are typically offered to trophy hunters, at a price.
The cost depends on the length of the horns, with the longest specimens, measuring around 1.10 metres ( 3.6 feet), raking in up to $ 20,000 for a pair.
The canton pockets hundreds of thousands of dollars in income from this hunt annually.
– Destined to die anyway –
Narcisse Seppey, who was head of the Wallis wildlife service when the trophy hunts began in the 1980s, told AFP he saw nothing wrong with the canton making money on the planned cull.
The older animals were placed on the list when they began looking weaker or sick, he said.
“ They would die the next winter anyway, ” the 77-year-old hunter said, standing in front of a large pair of ibex horns mounted on the wall in his private hunting trophy museum in the small village of Vex in the Swiss Alps.
A number of international travel agencies dedicated to trophy hunting worldwide offer trips to Wallis. A guard with the cantonal hunting authority accompanies foreign hunters and points them to the specific animal their permit covers.
Seppey stressed that no ibexes are added to the Wallis cull list without federal government approval. Trophy hunters often waited years to obtain their permit, he added.
And before Wallis launched the trophy hunt, he said, poachers satisfied the international demand for Alpine ibex trophies, pocketing large sums.
“ What is smarter: to push people into illegal poaching, or ensure that the high cost of a pair of interesting horns can go into the cantonal coffers? ” he asked.
But conservationists question the need to regulate the Alpine ibex population at all, since they cause little damage to crops and forests. They also worry about the sustainability of targeting large numbers of older males.
– Not really hunting –
Female ibexes typically prefer mating with older males which have the longest horns — a signal of genetic superiority.
“ If you systematically cull the old males from the population, … you might disrupt the mating system, ” Raphael Arlettaz, a biologist at the University of Bern, told AFP.
Arlettaz acknowledged there was not yet scientific evidence demonstrating negative biological effects of culling older males, but said he believed the results could be “ catastrophic ”.
He said he had launched a research project to study the issue, with preliminary results expected within a year or so.
Hunters in Wallis say there is no question that older males are important to ibex reproduction, but they insist that after around 12 years of age they are too old and weak to reproduce.
“ After that, they are no longer important ” to reproduction, said Daniel Kalbermatter, head of the Wallis hunting society which counts some 5,500 members.
He told AFP he was not opposed to the trophy hunt, welcoming the cash it brings in, which goes in part to subsidise local hunting permits.
But he stressed that the practice “ is not really hunting ”, since ibexes are quite calm and easy to approach.
“ It’ s not good for the image of hunters. ”
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Undersecretary of Foreign Relations Jesus Seade in December, 2019, push to enact...
It is a disturbing landscape of rotting waste and discarded plastic, where dozens of trash-pickers compete for scraps of food with vultures.
Tornadoes ripped through five US states overnight, leaving more than 70 people dead Saturday in Kentucky and causing multiple fatalities.
England could face a wave of COVID-19 infections caused by the Omicron variant.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Deadly kite strings kill 150 birds in India | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Published
More than 150 birds have been killed by razor-sharp kite strings in an annual religious festival in western India that attracts millions of revellers.
Volunteers raced to the rescue of pigeons, starlings and storks but 152 birds died before they could be treated, officials said Friday.
Hundreds of others were injured in Gujarat and Maharashtra states after getting entangled in strings which are coated with a paste of powdered glass and glue to make them sharp in order to sever the strings of rival kites.
Harshil Shah, who works for a volunteer bird rescue group, said their centres in Maharashtra and Gujarat had received some 750 distress calls on January 14 and 15 when the festival of Makar Sakranti is celebrated with fervour.
`` We try to lessen response time during an emergency call to save as many birds as possible but 20 percent of the birds have succumbed to their injuries after getting entangled in the strings, '' he told AFP.
A bird rescue camp in suburban Mumbai reported treating injured owls, koels ( cuckoo) as well as a squirrel.
AFP images showed a volunteer trying to rescue a painted stork from the top of a tree in Gujarat's Sanand district.
In Surat, emergency calls were made after revellers were injured while chasing loose kites or falling from rooftops.
On Wednesday, metro train services in northern Lucknow city were halted for 12 minutes after a kite string got entangled in the high voltage overhead electric wires, the fourth such instance in the past 10 months.
The use of Chinese sharp strings or manjha is banned in New Delhi and elsewhere but weak enforcement means it continues to be widely used.
Road accidents where two-wheeler riders are hit by manjha, sometimes fatally, are also common.
More than 150 birds have been killed by razor-sharp kite strings in an annual religious festival in western India that attracts millions of revellers.
Volunteers raced to the rescue of pigeons, starlings and storks but 152 birds died before they could be treated, officials said Friday.
Hundreds of others were injured in Gujarat and Maharashtra states after getting entangled in strings which are coated with a paste of powdered glass and glue to make them sharp in order to sever the strings of rival kites.
Harshil Shah, who works for a volunteer bird rescue group, said their centres in Maharashtra and Gujarat had received some 750 distress calls on January 14 and 15 when the festival of Makar Sakranti is celebrated with fervour.
“ We try to lessen response time during an emergency call to save as many birds as possible but 20 percent of the birds have succumbed to their injuries after getting entangled in the strings, ” he told AFP.
A bird rescue camp in suburban Mumbai reported treating injured owls, koels ( cuckoo) as well as a squirrel.
AFP images showed a volunteer trying to rescue a painted stork from the top of a tree in Gujarat’ s Sanand district.
In Surat, emergency calls were made after revellers were injured while chasing loose kites or falling from rooftops.
On Wednesday, metro train services in northern Lucknow city were halted for 12 minutes after a kite string got entangled in the high voltage overhead electric wires, the fourth such instance in the past 10 months.
The use of Chinese sharp strings or manjha is banned in New Delhi and elsewhere but weak enforcement means it continues to be widely used.
Road accidents where two-wheeler riders are hit by manjha, sometimes fatally, are also common.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Despite the dangers of standing up to illegal loggers, fellow conservationists continue to work guarding the El Rosario monarch butterfly sanctuary.
Drug overdose deaths have doubled over the past six years amid the Covid-19 pandemic and a continued rise in the use of fentanyl.
Queen Elizabeth II complained Wednesday about mobility issues, as she carried out her in-person official engagements.
Sneakers made from banana or pineapple leaves, dresses from nettles or fish scales -- the search for sustainable materials.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2022 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Paul MacDonald's Top Picks: Jan. 17, 2020 | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
The healthcare sector is a direct beneficiary of one of the only secular, non-cyclical and permanent investment themes: the global aging population. Moreover, as wealth increases in developing economies, there’ s a disproportionate increase in the amount of spending on healthcare which will likely result in significantly increased demand for healthcare products and services over time. Finally, technological innovations coupled with regulatory advancements pave the way forward for catalysts across healthcare subsectors.
Political discussions on how to deal with the rising healthcare costs over recent years have caused volatility in the sector to increase and valuation multiples to contract. This was on display during the first nine months of 2019 as investor sentiment towards the sector worsened. Ahead of third-quarter earnings, however, there was an apparent tone shift. More positive commentary and overall sentiment towards the sector also coincided with a softening of extreme political rhetoric. This caused the sector to regain strength through the end of the year. This is poised to continue through 2020.
Still, healthcare is expected to be a key topic during the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Even intra-party views on potential policies are divergent, resulting in the advancement of even basic healthcare proposals proving to be difficult. We view any further volatility as an opportunity, as fundamentals for the underlying businesses remain intact. We continue to advocate diversity across subsectors to minimize individual binary risks.
Lastly, the increase in the implied volatility levels has resulted in attractive income derived from covered call strategies such as the one used in the Healthcare Leaders Income Fund.
Paul MacDonald of Harvest Portfolios shares his top picks: UnitedHealth, Stryker and Pfizer.
UNITEDHEALTH GROUP ( UNH NYSE) We 've owned United Health since May 2017 and recently added to the position in August 2019.
United is the largest health insurer in the U.S., covering some 70 million lives. In addition to leading brand recognition, the company also stands to benefit from significant positive macro tailwinds that are expected to occur over the medium term. It has diversified operations and the acquisition of pharmacy benefits managers provides a unique competitive positioning. We continue to hold approximately 10-per-cent weight towards the sub-sector, split between United Health and Anthem Inc.
Recent commentary from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suggested that under his plan, there would be no need for private insurance companies. We view this as an opportunity, as valuation multiples have moved into very attractive levels. We think this is a core business for the U.S. healthcare system no matter the outcome of the election.
STRYKER ( SYK NYSE) We initiated a position in January in 2017 at around $ 120. We recently added below $ 200.
Stryker is a high-quality large-cap medtech company that has a proven history of good execution. They have one of the fastest growth profiles in the large-cap medtech universe, solid balance sheet flexibility and a diversified business. There continues to be positive sentiment towards robotic surgical equipment, an area where Stryker’ s Mako system is an industry pioneer and leader.
The stock sold off recently due to a proposed acquisition of Wright Medical. We believe this represents an attractive entry opportunity, with the acquisition synergistically expanding their reach into new areas.
Pfizer historically has had numerous long-duration, low-growth assets that generate significant cash flow along with a low-growth consumer products business. Following several acquisitions, the company has built out a strong pipeline of late-stage products and a pathway to growth by spinning off the lower-growth businesses into joint ventures. The most recent transactions caused the stock to sell off, providing an entry point for those looking at the position over the medium term.
Paul MacDonald of Harvest Portfolios reviews his past picks: UnitedHealth, Merck and Celgene.
CELGENE ( CELG NASD) Acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb ( BMY NYSE).
HARVEST HEALTHCARE LEADERS INCOME ETF ( HHL TSX) Performance as of Jan. 17, 2020
INDEX: MSIC World Healthcare Gross Total Return USD. Returns are based on reinvested dividends, net of fees and annualized.
TWITTER: @ harvestetfs WEBSITE: www.harvestportfolios.com
The Federal Reserve signaled it will start raising interest rates “ soon ” and shrink its bond holdings after liftoff has begun, moving toward ending ultra-easy pandemic support to fight the hottest inflation in a generation.
The Bank of Canada surprised markets Wednesday by keeping its key lending rate at 0.25 per cent, while putting Canadians on notice that interest rates will eventually rise.
Canadians are able to get a fuller picture of the reasons why the Bank of Canada opted to hold its benchmark rate on Wednesday, with the release of its Monetary Policy Report ( MPR).
Homeowners who have opted for a variable rate mortgage over a fixed-rate one are likely cheering the Bank of Canada’ s decision on Wednesday to hold steady on its key lending rate.
Dr. Donna Ferguson, clinical psychologist at CAMH, talks about how employers can support their workers’ mental health as we approach the second anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. She says leaders need to be trained on mental health, check-in with their workers more frequently and expand accessibility to resources as many individuals are still working from home. Ferguson added that workers need to be careful about setting boundaries around their job since it’ s easy to lose that work-life balance while being remote.
Advocates in Ontario's live music industry say upcoming shows big and small hang in the balance as they face provincial restrictions that are tougher on concert and live theatre venues than other entertainment spaces.
When Jenny Dickson goes grocery shopping, they only buy off-brand foods or items on sale for fear of overestimating how much money they have available in their bank account.
Snowpack in the U.S. West has decreased by about 20 per cent in the last century, making man-made snow more vital each year to opening ski resorts and fueling ski town economies as they head into an uncertain future | general |
AB InBev introduces 4 new low-alcohol craft beers | AB InBev is introducing these new low-alcohol craft beers during Dry January, a month when some people abstain from alcohol or limit their consumption following holiday celebrations. It could be a smart move for the alcohol giant to introduce them now since more consumers may be on the lookout for nonalcoholic or low-alcohol beverages made by craft or other brewers to keep on a similar track all year long.
This launch also makes financial sense for the company. As beer volumes have declined, U.S. bottled low- and no-alcohol beverages are projected to jump about 32% between 2018 and 2022 — three times their growth in the previous five years — according to IWSR data cited by Bon Appetit. The alcohol industry tracking firm told the publication consumers between 25 and 44 are especially trying to limit their alcohol intake, and some have eliminated it completely.
For AB InBev, the world's largest beer company, this presents opportunities to tap into the trend with new products, raise new revenue and attract new customers. The company signaled a move into the sector by naming a chief nonalcoholic beverages officer in 2018. While its nonalcoholic brands, including O'Doul's, Budweiser Prohibition, Busch NA and the 0.05% ABV Beck's Blue, comprised about 10% of the company's business at that point, AB InBev intends to double its percentage of nonalcoholic and low-alcohol beers in the next five years.
AB InBev isn't alone in this trend. Several other large beer companies now have products in the sector, with Heineken launching its 0.0% MAXX in 2017 and Coors offering its own non-alcoholic brand. Guinness owner Diageo has Open Gate Pure Brew, and Carlsberg has been making no-alcohol beers since 2015. Heineken also recently released a January Dry Pack, containing 31 cans of Heineken 0.0.
AB InBev has been busy purchasing craft breweries in the past few years, adding Goose Island Beer, Devils Backbone, Wicked Weed Brewing and Karbach Brewing to its portfolio. In August, the company acquired Platform Beer, a fast-growing regional brewery founded in Cleveland in 2014. And, after initially deciding not to, AB InBev pledged in November to buy the remaining 68.8% stake in the Oregon-based Craft Brew Alliance it didn't already own for $ 321 million. That deal brought eight craft brands into the fold, including Kona Brewing, Widmer Brothers and Redhook Brewery.
AB InBev invested more than $ 130 million in these craft partners from 2016 to 2019, helping them hire nearly 1,000 workers, open new facilities and produce more beer. Developing the craft segment could help the brewing giant in a difficult alcohol marketplace as consumer demands shift. Its flagship Budweiser and Bud Light brands have seen sales slide as consumers flock toward spirits, craft brews and Mexican and other imported beers. Focusing on no- and low-alcohol beer could help AB InBev attract younger consumers.
These four new craft beers from AB InBev's craft partners span a variety of consumer interests and could appeal across a spectrum of tastes, ages and drinking occasions. So-Lo contains just 98 calories, while Gilt Lifter has 99 calories, 7 grams of carbs and may fit into a keto diet. Resolution Blueberry Açai is electrolyte-infused, and Mango Cart is advertised as light and nonalcoholic.
Focusing on the craft beer sector with disparate products may turn out to be a solid strategy, given the latest sales statistics. Preliminary data from an IWSR Drinks Market Analysis show while domestic beer volumes fell 3.6% in 2019, imported beer was up 3.1%, and craft beer consumption increased 4.1%. However, low- and no-alcohol beer outpaced them all last year with a jump of 6.6%.
As consumers turn to other beverages, Gavin Hattersley has moved aggressively into energy drinks, diet soda and tequila to revive his company's portfolio — all while combating challenges like COVID-19 and a security breach.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation.
Subscribe to Food Dive to get the must-read news & insights in your inbox.
Topics covered: manufacturing, packaging, new products, R & D, and much more.
Discover announcements from companies in your industry.
With its products in public school cafeterias and a teen-focused website that connects animal agriculture to global warming, the company aims to feed and educate the next generation. | general |
Thais find second case linked to China mystery virus | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Thailand detected its second case of a mysterious SARS-linked virus in a visitor from China, health officials said Friday, as authorities ramp up airport screenings ahead of an expected surge in arrivals for Chinese New Year.
The 74-year-old Chinese woman is being treated at hospital after presenting with symptoms at Thailand's biggest airport Suvarnabhumi on January 13, according to the health ministry.
She was diagnosed with pneumonia linked to the new coronavirus, which has stirred alarm after killing two in China and hospitalising dozens. It has also been detected in Japan.
`` People don't have to panic as there is no spread of the virus in Thailand, '' the ministry said in its statement.
The woman, whose condition is improving, arrived from the central Chinese city of Wuhan -- believed to be at the epicentre of the outbreak.
It came after Thai doctors diagnosed another Chinese traveller with mild pneumonia on January 8, later confirmed to have been caused by the new virus.
The World Health Organisation has said `` much remains to be understood '' about the coronavirus from the same family as SARS ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which claimed hundreds of lives more than a decade ago.
During the upcoming holiday period, more than 1,300 passengers are expected to arrive in Thailand daily from Wuhan alone.
Thailand detected its second case of a mysterious SARS-linked virus in a visitor from China, health officials said Friday, as authorities ramp up airport screenings ahead of an expected surge in arrivals for Chinese New Year.
The 74-year-old Chinese woman is being treated at hospital after presenting with symptoms at Thailand’ s biggest airport Suvarnabhumi on January 13, according to the health ministry.
She was diagnosed with pneumonia linked to the new coronavirus, which has stirred alarm after killing two in China and hospitalising dozens. It has also been detected in Japan.
“ People don’ t have to panic as there is no spread of the virus in Thailand, ” the ministry said in its statement.
The woman, whose condition is improving, arrived from the central Chinese city of Wuhan — believed to be at the epicentre of the outbreak.
It came after Thai doctors diagnosed another Chinese traveller with mild pneumonia on January 8, later confirmed to have been caused by the new virus.
The World Health Organisation has said “ much remains to be understood ” about the coronavirus from the same family as SARS ( Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which claimed hundreds of lives more than a decade ago.
During the upcoming holiday period, more than 1,300 passengers are expected to arrive in Thailand daily from Wuhan alone.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Mayor Bill de Blasio ( D) announced on Monday that New York City is implementing a vaccine mandate for private-sector employers.
Russia on Wednesday will send Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to the International Space Station.
This week’ s releases include revisiting a horror legend; a slasher version of a classic tale; a body switch movie from the vault and more.
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Honduras waiting for Israeli reciprocity for embassy move | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez said on Friday that his government would transfer its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem once Israel opens an embassy in Tegucigalpa.
Right-wing leader Hernandez announced the embassy move in August and a month later opened a commercial office in Jerusalem as an extension to Honduras ' Tel Aviv-based embassy.
Moving an embassy to Jerusalem is highly contentious. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians view east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
`` We're just waiting for the State of Israel, reciprocally as is appropriate diplomatically, to open its office in Tegucigalpa and we 'll be transferring our embassy to Jerusalem, '' said Hernandez.
Traditionally, most diplomatic missions in Israel have been in Tel Aviv as countries maintained a neutral stance over the status of Jerusalem.
Israel is currently represented in Honduras by its Guatemala embassy.
Guatemala was one of the first countries to follow the lead of US President Donald Trump when he moved his country's embassy to Jerusalem, sparking a rift between Washington and the Palestinian authorities.
Hernandez's statement came as Honduras took possession of a warship worth more than $ 50 million bought from Israel.
Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez said on Friday that his government would transfer its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem once Israel opens an embassy in Tegucigalpa.
Right-wing leader Hernandez announced the embassy move in August and a month later opened a commercial office in Jerusalem as an extension to Honduras’ Tel Aviv-based embassy.
Moving an embassy to Jerusalem is highly contentious. Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, while Palestinians view east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
“ We’ re just waiting for the State of Israel, reciprocally as is appropriate diplomatically, to open its office in Tegucigalpa and we’ ll be transferring our embassy to Jerusalem, ” said Hernandez.
Traditionally, most diplomatic missions in Israel have been in Tel Aviv as countries maintained a neutral stance over the status of Jerusalem.
Israel is currently represented in Honduras by its Guatemala embassy.
Guatemala was one of the first countries to follow the lead of US President Donald Trump when he moved his country’ s embassy to Jerusalem, sparking a rift between Washington and the Palestinian authorities.
Hernandez’ s statement came as Honduras took possession of a warship worth more than $ 50 million bought from Israel.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly will visit Kyiv next week to reaffirm support for Ukrainian sovereignty.
Dozens of freight cars are broken into every day on LA's railways by thieves who take advantage of the trains ' stops to loot packages...
Thousands of Trump supporters gathered in Arizona on Saturday to hear a raft of speakers claim the 2020 US election was stolen.
About 200 million Americans now likely have access to a COVID-19 digital vaccine card.
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Q & A: Emerging consensus for evidence-based brain training ( Includes interview) | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Over the past few years the importance of physical exercise has been stressed. Now it is the turn to stress the importance of the brain, in the form of brain training. Brain training ( or cognitive training) refers to a program of regular activities purported to maintain or improve a person’ s cognitive abilities.
To learn more about the value of brain training, Digital Journal caught up with neuroscientist Dr. Henry Mahncke, CEO of Posit Science, the maker of BrainHQ computerized brain exercises. BrainHQ is designed to act as a personal brain gym, utilizing digital technology.
Digital Journal: There used to be mixed messages on the value of brain training. Has that changed?
Dr. Henry Mahncke: There were good reasons for the mixed messages. A few years ago, a systematic review showed that most of the brain games and exercises in the market targeting seniors had no evidence of efficacy. In fact, our brain exercises in BrainHQ stood out as the only exercises the reviewers found that were validate in multiple “ high quality ” studies.
That said, in recent years, there’ s been a major shift among thought leaders toward recommending brain training – or, more properly, evidence-based brain training.
That includes recommendations in recent years from the Alzheimer’ s Association, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the American Academy of Neurology, the World Health Organization, and US Against Alzheimer’ s. Some of the 150+ studies of our training were cited in connection with such recommendations.
DJ: Has that shift in thought leader recommendations had much impact?
Mahncke: Absolutely. It has had a huge impact. Without a doubt it influenced a change in Medicare Advantage regulations that became effective last year and that now permits Medicare Advantage plans to provide BrainHQ to members without charge or co-pays.
That change has made brain exercises available to millions of seniors from their health plans. Thus far, Anthem, Care Partners, Kaiser Permanente, and United Health Group have offered BrainHQ through some or all of their Medicare Advantage plans.
DJ: Why are health plans adding this benefit?
Mahncke: I think, first, because the evidence is now in that it improves health outcomes; second, that while improving outcomes it also lowers healthcare costs; and third, that it engages plan members with a high degree of frequency. A large AARP survey found that brain health is actually the top concern of older adults, surpassing concerns about saving Medicare and Social Security, and in other surveys surpassing financial and relationship concerns. Addressing that concern seems to really resonate as a key differentiator in competing for new members and in retaining them.
DJ: Are there ways to get the BrainHQ exercises for free other than through your health plan?
Mahncke: I’ m happy to answer that, but first I’ d like to point out that we have really tried to make the exercises broadly available at low cost – from $ 8-14 per month depending on type of subscription.
You also can register online at brainhq.com or download the free BrainHQ app and do a few minutes of exercises every day for free, until you are ready to make a bigger time commitment.
In addition, BrainHQ is made available by the U.S. Department of Defense for free to every active duty soldier, sailor, airman, and marine through its MWR OneSource program. That benefit also is available to retired servicemembers. In addition, hundreds of local libraries make BrainHQ available to library patrons. Similarly, BrainHQ is available through many retirement communities, senior centers, and adult education programs at no or low cost. Most AAA auto clubs also offer a subset of BrainHQ exercises shown to improve driving ( called Drivesharp) at low cost, and in many states, AAA auto insurers provide it for free to older drivers, with a discount on insurance for completing the program.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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It's a moment that has been decades in the making. The James Webb Space Telescope successfully launched on Christmas morning.
Travelers at Los Angeles International Airport on December 24, 2021 - Copyright AFP ABBAS MOMANIOver 4,500 flights were cancelled around the world by Saturday...
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One dead, dozens injured at India bull-taming festival | Hi, what are you looking for?
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A villager was gored to death during a traditional bull-taming festival in southern India, underlining the dangers of the bloody sport.
P. Murugan, 40, was trampled Thursday by a running bull who was agitated by the noise of drums, a local police official told AFP.
`` Murugan tried to catch the bull but it trampled him to death, '' he said.
Bull-taming is extremely popular in rural pockets of Tamil Nadu where every year hundreds of men try to hold the hump of the beasts and run, as spectators cheer raucously at events held across the state.
As many as 66 men were injured in the city of Madurai, 37 of them bull tamers and the rest owners and spectators, local media reports said.
A female spectator was also injured when a bull hit her near the exit to a venue, the Press Trust of India reported.
Images showed men in colourful jerseys trying to grab the bulls who swayed their long horns and gnarled in fury.
India's Supreme Court had outlawed the practice in 2014 after a plea by animal rights groups.
However, the sport was reinstated in 2017 after days of massive protests following which the Tamil Nadu government stepped in and declared bull-taming was part of the state's culture and identity.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA), which has been campaigning for an end to the `` abusive '' practice, says its past investigations had revealed the bulls were treated with utmost cruelty.
`` Their tails were bitten, twisted, and yanked to force them to run towards the menacing crowd, '' it said in a report last year.
`` Panicked bulls fled onto village streets, injuring onlookers and even goring some to death. ''
A villager was gored to death during a traditional bull-taming festival in southern India, underlining the dangers of the bloody sport.
P. Murugan, 40, was trampled Thursday by a running bull who was agitated by the noise of drums, a local police official told AFP.
“ Murugan tried to catch the bull but it trampled him to death, ” he said.
Bull-taming is extremely popular in rural pockets of Tamil Nadu where every year hundreds of men try to hold the hump of the beasts and run, as spectators cheer raucously at events held across the state.
As many as 66 men were injured in the city of Madurai, 37 of them bull tamers and the rest owners and spectators, local media reports said.
A female spectator was also injured when a bull hit her near the exit to a venue, the Press Trust of India reported.
Images showed men in colourful jerseys trying to grab the bulls who swayed their long horns and gnarled in fury.
India’ s Supreme Court had outlawed the practice in 2014 after a plea by animal rights groups.
However, the sport was reinstated in 2017 after days of massive protests following which the Tamil Nadu government stepped in and declared bull-taming was part of the state’ s culture and identity.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA), which has been campaigning for an end to the “ abusive ” practice, says its past investigations had revealed the bulls were treated with utmost cruelty.
“ Their tails were bitten, twisted, and yanked to force them to run towards the menacing crowd, ” it said in a report last year.
“ Panicked bulls fled onto village streets, injuring onlookers and even goring some to death. ”
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
Despite the dangers of standing up to illegal loggers, fellow conservationists continue to work guarding the El Rosario monarch butterfly sanctuary.
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Queen Elizabeth II complained Wednesday about mobility issues, as she carried out her in-person official engagements.
Sneakers made from banana or pineapple leaves, dresses from nettles or fish scales -- the search for sustainable materials.
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Factors connected to recovery from anxiety identified | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The research focused on people diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. For this a large cohort was used, consisting of 2,000 people. Anxiety is widespread in most industrialized societies and there are multiple causes for the condition ( including neurochemicals such as serotonin and dopamine, which play crucial roles in cognitive and emotional functions of our brain).
University of Toronto scientists found that a key driver for recovery was emotional support. The data analysis revealed that anxiety sufferers who had at least one person in their lives who could provide a sense of emotional security and wellbeing to the affected person were three times more likely to be in excellent mental health compared with those who lacked access to such a confidant.
A second factor was found to be people who had strong religious or spiritual beliefs, in terms of being able to better cope with everyday difficulties. People who were more in-tune with such beliefs had 36 percent higher odds of good mental health compared with those who did not use spiritual coping mechanisms.
The third factor was being in good physical health, not having any mobility limitations, sleeping well and with not having a history of depression.
The study has been published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, where the research paper is titled “ Efficacy of vortioxetine in patients with major depressive disorder reporting childhood or recent trauma. ”
In related news, a large genomewide analysis of approximately 200,000 military veterans has identified six genetic variants linked to anxiety, researchers from Yale University have reported. Some of the genetic variants were found to be linked to genes that help govern gene activity or to a gene linked to the functioning of receptors for the sex hormone estrogen. The latter point may explain why women are more than twice as likely as men to suffer from anxiety disorders.
This research has been reported to the American Journal of Psychiatry ( “ Reproducible Genetic Risk Loci for Anxiety: Results From ∼200,000 Participants in the Million Veteran Program ”).
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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Nearly 10 years after Imad al-Hisso fled the civil war in Syria, he remains trapped in Gaza, a place he calls `` a prison. ''
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Spain's Balearic Islands crack down on alcohol-fuelled holidays | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Spain's Balearic Islands passed a bill Friday aimed at clamping down on alcohol-fuelled holidays in the Mediterranean archipelago which bans happy hours when drinks are offered a discount and open bars.
`` This is the first law adopted in Europe which restricts the sale and promotion of alcohol in certain touristic areas, '' the regional government of the Balearic Islands which have long been a magnet for young German and British tourists, who often drink heavily and enjoy rowdy late-night clubbing.
The restrictions will apply to three areas with a reputation for excess: San Antoni on the island of Ibiza and El Arenal and Magaluf -- which has been nicknamed `` Shagaluf '' because of its reputation for drunken casual sex -- on Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic's four islands.
The law, which was drawn up in consultation with the tourism industry also bans pub crawls and two-for-one drink offers, prohibits the sale of alcohol in shops between 9:30 pm and 8 am and forbids advertising party boats in the designated areas.
Establishments that break the new rules risk fines of up to 600,000 euros ( $ 669,000) and the threat of being closed down for three years.
The new law also takes aim at the so-called `` balconing '' craze, the term given to holidaymakers who decide to jump into a swimming pool from a hotel or apartment balcony, a stunt which claims several lives every year.
It bans `` balconing '' across the entire archipelago and requires hotels to evict anyone who does it. Those caught jumping from balconies face fines of up to 60,000 euros ( $ 67,000).
Up until now only some resorts on the Balearics imposed fines for `` balconing ''.
The regional government of the Balearics said the law, which stiffens measures already introduced in 2015, will `` fight excesses in certain tourist zones '' and `` force a real change in the tourism model of those destinations ''.
Magaluf made global headlines in 2014 after a video showing a young woman performing oral sex on several men on the dance floor of a nightclub went viral.
Local shops sell souvenir T-shirts with the catchphrase `` On it 'till we vomit ''.
The four islands which make up the Balearics -- Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera, received nearly fourteen million tourists in 2018, drawn by their crystal clear waters, and in many cases by all-inconclusive package holidays.
The archipelago is Spain's second most visited region. Spain is the world's second most visited country after France.
Spain’ s Balearic Islands passed a bill Friday aimed at clamping down on alcohol-fuelled holidays in the Mediterranean archipelago which bans happy hours when drinks are offered a discount and open bars.
“ This is the first law adopted in Europe which restricts the sale and promotion of alcohol in certain touristic areas, ” the regional government of the Balearic Islands which have long been a magnet for young German and British tourists, who often drink heavily and enjoy rowdy late-night clubbing.
The restrictions will apply to three areas with a reputation for excess: San Antoni on the island of Ibiza and El Arenal and Magaluf — which has been nicknamed “ Shagaluf ” because of its reputation for drunken casual sex — on Mallorca, the largest of the Balearic’ s four islands.
The law, which was drawn up in consultation with the tourism industry also bans pub crawls and two-for-one drink offers, prohibits the sale of alcohol in shops between 9:30 pm and 8 am and forbids advertising party boats in the designated areas.
Establishments that break the new rules risk fines of up to 600,000 euros ( $ 669,000) and the threat of being closed down for three years.
The new law also takes aim at the so-called “ balconing ” craze, the term given to holidaymakers who decide to jump into a swimming pool from a hotel or apartment balcony, a stunt which claims several lives every year.
It bans “ balconing ” across the entire archipelago and requires hotels to evict anyone who does it. Those caught jumping from balconies face fines of up to 60,000 euros ( $ 67,000).
Up until now only some resorts on the Balearics imposed fines for “ balconing ”.
The regional government of the Balearics said the law, which stiffens measures already introduced in 2015, will “ fight excesses in certain tourist zones ” and “ force a real change in the tourism model of those destinations ”.
Magaluf made global headlines in 2014 after a video showing a young woman performing oral sex on several men on the dance floor of a nightclub went viral.
Local shops sell souvenir T-shirts with the catchphrase “ On it’ till we vomit ”.
The four islands which make up the Balearics — Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera, received nearly fourteen million tourists in 2018, drawn by their crystal clear waters, and in many cases by all-inconclusive package holidays.
The archipelago is Spain’ s second most visited region. Spain is the world’ s second most visited country after France.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
A growing number of Western nations and cybersecurity groups have issued digital surveillance warnings for next month's Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Cloud ERP leader Acumatica to host annual summit on digital transformation success.
A man gets a Covid-19 jab at a vaccination station in Vienna on August 25, 2021; from February 2022, vaccinations against the virus will...
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the US embassy in Kyiv amid a standoff with Russia - Copyright AFP/File Mladen ANTONOVShaun TANDONThe...
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Second person dies from SARS-linked coronavirus in China | BEIJING – A second person has died in China from a mysterious SARS-linked virus that has stricken dozens and also been detected in Japan and Thailand, officials said.
Local authorities said a 69-year-old man died on Wednesday in Wuhan, the central Chinese city believed to be the epicenter of an outbreak of a coronavirus from the same family as the deadly SARS pathogen.
The outbreak has caused alarm because of the link with SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
At least 41 people have been hit with pneumonia linked to the new virus in China, prompting authorities in Hong Kong to step up detection measures, including temperature checkpoints for inbound travelers.
The Wuhan health commission said 12 people had recovered and been discharged from the hospital and five others were in serious condition.
The man who died had become sick on Dec. 31 and his condition worsened on Jan. 4, with pulmonary tuberculosis and multiple organ functions damaged, the commission said.
Two cases have been detected abroad — in Thailand and Japan — with health managers in both countries saying the patients had visited Wuhan prior to their hospitalizations.
Authorities in Wuhan said a seafood market was the center of the outbreak. It was closed on Jan. 1.
No human-to-human transmission of the virus behind the Wuhan outbreak has been confirmed so far, but the health commission has said the possibility “ can not be excluded. ”
A World Health Organization doctor has said that it would not be surprising if there was “ some limited human-to-human transmission, especially among families who have close contact with one another. ”
The WHO said Thursday that “ much remains to be understood about the new coronavirus. ”
Not enough was known about it to “ draw definitive conclusions about how it is transmitted, ” a statement added.
The Wuhan health commission said one man who had been diagnosed worked at Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, but his wife, who also had the virus, reported “ no history of exposure ” at the facility.
The woman diagnosed in Thailand had not reported visiting the seafood market, the WHO said on Tuesday. She was reported to be in stable condition earlier this week.
The patient in Japan, who was released from the hospital, had also not visited the market. Japanese officials said it was possible that the man had been in contact with a person infected with the virus while in Wuhan.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Level 1 “ Watch ” alert for travelers to Wuhan, saying they should practice normal precautions and avoid contact with animals and sick people.
The increase in fatalities from the mysterious disease also comes as China prepares for its busiest travel season of the year, when millions of people take buses, trains and planes for Lunar New Year next week.
After the second death was reported, online discussion spread in China over the severity of the Wuhan coronavirus — and how much information the government is hiding from the public.
Several complained about censorship of online posts, while others made comparisons to 2003, when Beijing drew criticism from the WHO for underreporting the number of SARS cases.
“ Scarier than panic is treating something too lightly, ” wrote one user on Weibo, the country’ s Twitter-like social media platform.
“ It’ s so strange, ” wrote another, citing the overseas cases in Japan and Thailand. “ They all have Wuhan pneumonia cases but we don’ t apart from Wuhan — is that scientific? ”
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. | tech |
Programa suizo enseña privacidad en línea a los niños | Para las autoridades suizas de protección de datos, los niños de apenas cuatro años deberían recibir formación sobre la seguridad y la privacidad de los datos, incluso antes de empezar a utilizar Internet.
El cantón de Zúrich publicó recientemente lo que podría ser el primer conjunto de materiales educativos sobre el tema para jardines de infancia y alumnos de primaria. El objetivo: inculcar la comprensión del derecho a la privacidad en los niños pequeños.
Los autores del programaEnlace externo dijeron que desde hacía tiempo se necesitaba una conversación con los niños sobre la privacidad, y que debería ir mucho más allá. Para ellos, se trata de un primer paso para defender la democracia de las amenazas del sometimiento a la vigilancia y la desinformación.
Los educadores necesitan poder abordar estos temas tan complejos con los niños pequeños. “ Tenemos que pensar qué tipo de secretos pueden tener los niños a esta edad ”, dijo Jürg FraefelEnlace externo, director del Centro de Aprendizaje Digital de la Universidad de Formación de Profesores de Zúrich ( PHZHEnlace externo). “ Tal vez alguien está enamorado, o alguien está siendo lastimado en casa ”.
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Los glaciares alpinos podrían desaparecer de aquí a finales del siglo. Las consecuencias se sentirán en toda Europa.
Fraefel dirigió el equipo del proyecto de 16 personas que integran el PHZH y la oficina de Protección de Datos del cantón de ZúrichEnlace externo. Ilustradores, diseñadores, ingenieros de audio, guionistas y otros especialistas contribuyeron al desarrollo de este material didáctico sobre seguridad de datos y privacidad.
El resultado, “ Los secretos están permitidos ” Enlace externo, está dirigido a niños de cuatro a nueve años, es decir, desde el jardín de infancia ( entre 4 y 6 años en el cantónEnlace externo), hasta la escuela primaria media. Por secretos se entiende los datos que se recogen de forma omnipresente en los teléfonos inteligentes y otros aparatos en la era digital.
Antes de que Internet se convierta en parte de su rutina, los educadores deben ayudar a los menores a establecer los hábitos correctos de su uso, argumenta Fraefel.
La necesidad de esta educación temprana en la privacidad digital es global. Según una investigaciónEnlace externo del Fondo de la ONU para la Infancia, UNICEF, un tercio de los usuarios de Internet a nivel mundial son niños, y la proporción es aún mayor en el hemisferio sur.
En Taiwán, la preocupación por la seguridad digital aumentó significativamente en los últimos años. Alrededor del 98% de los usuarios de Internet en la isla dijeron estar preocupados por las amenazas relacionadas con el hecho de estar en línea, según una encuesta del Centro de Información de Redes de Taiwán.
Los autores del informe advirtieron que los usuarios confiaban demasiado en los servicios de Internet y que, inadvertidamente, compartían demasiados datos personales con ellos. El 72% de los encuestados compartían esta preocupación.
Regístrese para recibir en su correo electrónico nuestro boletín semanal con una selección de los artículos más interesantes.
Todavía no existe una iniciativa similar sobre la privacidad en línea de los niños en Taiwán.
El llamado internet de las cosas está penetrando cada vez más en todos los rincones de la vida, y en todos los niveles de edad, permitiendo una conveniencia e interconexión sin precedentes. Pero también proporciona una gran cantidad de datos sobre nosotros a corporaciones en gran parte no reguladas.
En las escuelas, estos problemas son omnipresentes: se instalan más cámaras de vigilancia; más profesores exigen a los estudiantes que creen cuentas en línea.
En el sistema político suizo, muchos ven la democracia directa del país como una posible respuesta a la invasión de la privacidad. Consideran que el ciudadano tiene el poder de controlar las políticas del Gobierno y de asumir el papel de guardián para salvaguardar sus propios derechos. Confían en que ese control democrático pueda garantizar los límites del control y la vigilancia de los datos.
¿Pero qué pasa si la recolección de datos expone estos debates cívicos a la manipulación y al abuso?
“ No es fácil que la gente evalúe la información que recibe en estas plataformas sociales porque no hay transparencia acerca de quién recibe esta información y por qué ”, indicó Bruno Baeriswyl, el máximo responsable de la Protección de Datos del cantón de Zúrich. “ Hemos perdido el control. Ya no podemos decidir cuándo se publican nuestros datos ni dónde se publican, lo que significa que hemos perdido nuestra autodeterminación ”.
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Este contenido fue publicado el 09 sept. 2021 09 sept. 2021 ¿Se convertirá la COVID persistente en una amenaza para el sistema sanitario? La investigación todavía se enfrenta a distintos obstáculos.
En septiembre pasado, dos periodistas de Taiwán se unieron a swissinfo.ch durante una semana para informar en su país sobre Suiza. Los periodistas tuvieron la libertad de elegir lo que les pareció relevante para sus lectores. He aquí un reportajeEnlace externo de Jason Liu, redactor jefe de The ReporterEnlace externo, sobre la privacidad en Internet.
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Este contenido fue publicado el 30 ene. 2019 30 ene. 2019 Children in canton Zurich aged 4 to 9 could soon be learning about data protection and privacy issues, in one of the first projects of its kind.
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Este contenido fue publicado el 30 oct. 2019 30 oct. 2019 The Swiss government has approved a European agreement on personal data protection in a bid to meet international standards.
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Este contenido fue publicado el 20 nov. 2019 20 nov. 2019 Thirty years ago, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child presented its take on juvenile justice: a child is the best judge of his or her...
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Este contenido fue publicado el 23 may. 2019 23 may. 2019 Swiss schoolchildren are exposed to worryingly high levels of cyber-bullying, internet grooming, privacy violations, pornography and other...
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Este contenido fue publicado el 09 nov. 2018 09 nov. 2018 A third of young people in Switzerland have been approached online by an older stranger with undesirable sexual intentions, a survey has found.
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Este contenido fue publicado el 10 abr. 2018 10 abr. 2018 Nearly one in two Swiss primary school kids owns a smartphone, but their favourite activities remain playing outside, sports and meeting friends. | general |
Stevie Nicks to perform at 2020 Governors Ball in New York City | Hi, what are you looking for?
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This year’ s Governors Ball Music Festival will take place from June 5 to 7, 2020. In addition to Stevie Nicks, it will feature such performers as Tame Impala, Missy Elliott, Flume, Vampire Weekend, Solange, Miley Cyrus, Charly Bliss, and Carly Rae Jepsen, among others. This year there is a new age policy that states that any attendees under the age of 18 will need to be accompanied to the festival with an adult that is 21 years old or over.
Stevie Nicks was able to ring in the New Year 2020 n Nashville by joining country star Keith Urban on stage, as part of “ Jack Daniel’ s Music City Midnight: New Years. ”
In 2019, Nicks made music history becoming the first woman to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: as a member of Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist.
To learn more about Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Stevie Nicks and her upcoming 2020 tour dates, check out her official website.
Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 16,000 original articles over the past 15 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a five-time consecutive `` Best of Long Island '' winner, and in the past two years, he was honored as the `` Best Long Island Personality '' in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.
The startlingly rapid spread of Covid-19's Omicron variant has raised grave concern across the US.
Gas will soon be a thing of the past in New York City, thanks to a bill passed on Wednesday by the City Council.
At face value, Russia’ s demands on NATO are tension-raisers in the name of reducing tension.
The Netherlands announced a Christmas lockdown and London declared a `` major incident '' as Europe tries to rein in rising Covid-19 cases.
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'Simpsons ' actor says he 'll no longer voice Apu after controversy | Hi, what are you looking for?
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`` Simpsons '' actor Hank Azaria will no longer voice the Indian character Apu, US media reported, more than two years after accusations of racism marred the long-running animated series.
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is the manager of the show's Kwik-E-Mart convenience store and a mainstay of the TV comedy, which recently celebrated its 30th year on air.
He is voiced by white actor Azaria, whose marked accent for the role has been criticized by viewers, who have also accused writers of using Indian stereotypes in their treatment of the character.
`` What they're going to do with the character is their call, '' Azaria told US film news website SlashFilm on Friday. `` It's up to them and they haven't sorted it out yet. All we 've agreed on is I won't do the voice anymore. ''
Creators of `` The Simpsons '' found themselves under fire in late 2017 with the release of a documentary by comedian Hari Kondabolu, who interviewed fellow entertainers of Indian and South Asian origin to document their feelings about the character.
Both Azaria and `` Simpsons '' creator Matt Groening refused to appear in the documentary to answer questions.
But Azaria later told a reporter from the TMZ celebrity website that Kondabolu `` made some really interesting points '' and `` gave us a lot at 'The Simpsons ' to think about. ''
`` The Simpsons '' stars Homer, the family patriarch working for a nuclear power station, his wife and voice of reason Marge, and children Bart, Lisa and Maggie.
Since it first aired in 1989, the show has won more than 30 Emmys.
In its early years, the animated comedy regularly pulled in more than 15 million viewers and had double that -- 33 million -- for its most-watched episode in 1990.
It became so popular that references to the show have formed part of pop culture.
Declining audience figures had led to fears that it would not be renewed, but Fox committed to continue `` The Simpsons '' until at least a 32nd season in 2021.
“ Simpsons ” actor Hank Azaria will no longer voice the Indian character Apu, US media reported, more than two years after accusations of racism marred the long-running animated series.
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is the manager of the show’ s Kwik-E-Mart convenience store and a mainstay of the TV comedy, which recently celebrated its 30th year on air.
He is voiced by white actor Azaria, whose marked accent for the role has been criticized by viewers, who have also accused writers of using Indian stereotypes in their treatment of the character.
“ What they’ re going to do with the character is their call, ” Azaria told US film news website SlashFilm on Friday. “ It’ s up to them and they haven’ t sorted it out yet. All we’ ve agreed on is I won’ t do the voice anymore. ”
Creators of “ The Simpsons ” found themselves under fire in late 2017 with the release of a documentary by comedian Hari Kondabolu, who interviewed fellow entertainers of Indian and South Asian origin to document their feelings about the character.
Both Azaria and “ Simpsons ” creator Matt Groening refused to appear in the documentary to answer questions.
But Azaria later told a reporter from the TMZ celebrity website that Kondabolu “ made some really interesting points ” and “ gave us a lot at ‘ The Simpsons’ to think about. ”
“ The Simpsons ” stars Homer, the family patriarch working for a nuclear power station, his wife and voice of reason Marge, and children Bart, Lisa and Maggie.
Since it first aired in 1989, the show has won more than 30 Emmys.
In its early years, the animated comedy regularly pulled in more than 15 million viewers and had double that — 33 million — for its most-watched episode in 1990.
It became so popular that references to the show have formed part of pop culture.
Declining audience figures had led to fears that it would not be renewed, but Fox committed to continue “ The Simpsons ” until at least a 32nd season in 2021.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
There are two confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Ottawa, the Ontario government announced Sunday.
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Sweden's first female prime minister Magdalena Andersson, leader of the minority Social Democrats, was reappointed on Monday.
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Macron rushed from Paris theatre during protest | Hi, what are you looking for?
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French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife were rushed from a Paris theatre late Friday after protesters tried to burst in and disrupt the performance.
Riot police were out in force as dozens of people staged a demonstration outside the theatre where Macron and Brigitte were watching `` The Fly ''.
About 30 protesters tried to enter the building housing the renowned Bouffes du Nord theatre after some people in the audience tweeted the presence of France's first couple, presidential staff said.
The pair `` were secured '' for several minutes and later returned to their seats to finish watching the play, they said.
Police said they prevented the protesters from getting into the theatre in the 10th district of Paris, which lies several kilometres from the president's Elysee Palace's residence.
The Macrons, who occasionally slip out to enjoy a dinner or play in the French capital, finally left the theatre under police escort.
`` All together, general strike, '' protesters shouted during the stand-off with riot police that lasted around an hour.
The demonstration took place on the 44th day of a crippling strike against the Macron government's proposed pension reforms.
Though it is now easing, the strike has snarled train and metro traffic and caused misery for millions of commuters in Paris especially.
Macron's staff were defiant after Friday's events.
`` The president will continue to attend plays as he is used to doing. He will watch out to defend creative freedom to ensure it is not undermined by violent political acts, '' a Macron aide said.
Making few public appearances for weeks, Macron last mixed with the crowds when he visited the northern city of Amiens in November before his retirement reforms were announced.
The overhaul aims to forge a single pensions system from the country's 42 separate regimes, which offer early retirement and other benefits to public-sector workers as well as lawyers, physical therapists and even Paris Opera employees.
Critics say it will effectively force millions of people to work longer for a smaller pension.
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife were rushed from a Paris theatre late Friday after protesters tried to burst in and disrupt the performance.
Riot police were out in force as dozens of people staged a demonstration outside the theatre where Macron and Brigitte were watching “ The Fly ”.
About 30 protesters tried to enter the building housing the renowned Bouffes du Nord theatre after some people in the audience tweeted the presence of France’ s first couple, presidential staff said.
The pair “ were secured ” for several minutes and later returned to their seats to finish watching the play, they said.
Police said they prevented the protesters from getting into the theatre in the 10th district of Paris, which lies several kilometres from the president’ s Elysee Palace’ s residence.
The Macrons, who occasionally slip out to enjoy a dinner or play in the French capital, finally left the theatre under police escort.
“ All together, general strike, ” protesters shouted during the stand-off with riot police that lasted around an hour.
The demonstration took place on the 44th day of a crippling strike against the Macron government’ s proposed pension reforms.
Though it is now easing, the strike has snarled train and metro traffic and caused misery for millions of commuters in Paris especially.
Macron’ s staff were defiant after Friday’ s events.
“ The president will continue to attend plays as he is used to doing. He will watch out to defend creative freedom to ensure it is not undermined by violent political acts, ” a Macron aide said.
Making few public appearances for weeks, Macron last mixed with the crowds when he visited the northern city of Amiens in November before his retirement reforms were announced.
The overhaul aims to forge a single pensions system from the country’ s 42 separate regimes, which offer early retirement and other benefits to public-sector workers as well as lawyers, physical therapists and even Paris Opera employees.
Critics say it will effectively force millions of people to work longer for a smaller pension.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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The Chinese city of Xi'an, where 13 million residents are currently confined to their homes, announced tightened restrictions on Sunday.
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Coronavirus: what airport measures are in place to detect sick passengers? | International airports are stepping up screening for passengers exhibiting symptoms possibly connected with the previously unknown coronavirus that has infected nearly 50 people in China and caused two deaths there.
Three major US airports – San Francisco International Airport ( SFO), Los Angeles International Airport ( LAX) and John F Kennedy International Airport in New York ( JFK) – have announced they will screen travellers arriving from Wuhan. Passengers will be examined for symptoms of the pneumonia-like virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) said, with an additional 100 health workers deployed at the airports.
“ Investigations into this novel coronavirus are ongoing and we are monitoring and responding to this evolving situation, ” said Martin Cetron, the head of the CDC’ s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine.
“ On arrival to the United States, travellers from Wuhan may undergo health screening, including having their temperature taken and filling out a symptom questionnaire, ” CDC said on its website. Travellers with additional symptoms such as fever, cough or difficulty breathing will have an additional health assessment.
Wuhan Tianhe international airport said that a temperature checkpoint would be installed at the entrance of its main terminal and all passengers would be checked. Those found to have fevers would be placed under quarantine.
Authorities in Hong Kong have also stepped up detection measures, including temperature checkpoints for inbound travellers.
Thailand has been monitoring incoming passengers at four airports receiving daily flights from Wuhan, including Bangkok, Phuket, Don Mueang and Chiang Mai, since 3 January. Two people have died in Thailand from the virus. One was detected at Bangkok airport by thermal surveillance equipment.
Airports in Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea are also screening passengers from Wuhan, authorities said.
Indonesian authorities said they have stepped up screening at all points of entry in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The Philippines is scanning all passengers at seaports and airports and those with fever will be interviewed for any history of illness and whether they have traveled to Wuhan, the country’ s health secretary, Francisco Duque, said.
In Australia, the New South Wales and Victorian governments both issued alerts to health professionals about the virus, urging doctors to “ consider novel coronavirus infection in patients with fever and respiratory symptoms and travel to Wuhan City, China in the 14 days before illness onset ”.
The country’ s chief medical officer, Prof Brendan Murphy, said there was “ no current need for any travel advice in Australia ”.
“ It is important to note that the new coronavirus was acquired in one seafood market in Wuhan, China, which has been closed, with no new cases reported in the last week, ” Murphy said. “ There is no clear evidence of human to human transmission at this time. ”
Murphy added that Australia was following WHO recommendations and had mechanisms in place to screen and respond to unwell travellers at airports and other points of entry to the country.
The UK foreign office’ s website travel advice on China does not mention coronavirus.
Travel is unusually heavy right now as people take trips to and from China to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
The CDC said the airport screenings are part of an effort to better detect and prevent the virus from the same family of bugs that caused an international outbreaks of Sars and Mers that began in 2002 and 2012.
The WHO says entry screening “ offers little benefit, while requiring considerable resources ”. It suggests anyone with a respiratory illness should “ seek medical attention and share travel history with their health care provider ”. | general |
Op-Ed: Facial recognition is now a real threat and a real weapon | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Facial recognition has been around for a long time. Many people in the tech sector have recognized the dangers, and simply not added to the problem. Now, a company called Clearview has done the work of creating an uncontrollable monster. The New York Times has a long and very interesting, not to say horrifying, article on how Clearview has opened the floodgates for facial recognition. It’ s not just a database, as most facial recognition services now are. It actively searches and matches faces on social media or any other available sources. Clearview is being used by multiple US agencies already, and sooner or later it’ s likely to be hacked by anyone with a few minutes to spare. It’ ll go onto the black market, and anyone who wants to find anyone else will be able to do so. That’ s not good news for Clearview or other facial recognition spruikers. Their tech could be construed as a party to murders and other crimes. Stalking, for example, could be a lot easier. Dumber and dumbest? One of the reasons for not “ weaponizing ” facial recognition was that the risks were way too obvious. Clearview, in fact, barely scrapes the surface. There are other ways of managing facial data which could make it even worse, and I’ m not about to provide any information about that. This is quite bad enough without adding to it. Let’ s start with the “ dumber ” issues on the most basic levels: • Just having a big database is truly dangerous. The database puts anyone on it potentially at risk. • There are no real working laws to manage anyone’ s legal rights when it comes to facial recognition. In bizarre, politics-addled America, legal rights are either protected or destroyed, and there’ s usually no middle ground. • Facial recognition for the purposes of law enforcement or national security is by definition a type of legal identification in practical terms. If you arrest someone because they’ re a match, do you have the legal power to do so? You may well have that theoretical right, but the right to arrest can be contested. The basis for the contest would be “ How do you know the person you’ re looking for is my client? ” Evidence requirements go a lot further than just looking a lot like someone else. Expect a lot of expensive false arrest claims, at the very least. Everyone on Earth has a doppelganger. The recognition could and will find lookalikes. The dumbest side is much less impressive: • Let’ s just say your identity and location are major survival assets. This technology effectively ends any sort of personal security, even in this rather half-ass form. • The potential for abuse of facial recognition is almost unlimited. China already has its “ Social Credit ” system, which has effectively turned into a real time tracking system for the entire population. Clearview’ s tech can do pretty much the same thing. Dictators and political nutcases will love Clearview. • Given the psychopathic nature of American “ society ” and its adorable hate industry, Clearview is already a weapon. Any information about anyone is a potential risk. Any bets on how long it takes for something truly nasty to happen? • Brain-dead United States lawmakers are too comatose and too insular to act quickly. This is an election year, so it’ s all about bots, trolls and fake everything. Nothing will be done about this problem for quite a while. Is it fixable? Yes. There are fixes, but any laws will have to be tested. Information obtained by facial recognition must have legal status, to start with. If facial recognition is used as a method of accusation, that accusation must be obliged to prove its value as evidence. “ Any old picture of someone ” won’ t fly as evidence without corroboration. Any illegal use of facial recognition should be considered a crime in its own right. That’ s relatively easy, provided you can prove it contributed to an illegal action. The right to hold facial recognition data is questionable at best. In theory, it’ s a possible invasion of privacy simply because someone has it. In practice, it could be construed as a mix: ( a) pictures of someone published lawfully for public use aren’ t private, and ( b) any picture can be contested for privacy rights otherwise. In a world where lawmaking decisions are almost invariably as wrong as possible, it’ s asking a lot to expect facial recognition laws to be effective, or even realistic. That said, in a saner environment, risks can be accurately assessed and working laws can be made. Facial recognition tech isn’ t unbeatable Expecting no competence whatsoever from the law, there are other options. This tech is easily beatable, through its own data acquisition methods and something as basic as Photoshop. Anyone with a microscopic amount of technical knowledge could do it. It’ s not omnipotent, and certainly not omniscient. Clearview has taken on a truly deadly type of technology. It can expect to be targeted by good guys, bad guys, and sleazebags. The company has taken a ride on a legal monster, and I’ d say 10 of its 15 minutes of fame are already over before it gets buried by companies with much longer reach. The tech sector was right to avoid this type of facial recognition. It’ s dangerous. Don’ t expect to be thanked for letting this thing out of its cage. Neither the law nor the society are prepared for this level of intrusion. Some truly bad stuff could happen if someone gets nasty about being recognized. My advice would be to get the statute laws in place and don’ t market this tech to anyone without your own private legal protections in place. This advice is similar to “ Don’ t go looking for a cliff to drive over ”, but it has to be said. Meanwhile, expect fun and games as people get killed, arrested, etc. This is not going to be a pleasant experience for anyone.
Editor-at-Large based in Sydney, Australia.
There are two confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Ottawa, the Ontario government announced Sunday.
Drug and alcohol addiction treatment experts blame treatment services closing their doors to addicts during the pandemic.
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Existing Covid-19 jabs will struggle against the Omicron variant and it will take months to develop a new shot that works.
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Op-Ed: Government agency blurs anti-Trump messages in exhibit picture | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held on January 21, 2017, the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. While around 220,000 women had originally signed up to join the march, it ended up being the largest single-day protest in U.S. history, with an estimated 500,000 women protesting in Washington and over 2.5 million around the rest of the country.
According to organizers, the goal was to “ send a bold message to our new administration on their first day in office, and to the world that women’ s rights are human rights, ” reported NPR.org.
“ We want to ensure that this country knows women are not happy, ” co-founder Tamika Mallory said. “ And when we get angry, change happens. We make things happen. This effort is not anti-Trump, ” Mallory said. “ This is pro-women. This is a continuation of a struggle women have been dealing with for a very long time. In this moment, we are connecting and being as loud as possible. ”
There was a lot of anti-Trump sentiment expressed on many of the signs carried by protesters, perhaps with good reason. Many women were offended by the new president’ s remarks about women while on the campaign trail, as well as the 2005 Access Hollywood video that was released by the Washington Post in October 2016.
In the video, referring to beautiful women, Trump says: “ You know I’ m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It’ s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’ t even wait. And when you’ re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. ” He adds, “ Grab them by the p—–. ”
So, many women in the Washington march expressed their anger at the new president, with signs. By the way, the march was very peaceful, as were the marches held all across the United States and the world that day.
The National Archives blurs history In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, the National Archives opened a featured exhibit in the Museum’ s Lawrence F. O’ Brien Gallery – called Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote
The 49-by-69-inch photograph contrasts the large-scale march to a 1913 image of a women’ s suffrage march. The image – a reproduction of the photograph taken by Mario Tama for Getty Images appears to have something wrong with it. The signs held by protesters who were critical of Donald Trump have been altered.
Among the alterations is the blurring of the word “ Trump ” on a placard that reads “ God Hates Trump ” and the blurring of the same word in another sign that reads “ Trump & GOP — Hands Off Women. ” Words on other signs referencing female anatomy were also altered.
And according to Slate, The word “ vagina ” has been blurred from a sign that reads, “ If my vagina could shoot bullets, it’ d be less REGULATED ” while the word “ pussy ” has been removed from a sign that reads, “ This Pussy Grabs Back. ”
The National Archives responded to altering what is considered a piece of American history. “ As a non-partisan, non-political federal agency, we blurred references to the President’ s name on some posters, so as not to engage in current political controversy, ” Archives spokeswoman Miriam Kleiman said in an emailed statement.
“ Our mission is to safeguard and provide access to the nation’ s most important federal records, and our exhibits are one way in which we connect the American people to those records. Modifying the image was an attempt on our part to keep the focus on the records ”
The Archives also added that they removed words referencing women’ s genitals because they have students visiting the exhibits. The Archives was sure to note that David Ferriero, the archivist who was appointed by then-President Barack Obama in 2009, supported the decision.
“ There’ s no reason for the National Archives to ever digitally alter a historic photograph, ” Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley said. “ If they don’ t want to use a specific image, then don’ t use it. But to confuse the public is reprehensible. The head of the Archives has to very quickly fix this damage. A lot of history is messy, and there are zero reasons why the Archives can’ t be upfront about a photo from a women’ s march. ”
I really have to agree with Brinkly. History is not always pretty, in fact, most history is embarrassing to later generations and is quite often, objectionable to many. I’ m thinking about the images from the death camps taken at the end of WWII – or the image of the naked child running down a road in Vietnam with napalm burns covering parts of her body.
But history is also a teaching moment in time. It lets us know what was happening, and yes, it also tells a story, the people’ s story as seen through the eyes of the photographer. The National Archives needs to correct its mistake,
Karen Graham is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for environmental news. Karen's view of what is happening in our world is colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in man's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, `` Journalism is merely history's first draft. '' Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.
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Extinction Rebellion protest disrupts Brussels Motor Show | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Police in Brussels said they arrested around 150 people at the Brussels Motor Show on Saturday after Extinction Rebellion campaigners smeared cars with fake blood and staged die-ins around the displays.
The activists would be released once they had given their identity, a police spokesman told AFP.
In a statement, the group's Belgium wing said it had called the protest `` to correct the deceitful image the car industry portrays of itself.
`` This action of mass civil disobedience aims at denouncing the many lies which car manufacturers keep selling to the public to increase their sales at the cost of the environment, people's health and social justice, '' the statement added.
Some of the activists unfurled a banner reading `` Stop CO2 emissions '' at the main entry of the show, while others carried out protests at selected stands inside.
A few chained themselves to the steering wheel of cars on display or sprayed them with blood-coloured paint.
One group staged a protest at the stand occupied by oil giant Shell, holding placards reading `` Shell Kills '', while others wore masks made out of the company's logo or handed out leaflets.
Although the group followed its usual practice of spreading different actions at targeted locations, police officers managed to intercept and arrest some of the activists before they could enter.
An Extinction Rebellion spokesman, who identified herself only as Sarah, told AFP: `` We call it 'the Salon of Lies ' because we absolutely don't believe the automobile industry can bring solutions to this ecological and climate crisis.
`` It has already lied in the past, is still lying and will continue to lie to us if we don't stop it, '' she added, calling for a new model of transport that respected the ecological and social good.
Police in Brussels said they arrested around 150 people at the Brussels Motor Show on Saturday after Extinction Rebellion campaigners smeared cars with fake blood and staged die-ins around the displays.
The activists would be released once they had given their identity, a police spokesman told AFP.
In a statement, the group’ s Belgium wing said it had called the protest “ to correct the deceitful image the car industry portrays of itself.
“ This action of mass civil disobedience aims at denouncing the many lies which car manufacturers keep selling to the public to increase their sales at the cost of the environment, people’ s health and social justice, ” the statement added.
Some of the activists unfurled a banner reading “ Stop CO2 emissions ” at the main entry of the show, while others carried out protests at selected stands inside.
A few chained themselves to the steering wheel of cars on display or sprayed them with blood-coloured paint.
One group staged a protest at the stand occupied by oil giant Shell, holding placards reading “ Shell Kills ”, while others wore masks made out of the company’ s logo or handed out leaflets.
Although the group followed its usual practice of spreading different actions at targeted locations, police officers managed to intercept and arrest some of the activists before they could enter.
An Extinction Rebellion spokesman, who identified herself only as Sarah, told AFP: “ We call it ‘ the Salon of Lies’ because we absolutely don’ t believe the automobile industry can bring solutions to this ecological and climate crisis.
“ It has already lied in the past, is still lying and will continue to lie to us if we don’ t stop it, ” she added, calling for a new model of transport that respected the ecological and social good.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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Op-Ed: For England, Harry, and … Saint Media? | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The Royal family has an issue with that, but there’ s more to it. It’ s very unlikely that the real story about the Hexit/Megxit issue will ever emerge. Despite the fact that the Palace can and does occasionally give Britain’ s media a kick in the teeth, the media is a natural issue. The Royal family is stuck in the middle of this messy situation.
The UK tabloid media is to journalism what haemorrhoids are to ballet. It’ s not like every single member of the Royal family is exactly unaware of that fact. The problem is that while they will certainly empathize with Harry’ s feelings, the job involves putting up with the dubious quality and “ aesthetic hygiene ” of media exposure. In an ironic twist, News, the largest owner of media in the UK, has published an article stating that Harry and Meghan’ s departure will “ hurt ” the Royals. This included coverage of Harry’ s final official engagement, which, News dutifully reported, he did very well indeed. THAT’ S the problem. Harry isn’ t just another Royal. He’ s very good at being a Royal. He has an excellent personal image. When he came out to Australia after one of our catastrophic bushfire seasons, he was truly superb. He did and said everything perfectly, and he did connect with bushfire-battered communities like few people ever have. The Invictus Games were also a stunning success. He is a true asset to the Royal family because he’ s so extraordinarily good at it. Also like almost nobody else on Earth, Harry’ s grudge with the media is personal in a unique way. It’ s not like his older brother is any fan of theirs either. Losing their mother to a herd of hysterical idiot paparazzi wasn’ t a great introduction to UK media in any form, let alone its lowest form. They have made their displeasure well known. An opportunity? This raises a question – Charles has gone to extreme dogged lengths to update the Royals and show they’ re in touch. Diana, in her own unique way, did an excellent job in that regard. William and Harry have both done very well. Their grandmother keeps her eye in with various moves, including describing one person who was unwise enough to use the Queen’ s English in a way she described acidly as “ pompous ”; a truly lethal put-down, in anyone’ s language. So – Given the general insufferability of UK media, and the ongoing Royal efforts to not “ remain relevant ”, but BE relevant: Why not have Buckingham Palace change the ground rules for coverage? The Royals may be the only celebrities on Earth obliged to put up with this nonsense because they’ re in public office. Nobody else would tolerate the sheer vulgarity of the UK media, and the UK media knows it. They also know that the Royals don’ t like it, don’ t have to tolerate it, and can do quite a lot about it. Individual Royals could be more… picky, perhaps? The equation would be “ nutcase coverage = no interviews, no media opportunities, etc. ” ( I know “ nutcase coverage ” is overly polite, but it’ d take several thousand words of scatology to accurately describe it, otherwise.) There’ s another point here, in terms of media marketing. The old paparazzi culture is dying. It’ s barely marketable. Who goes out of their way to buy a picture which everyone else already has? It’ s hack media, and it’ s getting very stale. It’ s not like the public’ s infatuated with UK media’ s boorish boozers being obnoxious, either. The media has as usual shot itself in the foot in this regard, while the said foot is in its own mouth. Put it this way – The Royal family brings in a healthy few billion per year for the UK. The UK media merely increases sales of antihistamines among people able to read. If it’ s a choice, the Royals win. They’ re within their rights to insist on proper respect of both their offices and their privacy. Harry may have just found a perfectly good reason for the Royal family to put the UK’ s media vermin in their place. Nobody would mind a bit. One other thing – Sainthood is usually achieved by some form of grisly execution. Pity that’ s probably not going to happen, but if the tabloids insist on that status, a lawsuit from the top of the tree could achieve much the same thing. Just a thought. Who knows – If something is dropped on them from a sufficient height, maybe even the UK media might one day achieve some level of professionalism.
Editor-at-Large based in Sydney, Australia.
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Coronavirus cases could be grossly underestimated, study says | Authorities in China's Wuhan city have confirmed 45 cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus, which is in the same family as the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome ( MERS), but so far appears to be less lethal. Two people have died, Wuhan authorities say.
But the study, by Imperial College London, suggests that an estimated 1,723 people were likely to have been infected by January 12.
Officials in China have linked the viral infections to a Wuhan seafood and wildlife market, which has been closed since January 1 to prevent further spread of the illness.
Three travelers -- two now in Thailand and one in Japan -- who visited Wuhan but not the market have been infected with the virus, suggesting human-to-human transmission may be possible and raising concerns of the virus's further spread.
The number in the study is only an estimate and is based on several assumptions, including the number of cases that have been exported to Thailand and Japan, the number of people using Wuhan International Airport and the time it has taken for the infection to incubate.
Imperial College London's Neil Ferguson, a disease outbreak scientist, said that many aspects of the Wuhan coronavirus were `` highly uncertain. ''
`` However, the detection of three cases outside China is worrying. We calculate, based on flight and population data, that there is only a 1 in 574 chance that a person infected in Wuhan would travel overseas before they sought medical care. This implies there might have been over 1,700 cases in Wuhan so far, '' Ferguson told CNN.
`` There are many unknowns, meaning the uncertainty range around this estimate goes from 190 cases to over 4,000. But the magnitude of these numbers suggests that substantial human-to-human transmission can not be ruled out. Heightened surveillance, prompt information sharing and enhanced preparedness are recommended. ''
Three US airports will start screening passengers arriving from Wuhan to check for signs of the virus, such as coughing, difficulty breathing and high temperatures with the use of an infrared thermometer, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday.
The agency is deploying more than 100 people to carry out the screenings at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. Last year, more than 60,000 passengers arrived in the US from Wuhan, the vast majority coming through those three airports.
While the new virus has not shown death rates like MERS and SARS -- which infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774 in a pandemic that ripped through Asia in 2002 and 2003 -- so little is known about it that health authorities are calling for vigilance.
`` Much remains to be understood about the new coronavirus, which was first identified in China earlier this month. Not enough is known about 2019-nCoV to draw definitive conclusions about how it is transmitted, clinical features of disease, or the extent to which it has spread. The source also remains unknown, '' the World Health Organization said Friday. | business |
Driving Down Methane Leaks from the Oil and Gas Industry – Analysis | Sign In
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IEA ( 2021), Driving Down Methane Leaks from the Oil and Gas Industry, IEA, Paris https: //www.iea.org/reports/driving-down-methane-leaks-from-the-oil-and-gas-industry
Reducing methane emissions from oil and gas operations is among the most cost-effective and impactful actions that governments can take to achieve global climate goals. What’ s more, a growing number of jurisdictions recognise that regulatory action plays an important role alongside voluntary industry action.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with important implications for climate change. Although methane has a much shorter atmospheric lifetime than carbon dioxide ( CO2) – around 12 years, compared with centuries for CO2 – it absorbs much more energy while in the atmosphere. Thus, while methane tends to receive less attention than CO2, reducing energy-sector methane emissions will be critical for avoiding the worst effects of climate change.
The IEA estimates that the oil and gas sector emitted around 70 Mt of methane ( approximately 2.1 Gt CO2-eq) in 2020 – just over 5% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Early satellite data suggest that the incidence of large-scale leaks fell in 2020, although some of this likely stems from the major drops in production as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the IEA Sustainable Development Scenario ( SDS), emissions from this sector will need to fall to around 20 Mt per year by 2030 – a drop of more than 70% from levels in 2020.
This 70% reduction coincides with the amount that would be technically possible to abate, according to the IEA Methane Tracker. In addition, a significant share of these emissions can be abated at no net cost, because the value of the captured methane is sufficient to cover the cost of the abatement measure, i.e. there should already be an economic incentive to avoid the release of this gas to the atmosphere. The precise share of emissions that can be avoided at no net cost will undoubtedly vary from year to year and from region to region, with the prevailing gas price being a key variable. Natural gas prices in 2020 were a lot lower around the world than in previous years, so the share of abatement that pays for itself is lower than in previous years. But it will pick up again as natural gas prices rise.
There are a number of voluntary, industry-led efforts to reduce methane emissions, and a number of individual companies have announced methane reduction targets in the past year. Nevertheless, an immediate and significant change in ambition is needed to achieve the sorts of reductions that would be consistent with international climate objectives. While industry efforts can and should continue, government policy and regulation will be critical to removing or mitigating obstacles that prevent companies from getting started and going further.
The IEA’ s country-specific methane cost curves suggest that a significant number of abatement measures would pay for themselves, provided that the captured gas can be delivered to market and sold at the going market rate. Although this simple cost analysis suggests that companies should be willing to undertake some of these actions voluntarily, this is not necessarily the case in practice. Understanding what prevents companies in different countries and market contexts from undertaking actions that appear to be cost-effective is a vital starting point in the design of a regulatory approach to methane abatement.
There are three main types of barrier that explain why companies are not taking full advantage of these opportunities: information, infrastructure and investment incentives.
Information
There is a significant information gap in many companies about methane, regarding both its environmental impacts and, more specifically, the level and sources of emissions from company operations. There is also a lack of awareness in many cases about the abatement technologies that exist, their costs, and the benefits of capturing and using or selling gas that would otherwise be emitted. Even if senior management is aware of the risk of methane releases, this may not be reflected in the broader company culture and its operating practices so that the personnel on the ground, who are in a position to take action, are not doing so. Often this lack of information is an oversight; however, existing policies may also create a disincentive to obtaining full knowledge. For instance, in a jurisdiction that charges emitters a fee or tax based on volume of pollution emitted, companies may fear raising their compliance costs if they discover new sources of methane.
Infrastructure
In many cases, captured gas can be easily brought to market. However, in other cases, particularly where gas is co‑produced ( or “ associated ”) with oil, existing pathways or businesses may not exist to bring the gas to productive use. In these cases, it may be necessary to construct new infrastructure to bring the gas to a consumer, including new compression equipment, gathering pipelines and transmission pipelines, or liquefaction facilities. Methane abatement may falter without policies that require or incentivise productive use of natural gas.
Investment incentives
While context matters for corporate decision-making, all firms have limited capital to deploy. Thus, opportunities to invest in methane reduction must compete with other investment opportunities. Even where abatement is cost-effective, companies may opt to direct capital towards investments where a higher rate of return is possible. Moreover, abatement may seem less cost-effective as long as the environmental costs of pollution are not factored into the investment calculation. In addition, where the owner of the gas is not the owner of transmission infrastructure, there may be an issue of “ split incentives, ” whereby the pipeline company that pays to repair leaks sees the benefits accrue to the owner of the gas, from additional throughput. Finally, state-owned firms may not directly benefit from cost-saving measures because they return earnings to the government treasury, and then receive pre‑determined appropriations to cover operations.
Governments can address many of these barriers with policy and regulatory tools. If information poses a barrier, policies could include educational strategies, such as trainings; certificate programmes for workers; measures on monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions; reference to international voluntary corporate reporting standards; or initiatives to encourage knowledge-sharing and best practices. With respect to infrastructure, governments might introduce requirements in the planning stages of projects, directly invest in building new infrastructure or adopt policies that allow spreading of the development costs across multiple firms and end users. Governments may also be able to price environmental externalities or create financial incentives for onsite use of captured gas, expenditures in abatement technologies, or repair transmission equipment to remove barriers to investment.
The aim of these interventions is twofold. First, they can unlock the abatement measures that are already economically advantageous today, i.e. the methane leaks that can, in our view, be abated at no net cost. Second, they can facilitate and encourage actions that address the range of methane emissions that are technically possible to abate, i.e. the 70% reductions that are achieved in the Sustainable Development Scenario by 2030. To reach this level, it will not be enough to simply remove the barriers that prevent companies from acting on their own. Broader regulatory initiatives also have an important role to play. Firms are increasingly recognising this and are expressing interest in “ sound methane policies and regulations that incentivise early action, drive performance improvements, facilitate proper enforcement, and support flexibility and innovation. ” 1
Regulations calibrated to each jurisdiction’ s specific goals will be critical to ensuring that companies undertake the appropriate abatement actions alongside voluntary action by companies. There are many types of regulations, but what they all have in common is that they can fundamentally change the cost-benefit analysis for firms and drive them to internalise the societal cost of that pollution.
This report aims to provide a complete “ getting started ” guide for policy makers looking to develop new regulations to tackle oil and gas methane emissions within their jurisdictions. This guide consists of two companion pieces: a Regulatory Roadmap and a Regulatory Toolkit.
The Roadmap focuses on the process of establishing a new regulation. It details ten key steps in developing a new regulation and provides a step-by-step guide to aid regulators in gathering the information they need to design, draft and implement an effective regulatory scheme.
The Toolkit focuses on the content of methane regulations. It characterises the different regulatory approaches that are currently in use for methane, with appropriate links to the IEA Policies Database for specific examples. The aim of the Toolkit is to provide regulators with an encyclopedia of the different regulatory tools that are available to them as they craft new policies.
The IEA has identified ten steps that will assist regulators in selecting a regulatory approach and implementing a set of effective methane policies that match the local situation. Although presented sequentially here, these steps may be carried out in a different order, may take place concurrently, or may even be repeated once new data on emissions or new technologies become available.
A ten-step roadmap for policy makers
Step 1: Understand the legal and political context
Step 2: Characterise the nature of your industry
Step 3: Develop an emissions profile
Step 4: Build regulatory capacity
Step 5: Engage stakeholders
Step 6: Define regulatory objectives
Step 7: Select the appropriate policy design
Step 8: Draft the policy
Step 9: Enable and enforce compliance
Step 10: Periodically review and refine your policy
Across these steps, the process of implementing a new regulation unfolds in three distinct phases. The first phase takes place before any formal development of a regulatory proposal. It consists of an information-gathering exercise designed to equip policy makers with an understanding of how best to match policies and regulations to the institutional circumstances, existing regulatory framework, market context and emissions profile of the jurisdiction. This information-gathering phase corresponds to the first three steps of the Roadmap.
Once policy makers have gathered this information, the next phase involves designing and developing the regulatory proposal, taking care to enhance institutional capacity and engage with internal and external stakeholders. This regulatory development phase corresponds to Steps 4 through 8 of the Roadmap. At this stage, regulators should also consider the examples of different regulatory approaches that are collected in the Toolkit.
Even after a regulation is published, a great deal of work remains to ensure that it operates effectively. In the implementation phase, policy makers will need to assure compliance with requirements and develop a plan to update the regulation as needed. This corresponds to Steps 9 and 10. Note that although implementation does not begin until a regulation is finalised, policy makers should consider these steps at the drafting stage to build in compliance assurance and adaptive strategies from the start.
A growing number of jurisdictions have already recognised that regulatory action plays an important role in driving these actions in the oil and gas industry. Some governments have taken action; others have pledged to follow in the coming years. From our survey of early actions, we have developed a typology of regulatory approaches designed to demystify the complex web of regulations that exists in many countries. An introduction to this typology is outlined below, and the Toolkit section of this report provides specific examples for each approach.
Typology of regulatory approaches
The regulatory approaches that have been applied to methane can be categorised into four main types of regulatory approaches:
The table below illustrates each regulatory approach by describing its application to the replacement of “ high-bleed ” pneumatic controllers. These controllers, used for a variety of purposes across the oil and gas value chain, can represent a significant share of the industry’ s methane releases. For instance, according to the US greenhouse gas emissions inventory, emissions from these pieces of equipment represented about 25% of methane emissions from petroleum and natural gas systems in the United States.2
Regulatory approach
Definition
Example
Prescriptive
Prescriptive instruments direct regulated entities to undertake or not to undertake specific actions or procedures.
Operator is directed to replace pneumatic controllers with lower-emitting controllers by a certain date.
Performance- or outcome-based
Performance-based instruments establish a mandatory performance standard for regulated entities but do not dictate how the target must be achieved.
Operator is directed to achieve facility-wide methane reductions from a baseline. The operator then decides to replace the highest-emitting controllers because it is most cost-effective to target these pieces of equipment to meet the overall target.
Economic
Economic instruments induce action by applying penalties or introducing financial incentives for certain behaviours. This may include taxes, subsidies, or market-based approaches such as tradable emissions permits or credits.
Operator must pay a pollution tax for emissions. Alternatively, the operator may deduct the costs of replacing high-emitting equipment from its tax liabilities. Under either scenario, the operator may choose to replace the controller for financial reasons.
Information-based
Information-based instruments are designed to improve the state of information about emissions, and may include requirements that regulated entities estimate, measure and report their emissions to public bodies.
Operator is directed to report emissions of known high-emitting equipment or activities. In view of the volume quantified, the operator may choose to reduce rather than disclose emissions associated with pneumatic controllers.
Most jurisdictions with methane-specific oil and natural gas regulations have relied heavily on prescriptive requirements to achieve emissions reductions. This “ command and control ” approach focuses on directing the installation or replacement of specific pieces of equipment. For example, if a jurisdiction determines that many of its routine emissions come from “ high-bleed ” pneumatic valve controllers used across the oil and natural gas value chain, a prescriptive rule could direct operators to replace existing controllers with “ low-bleed ” or “ no-bleed ” alternatives, and prohibit installation of high-bleed equipment at new facilities.
National policies Provincial/state-level policies only
Definitions for each type of instrument can be found in the Policy Type Definitions section of this report. This table reflects entries in the IEA Policies Database as of 18 January 2020. We welcome feedback from jurisdictions regarding any updates to existing policies or on additional policies that are missing from the database.
By contrast, performance- or outcome-based requirements require firms to meet a specific emissions target for a specific piece of equipment or facility, but they do not specify how the firm must meet that target. For example, Mexico’ s 2018 regulation requires operators of existing facilities to establish and achieve six-year emissions reduction goals for each facility. Operators required to reduce emissions will look for the most cost-effective repairs and replacements across each facility. If some “ high-bleed ” controllers are contributing heavily to the overall emissions profile of the facility and can easily be replaced, operators will replace these controllers.
National policies Provincial/state-level policies only
Definitions for each type of instrument can be found in the Policy Type Definitions section of this report. This table reflects entries in the IEA Policies Database as of 18 January 2020. We welcome feedback from jurisdictions regarding any updates to existing policies or on additional policies that are missing from the database.
Some jurisdictions may opt to use economic instruments that deploy penalties or incentives to induce action. The simplest form of economic regulation would be a tax on emissions of methane. For the given example, this would in essence encourage a firm to “ replace valve controllers or pay for the methane that they emit. ” In response, an operator might prefer to replace the higher-emitting controllers rather than pay a methane tax. Norway’ s carbon tax, which covers methane emissions from offshore oil and gas facilities, represents this approach.
In contrast to policies that assess a penalty of sorts for emitting methane, a government may offer inducements or economic incentives to encourage abatement. An incentive rule might state, “ If you replace a valve controller, you can deduct the cost of the replacement from the royalties owed to the state. ” For example, Nigeria allows companies to deduct capital expenditures on equipment to capture associated gas from its profits, and to deduct royalties assessed on associated gas that is sold and delivered downstream.
National policies Provincial/state-level policies only
Definitions for each type of instrument can be found in the Policy Type Definitions section of this report. This table reflects entries in the IEA Policies Database as of 18 January 2020. We welcome feedback from jurisdictions regarding any updates to existing policies or on additional policies that are missing from the database.
One of the biggest hurdles to effective regulation of methane from the energy sector is the extent of uncertainty – about the magnitude of emissions, emissions sources and variability. Given this, a particularly fruitful approach might be information-based requirements. A rule might require firms to “ tag all high-emitting valve controllers and submit monthly reports on their emissions. ” For some operators, this may provide new insight into the magnitude of their emissions. Once they learn how much they are emitting, they may take voluntary action. If these emissions reports must be made public, this may also give rise to pressure on operators to reduce emissions from external stakeholders.
National policies Provincial/state-level policies only
Definitions for each type of instrument can be found in the Policy Type Definitions section of this report. This table reflects entries in the IEA Policies Database as of 18 January 2020. We welcome feedback from jurisdictions regarding any updates to existing policies or on additional policies that are missing from the database.
Many examples of these regulatory approaches are already in place. This guide relies heavily on these examples, drawn from the IEA Policies Database and categorised according to standardised Policy Type Definitions, in order to point regulators to real-world examples of these existing policy tools and related resources. These examples should be a primary resource for regulators following this guide, providing a source of inspiration and illustrating best practices.
Policy makers that have already established methane regulations have learned a great deal. This guide seeks to share those best practices and lessons learned in order to maximise the effectiveness of new regulations.
Policy and regulation can help countries meet emissions goals
Policy makers should not assume that the industry has the right incentives to stimulate voluntary action sufficient to address the methane problem. As noted above, a growing number of jurisdictions have recognised the importance of sound policy and regulation alongside voluntary action by industry. Even if industry may take some action on its own, not all of the necessary reductions will be cost-effective on their own, and policy and regulation can work to fundamentally change company incentives in this regard.
There are no one-size-fits-all solutions
A policy and regulatory regime will be most effective if it is tailored to a jurisdiction’ s local situation, including the political and regulatory context, the nature of the industry, the size and location of emissions sources, and the jurisdiction’ s policy goals. Different regulatory approaches have particular advantages and disadvantages that depend on circumstances that will vary across jurisdictions, and policy makers should take the time up front to understand how these circumstances play out within the local context. The steps outlined in the Roadmap are designed to help regulators understand these circumstances and make decisions on which approaches fit their situation best.
Better information can enable more efficient regulatory requirements
Performance-based requirements and economic instruments can produce more economically efficient outcomes by enabling an operator to identify the most cost-effective abatement options. However, these approaches often require a robust measurement and reporting regime to function properly. For instance, a methane tax can not be effectively enforced if no one knows how much methane is being emitted. Developing and implementing a robust measurement and reporting regime may take several years. For jurisdictions in the early stages of regulating methane, prescriptive standards may be the best option until a robust measurement and reporting regime is in place.
However, countries do not need to wait for better data to take action
Fortunately, prescriptive requirements can be effective at reducing emissions in their own right. Moreover, they can serve as a useful first step on the path to more flexible and economically efficient regulations because they are relatively simple to administer and do not require an accurate baseline understanding of the level of emissions or a robust measurement and estimation regime. Therefore, a starting point for jurisdictions regulating methane for the first time might be to combine prescriptive requirements on known `` problem '' sources with a monitoring programme that detects `` super‑emitters '' using satellite or inspection data and requires companies to address them as they arise. Over time, it may be possible to incorporate aspects of other approaches into a primarily prescriptive regime, such as broad facility or company level targets that complement other requirements.
Critically, this path is well worn. Policy tools adequate to address methane emissions already exist, in one form or another. Regulators following this guide and drawing on the different resources available will be equipped with the information needed to decide among the available approaches, and ultimately, to execute that vision.
This guide is divided into two main components, the Roadmap and the Toolkit. The Regulatory Roadmap treats in detail each of the ten steps highlighted above and identifies key considerations and decision points for each step. The steps are presented sequentially, but will generally prove to be modular, with feedback loops and iterations between different stages of policy making. Feel free to focus on the steps that you have greatest interest in and skip steps that you have already mastered.
Next, the Regulatory Toolkit presents different elements of policy making to support regulators throughout the policy development and implementation phases. It discusses general regulatory strategies, providing further detail on the four general regulatory approaches described above and illustrating their use through examples of current methane regulations. As with the Roadmap steps, each topic is intended to be modular and stand-alone, and you may wish to refer to aspects of the Toolkit as you walk through the Roadmap steps.
Principle number 4 from the Methane Guiding Principles, a voluntary initiative that brings together industry and non‑industry organisations in support of methane emissions reductions.
See US Environmental Protection Agency ( 2020), Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2018, table number 3-38.
Principle number 4 from the Methane Guiding Principles, a voluntary initiative that brings together industry and non‑industry organisations in support of methane emissions reductions. | general |
Security expert on Manor ISD $ 2.3 million phishing email scam ( Includes interview) | Hi, what are you looking for?
By
Published
In January 2020 it was reported there were three individual fraudulent transactions across the Manor Independent School District occurred. These were as a result of a phishing scam. CBS reports that the scam took place during November 2019.
According to Newsweek, the school district said there are “ strong leads ” in the case. However, the investigation is ongoing. Further details about the scam have yet to provided.
Wendt’ s point-of-view about this type of cyberattack is that educational and government institutions must do more in order to mitigate the risk of future scams of a similar nature.
Greg Wendt is Executive Director of Texas ( U.S.), based Appsian, a company that specializes in enterprise resource management data security. The company has many customers in education ( such as Cornell University and PennState) plus several in state and local government ( such as the State of Ohio and Lane County Oregon).
Discussing the attack on the Texan education network, Wendt explains that: “ Phishing attacks such as this are sophisticated, meticulously planned, and strategically executed leaving very little time to react. It is unfortunate that in this case the phishing scam was able to recur three times and resulted in millions lost. ”
In terms of how the school area should respond going forwards, the analyst says that prevention is key: “ In order to mitigate the risk of phishing scams moving forth, Manor Independent School District must implement a custom security strategy that provides fine-grained user access control. ”
Discussing the critical cybersecurity options hat need to be put into place, Wendt adds: “ By deploying adaptive Multi-Factor Authentication, organizations are able to significantly enhance security with additional user authentication – both at login and inside an application. Contextual controls also mitigate cyber risk by adapting policies in accordance with changing context of user access. Furthermore, by deploying granular logging and real-time analytics, an organization gains comprehensive insights into user activity. ”
He concludes his review of the phishing scam by stating: “ When armed with actionable data, Manor Independent School District can identify suspicious activity immediately and take remedial measures before an attack results in costly damages. ”
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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Finally, the world is getting concerned about data privacy |
Before US presidential news and the COVID-19 coronavirus took over the press, privacy was one of the major topics, with frequent questions around how much data the large social media companies should have, and what uses were appropriate for those data. Companies were even citing privacy as driving financial challenges, with DNA testing companies like 23andMe citing increased awareness around privacy as driving a downward sales trend.
Like many societal trends, privacy seems to operate like a pendulum, swinging to one extreme before hitting an apex and swinging in the opposite direction with increasing quickness. The audacity of some uses of personal data, from marketing tools that seem to bombard your social media feeds with ads for a product merely by uttering its name aloud, to the DNA testing companies that were happily providing data to police and others without prior consent, seems to have finally pushed consumers too far.
SEE: 5 things developers should know about data privacy and security ( TechRepublic)
Companies have long been on the right side of the law in terms of privacy, and have had fairly wide latitude in the data that they are allowed to capture about their customers and employees despite recent moves to impose limitations with rules like the European Union's GDPR.
However, the law and what's right are not always in lockstep, and what may be permissible from a legal perspective can ultimately become detrimental to your ability to attract and retain customers and employees. It's easy to get bogged down in the nuances of what's permissible from a legal perspective, and there are obvious benefits to knowing the most intimate details of your constituents ' purchasing habits, location, associations, and movements.
SEE: Cheat sheet: Facebook Data Privacy Scandal ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
Before phoning up the nearest lawyer, apply some simple checks and balances. Perhaps the simplest is the `` newspaper '' or `` mom '' test. Imagine a national newspaper writing a front-page story about how you're capturing and using customer and employee data, or having to explain to your mom what you're doing with her personal data. Would you feel comfortable having the details of what you're capturing expressed in clear terms rather than buried in a Terms and Conditions document, or hidden in an employment clause? Would the news be kind to the protections you 've put in place to guard these data, and would they come across as robust and appropriate, based on the sensitivity of what you're capturing?
With consumers growing increasingly sensitive about the data that are gathered about them, and how those data are used, some companies have made privacy a core feature of their products. Apple is one of the leading examples in the consumer space, and it's quite easy for the company to market itself as `` different '' when its key competitors are in the news on a near-daily basis for gathering, reselling, and exploiting customer data.
SEE: How an IBM social engineer hacked two CBS reporters -- and then revealed the tricks behind her phishing and spoofing attacks ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
Even if you are not directly responsible for developing data-driven products, how your company gathers employee data could be billed as a benefit to employment with your company, and might be the `` tilt factor '' that allows your company to win in a competitive labor market. Interestingly, this `` feature '' of employment at your organization might even come with a negative price tag in that abandoning tools and employee time dedicated to monitoring and capturing employee actions can actually save money.
It's astounding to witness some of the technical gymnastics employed by companies to do things like prevent copying and pasting an email, ignoring the fact that nearly every human on the face of the earth has a camera in their pocket that can disseminate information to millions in a matter of milliseconds. If you're so concerned about employees sharing sensitive information then clearly you have several HR issues that are not going to be solved by locking down features on your employees ' workstations.
There will always be malcontents and mistakes, but if you assume that the people you 've vetted and trusted to handle company information appropriately might actually do so, you may find that your trust is rewarded with increased loyalty, retention, and job satisfaction.
SEE: What is fileless malware and how to you protect against it? ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
I believe we're at the cusp of a privacy revolution of sorts. Devices like personal computers and smartphones that were once perceived as deeply personal are now regarded suspiciously with a growing awareness that they're serving some other master than their owners, exploiting our actions to sell us more stuff, or accomplish more nefarious ends.
Whether we as leaders are creating new products or merely keeping the technology lights on at our organizations, it's worth acknowledging these concerns, and with some savvy moves we might even be able to use this trend to our advantage.
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U.S. to Screen Passengers from Wuhan, China for New Virus | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention teams will test incoming passengers for a new virus, and those showing symptoms will be quarantined.
On January 17, 2020, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) dispatched teams to three U.S. airports that have flights coming from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. The three airports are New York's JFK, San Francisco International Airport, and Los Angeles's LAX, which receive a connecting flight from Wuhan.
This is the peak travel season between the U.S. and China due to the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on January 25, 2020. Wuhan City is the epicenter of a new coronavirus called 2019 nCoV. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness in people and animals, such as camels, cats, and bats.
There have been 45 cases of the new virus in China, with two people dying, and there have been three cases outside China, two in Thailand, and one in Japan.
The CDC teams will screen incoming passengers for fever and respiratory symptoms. Anyone showing symptoms will be quarantined until they can be tested for the virus.
Symptoms of coronaviruses include cough, runny nose, sore throat and fever, and some coronaviruses lead to pneumonia. An example of a coronavirus is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS). Between November 2002 and July 2003, an outbreak of SARS in southern China spread to 37 countries and caused 8,098 cases with 774 deaths.
According to the World Health Organization ( WHO), SARS has a 9.6% fatality rate. No cases of SARS have been reported worldwide since 2004. In late 2017, Chinese scientists determined that the SARS virus originated in cave-dwelling horseshoe bats in Yunnan province, then spread to civet cats before spreading to people.
Another coronavirus is the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome ( MERS), which was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012. This is an especially deadly coronavirus with a mortality rate of 36%. It also arises from bats, then spreads to camels before spreading to people.
As of April 4, 2017, there have been about 2,000 cases of MERS. A strain of the disease known as HCoV-EMC/2012 was found in 2012 in a person in London, and a large outbreak occurred in the Republic of Korea in 2015.
Chinese health authorities have posted the full genome of `` 2019-nCoV '' in GenBank, the National Institute of Health's ( NIH) genetic sequence database. They have also posted it to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data ( GISAID) site.
The initial cases in China had links to an animal market in Wuhan, which suggests an animal-to-person spread. Later patients reported no exposure to the animal market, which suggests a person-to-person spread.
As for the disease spreading to the United States, an NBC News article quoted the director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, saying, `` we're concerned any time there is a new virus or new pathogen emerging in a population that hasn't seen it before. What it means is that populations don't have existing immunity, and we don't have specific treatments or vaccines. ''
Messonnier went on to say, `` I think it's highly plausible that there will be at least one case in the United States. That's the reason we're moving forward so quickly with this screening. ''
Currently, testing for this virus must take place at CDC.
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The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It | Until recently, Hoan Ton-That’ s greatest hits included an obscure iPhone game and an app that let people put Donald Trump’ s distinctive yellow hair on their own photos.
Then Mr. Ton-That — an Australian techie and onetime model — did something momentous: He invented a tool that could end your ability to walk down the street anonymously, and provided it to hundreds of law enforcement agencies, ranging from local cops in Florida to the F.B.I. and the Department of Homeland Security.
His tiny company, Clearview AI, devised a groundbreaking facial recognition app. You take a picture of a person, upload it and get to see public photos of that person, along with links to where those photos appeared. The system — whose backbone is a database of more than three billion images that Clearview claims to have scraped from Facebook, YouTube, Venmo and millions of other websites — goes far beyond anything ever constructed by the United States government or Silicon Valley giants.
Federal and state law enforcement officers said that while they had only limited knowledge of how Clearview works and who is behind it, they had used its app to help solve shoplifting, identity theft, credit card fraud, murder and child sexual exploitation cases.
Until now, technology that readily identifies everyone based on his or her face has been taboo because of its radical erosion of privacy. Tech companies capable of releasing such a tool have refrained from doing so; in 2011, Google’ s chairman at the time said it was the one technology the company had held back because it could be used “ in a very bad way. ” Some large cities, including San Francisco, have barred police from using facial recognition technology.
But without public scrutiny, more than 600 law enforcement agencies have started using Clearview in the past year, according to the company, which declined to provide a list. The computer code underlying its app, analyzed by The New York Times, includes programming language to pair it with augmented-reality glasses; users would potentially be able to identify every person they saw. The tool could identify activists at a protest or an attractive stranger on the subway, revealing not just their names but where they lived, what they did and whom they knew.
And it’ s not just law enforcement: Clearview has also licensed the app to at least a handful of companies for security purposes.
“ The weaponization possibilities of this are endless, ” said Eric Goldman, co-director of the High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University. “ Imagine a rogue law enforcement officer who wants to stalk potential romantic partners, or a foreign government using this to dig up secrets about people to blackmail them or throw them in jail. ”
Clearview has shrouded itself in secrecy, avoiding debate about its boundary-pushing technology. When I began looking into the company in November, its website was a bare page showing a nonexistent Manhattan address as its place of business. The company’ s one employee listed on LinkedIn, a sales manager named “ John Good, ” turned out to be Mr. Ton-That, using a fake name. For a month, people affiliated with the company would not return my emails or phone calls.
While the company was dodging me, it was also monitoring me. At my request, a number of police officers had run my photo through the Clearview app. They soon received phone calls from company representatives asking if they were talking to the media — a sign that Clearview has the ability and, in this case, the appetite to monitor whom law enforcement is searching for.
Facial recognition technology has always been controversial. It makes people nervous about Big Brother. It has a tendency to deliver false matches for certain groups, like people of color. And some facial recognition products used by the police — including Clearview’ s — haven’ t been vetted by independent experts.
Clearview’ s app carries extra risks because law enforcement agencies are uploading sensitive photos to the servers of a company whose ability to protect its data is untested.
The company eventually started answering my questions, saying that its earlier silence was typical of an early-stage start-up in stealth mode. Mr. Ton-That acknowledged designing a prototype for use with augmented-reality glasses but said the company had no plans to release it. And he said my photo had rung alarm bells because the app “ flags possible anomalous search behavior ” in order to prevent users from conducting what it deemed “ inappropriate searches. ”
In addition to Mr. Ton-That, Clearview was founded by Richard Schwartz — who was an aide to Rudolph W. Giuliani when he was mayor of New York — and backed financially by Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist behind Facebook and Palantir.
Another early investor is a small firm called Kirenaga Partners. Its founder, David Scalzo, dismissed concerns about Clearview making the internet searchable by face, saying it’ s a valuable crime-solving tool.
“ I’ ve come to the conclusion that because information constantly increases, there’ s never going to be privacy, ” Mr. Scalzo said. “ Laws have to determine what’ s legal, but you can’ t ban technology. Sure, that might lead to a dystopian future or something, but you can’ t ban it. ”
Mr. Ton-That, 31, grew up a long way from Silicon Valley. In his native Australia, he was raised on tales of his royal ancestors in Vietnam. In 2007, he dropped out of college and moved to San Francisco. The iPhone had just arrived, and his goal was to get in early on what he expected would be a vibrant market for social media apps. But his early ventures never gained real traction.
In 2009, Mr. Ton-That created a site that let people share links to videos with all the contacts in their instant messengers. Mr. Ton-That shut it down after it was branded a “ phishing scam. ” In 2015, he spun up Trump Hair, which added Mr. Trump’ s distinctive coif to people in a photo, and a photo-sharing program. Both fizzled.
Dispirited, Mr. Ton-That moved to New York in 2016. Tall and slender, with long black hair, he considered a modeling career, he said, but after one shoot he returned to trying to figure out the next big thing in tech. He started reading academic papers on artificial intelligence, image recognition and machine learning.
Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Ton-That met in 2016 at a book event at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. Mr. Schwartz, now 61, had amassed an impressive Rolodex working for Mr. Giuliani in the 1990s and serving as the editorial page editor of The New York Daily News in the early 2000s. The two soon decided to go into the facial recognition business together: Mr. Ton-That would build the app, and Mr. Schwartz would use his contacts to drum up commercial interest.
Police departments have had access to facial recognition tools for almost 20 years, but they have historically been limited to searching government-provided images, such as mug shots and driver’ s license photos. In recent years, facial recognition algorithms have improved in accuracy, and companies like Amazon offer products that can create a facial recognition program for any database of images.
Mr. Ton-That wanted to go way beyond that. He began in 2016 by recruiting a couple of engineers. One helped design a program that can automatically collect images of people’ s faces from across the internet, such as employment sites, news sites, educational sites, and social networks including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and even Venmo. Representatives of those companies said their policies prohibit such scraping, and Twitter said it explicitly banned use of its data for facial recognition.
Another engineer was hired to perfect a facial recognition algorithm that was derived from academic papers. The result: a system that uses what Mr. Ton-That described as a “ state-of-the-art neural net ” to convert all the images into mathematical formulas, or vectors, based on facial geometry — like how far apart a person’ s eyes are. Clearview created a vast directory that clustered all the photos with similar vectors into “ neighborhoods. ” When a user uploads a photo of a face into Clearview’ s system, it converts the face into a vector and then shows all the scraped photos stored in that vector’ s neighborhood — along with the links to the sites from which those images came.
Mr. Schwartz paid for server costs and basic expenses, but the operation was bare bones; everyone worked from home. “ I was living on credit card debt, ” Mr. Ton-That said. “ Plus, I was a Bitcoin believer, so I had some of those. ”
By the end of 2017, the company had a formidable facial recognition tool, which it called Smartcheckr. But Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Ton-That weren’ t sure whom they were going to sell it to.
Maybe it could be used to vet babysitters or as an add-on feature for surveillance cameras. What about a tool for security guards in the lobbies of buildings or to help hotels greet guests by name? “ We thought of every idea, ” Mr. Ton-That said.
One of the odder pitches, in late 2017, was to Paul Nehlen — an anti-Semite and self-described “ pro-white ” Republican running for Congress in Wisconsin — to use “ unconventional databases ” for “ extreme opposition research, ” according to a document provided to Mr. Nehlen and later posted online. Mr. Ton-That said the company never actually offered such services.
The company soon changed its name to Clearview AI and began marketing to law enforcement. That was when the company got its first round of funding from outside investors: Mr. Thiel and Kirenaga Partners. Among other things, Mr. Thiel was famous for secretly financing Hulk Hogan’ s lawsuit that bankrupted the popular website Gawker. Both Mr. Thiel and Mr. Ton-That had been the subject of negative articles by Gawker.
“ In 2017, Peter gave a talented young founder $ 200,000, which two years later converted to equity in Clearview AI, ” said Jeremiah Hall, Mr. Thiel’ s spokesman. “ That was Peter’ s only contribution; he is not involved in the company. ”
Even after a second funding round in 2019, Clearview remains tiny, having raised $ 7 million from investors, according to Pitchbook, a website that tracks investments in start-ups. The company declined to confirm the amount.
In February, the Indiana State Police started experimenting with Clearview. They solved a case within 20 minutes of using the app. Two men had gotten into a fight in a park, and it ended when one shot the other in the stomach. A bystander recorded the crime on a phone, so the police had a still of the gunman’ s face to run through Clearview’ s app.
They immediately got a match: The man appeared in a video that someone had posted on social media, and his name was included in a caption on the video. “ He did not have a driver’ s license and hadn’ t been arrested as an adult, so he wasn’ t in government databases, ” said Chuck Cohen, an Indiana State Police captain at the time.
The man was arrested and charged; Mr. Cohen said he probably wouldn’ t have been identified without the ability to search social media for his face. The Indiana State Police became Clearview’ s first paying customer, according to the company. ( The police declined to comment beyond saying that they tested Clearview’ s app.)
Clearview deployed current and former Republican officials to approach police forces, offering free trials and annual licenses for as little as $ 2,000. Mr. Schwartz tapped his political connections to help make government officials aware of the tool, according to Mr. Ton-That. ( “ I’ m thrilled to have the opportunity to help Hoan build Clearview into a mission-driven organization that’ s helping law enforcement protect children and enhance the safety of communities across the country, ” Mr. Schwartz said through a spokeswoman.)
The company’ s main contact for customers was Jessica Medeiros Garrison, who managed Luther Strange’ s Republican campaign for Alabama attorney general. Brandon Fricke, an N.F.L. agent engaged to the Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren, said in a financial disclosure report during a congressional campaign in California that he was a “ growth consultant ” for the company. ( Clearview said that it was a brief, unpaid role, and that the company had enlisted Democrats to help market its product as well.)
The company’ s most effective sales technique was offering 30-day free trials to officers, who then encouraged their acquisition departments to sign up and praised the tool to officers from other police departments at conferences and online, according to the company and documents provided by police departments in response to public-record requests. Mr. Ton-That finally had his viral hit.
In July, a detective in Clifton, N.J., urged his captain in an email to buy the software because it was “ able to identify a suspect in a matter of seconds. ” During the department’ s free trial, Clearview had identified shoplifters, an Apple Store thief and a good Samaritan who had punched out a man threatening people with a knife.
Photos “ could be covertly taken with telephoto lens and input into the software, without ‘ burning’ the surveillance operation, ” the detective wrote in the email, provided to The Times by two researchers, Beryl Lipton of MuckRock and Freddy Martinez of Open the Government. They discovered Clearview late last year while looking into how local police departments are using facial recognition.
According to a Clearview sales presentation reviewed by The Times, the app helped identify a range of individuals: a person who was accused of sexually abusing a child whose face appeared in the mirror of someone’ s else gym photo; the person behind a string of mailbox thefts in Atlanta; a John Doe found dead on an Alabama sidewalk; and suspects in multiple identity-fraud cases at banks.
transcript
From The New York Times, I’ m Michael Barbaro. This is “ The Daily. ”
Today: A secretive company promising the next generation of facial recognition software has compiled a database of images far bigger than anything ever constructed by the U.S. government. The Daily’ s Annie Brown speaks to reporter Kashmir Hill about whether the technology is a breakthrough for law enforcement or the end of privacy as we know it.
It’ s Monday, February 10.
Kashmir, how did this story come to you?
So I got an email. It was a Wednesday morning. I was checking my phone. And it was from a tipster who had gotten a bunch of documents from police departments. And one of the police departments had sent along this memo about a private company that was offering a radical new tool to solve crimes using facial recognition.
And what would make a facial recognition tool radical?
So law enforcement has for years had access to facial recognition tools. But what this company was offering was unlike any other facial recognition tools that police have been using, because they had scraped the open web of public photos — from Facebook, from Venmo, from Twitter, from education sites, employment sites — and had a massive database of billions of photos. So the pitch is that you can take a picture of a criminal suspect, put their face into this app and identify them in seconds.
And when you read this memo, what do you make of what this company is offering?
So I’ ve been covering privacy for 10 years, and I know that a technology like this in public hands is the nightmare scenario.
This has been a tool that was too taboo for Silicon Valley giants who were capable of building it. Google in 2011 said that they could release a tool like this, but it was the one technology they were holding back because it could be used in a very bad way.
And why exactly is this kind of technology this line in the sand that no one will cross? What makes it so dangerous?
So imagine this technology in public hands. It would mean that if you were at a bar and someone saw you and was interested in you, they could take your photo, run your face through the app, and then it pulls up all these photos of you from the internet. It probably takes them back to your Facebook page. So now they know your name, they know who you’ re friends with, they can Google your name, they can see where you live, where you work, maybe how much money you make. Let’ s say you’ re a parent and you’ re walking down the street with your three-year-old. Somebody can take a photo of you and know where the two of you live. Imagine you’ re a protester in the U.S. or in a more authoritarian regime. All of a sudden they know everything about you, and you can face repercussions for just trying to exercise your political opinions. If this app were made publicly available, it would be the end of being anonymous in public. You would have to assume anyone can know who you are any time they’ re able to take a photo of your face.
And so that technology is what this company is pitching these police departments?
Exactly.
And what do you know about this company at this point?
So at this point, all I really know is that the company is called Clearview AI. And so the first thing I do is Google it. And I find their website, which is clearview.ai. And the website is pretty bare, but there’ s also an office address listed there, 145 West 41st Street, which happens to be just a couple of blocks from The New York Times office.
Right.
So I decided to walk over there, and there just is no 145 West 41st Street. So that was weird. So now I have this company that’ s offering this radical new tool —
It’ s got a fake address.
It’ s got a fake address, which is a huge red flag.
So what you do next?
I found the company on LinkedIn. It only had one employee listed, a sales manager named John Good, which —
John Good.
John Good. It seemed like it could also be fake. And I sent that person a LinkedIn message and never heard back. So one of the things I find online is a website called PitchBook that lists investments in start-ups. And so it says that this Clearview AI has received $ 7 million from a venture capital firm and from Peter Thiel — you know, a big name in Silicon Valley, invested in Facebook and Palantir. So I reach out to his spokesperson, and he says I’ ll get back to you. I never hear from him again. And then one day, I open up Facebook, and I have a message from a friend whose name I don’ t recognize. And he says, hey, I hear you’ re looking into Clearview AI. I know them. They’ re a great company. How can I help?
And you don’ t know who this guy is?
I don’ t. I mean, it’ s a guy I met once 10 years ago. And somehow he knows that I’ m looking into this company. But I’ ll take it. You know, finally —
Right!
— somebody wants to talk to me about Clearview AI. And so I say, hey, can I give you a call? And then he doesn’ t respond, which I’ m getting used to.
You just can’ t catch a break.
I know. I’ m like, I can not believe this is another dead end.
So phone and email are not working for me. So I just need to figure out another door to knock on to try to talk to a real human being. And one of the investors in the company is this venture capital firm that has an office in Bronxville, New York. So on a cold, rainy Tuesday, I got on the train and headed to Bronxville. I get to the company’ s address. It’ s just like in a retail space. And go inside. There’ s this long, quiet hallway of office suites, and this venture capital firm is at the very end. And I knock on the door, and there’ s no one there. So I start trying to talk to their neighbors, and a woman who works next door says, oh yeah, they’ re never here. So I’ m walking down the stairs to go back out of the building, and two guys walk through the door. They’ re both in dark suits with lavender and pink shirts underneath, and they just kind of look like V.C.s to me. So I say, hey, are you with this venture capital firm? And they say, we are. Who are you? And I was like, I’ m the New York Times reporter who’ s been trying to get in touch with you. And they said, the company has told us not to talk to you. And I said, well I’ ve come all the way out to Bronxville. Can we just chat for a little bit? And they say, O.K. If probably helps that I’ m very pregnant, and they offered me water. And they just start telling me everything.
And what do they tell you?
They confirm that they’ ve invested in Clearview AI and that Peter Thiel has also invested. They identified the genius coder behind the company, this guy named Hoan Ton-That. And they say he’ s Vietnamese royalty but he’ s from Australia. And they also tell me that Hoan is the one that was using the fake name John Good on LinkedIn.
He’ s John Good.
He’ s John Good.
And they confirm that law enforcement is already using the app. And that law enforcement loves it and that it’ s spreading like wildfire.
Wow.
So I’ ve learned some stuff from these two investors, but no one from the company is talking to me still. So in the meantime, I am also reaching out to law enforcement, because I want to know if this app really works as well as the company claims. By this point, I had learned that over 600 law enforcement agencies had tried the app, including the Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I.
Wow. It’ s not just local police departments. This is being used by the federal government already.
Yeah, I mean, I was just shocked to discover how easily government agencies can just try a new technology without apparently knowing much about the company that provides it. So I talked to a retired police chief from Indiana, who was actually one of the first departments to use the app. And they solved a case within 20 seconds, he said.
A case they hadn’ t been able to solve?
That they hadn’ t been able to solve. One of the officers told me that he went back through like 30 dead-end cases that hadn’ t had any hits on the government database, and he got a bunch of hits using the app. So they were really excited about it.
This is way more effective than what they were using before.
Exactly. With the government databases they were previously using, they had to have a photo that was just a direct full-face photo of a suspect — like mug shots and driver’ s license photos. But with Clearview, it could be a person wearing glasses, or a hat, or part of their face was covered, or they were in profile, and officers were still getting results on these photos.
Wow.
But the most astounding story I was told was that investigators had this child exploitation video, and there was an adult who was visible in the video just for a few seconds in the background. So they had this person’ s face. They had run it through their usual databases and not gotten anything back. But then they ran his face through Clearview’ s app, and he turned up in the background of someone else’ s gym selfie. You could see his face in the mirror. And so they figured out what gym this photo was taken out. They went to the gym. They asked the employees, do you know who this is? And the employee said, we can’ t tell you. We have to protect our members’ privacy. But then later, the detectives got a text from somebody who worked there identifying the person. And that — I mean, that’ s just something that would not have been possible without Clearview’ s app.
So because officers were telling me the tool works so well, I wanted to see it for myself, on myself. And I asked them if they would run my photo through the app. But every time I did this, things would get weird. The officers would tell me that they ran my photo and there were no results.
No pictures of you?
There were no pictures of me, which was really weird, because I have a lot of photos of myself online. And then officers would just stop responding to me or talking to me. And I had no idea what was going on until one officer was kind enough to explain to me.
Hello, how are you.
Hey. It’ s Kashmir.
Yes, hi. Mm-hmm.
I’ m keeping this officer anonymous because he could get in serious trouble for talking to me so openly about Clearview.
If you could just describe yourself, to the extent that you can describe yourself.
I’ m a police officer at a large metropolitan police department.
So he’ s a cop who was doing a 30-day free trial of the app. And he was really impressed with it. So I asked him if he wouldn’ t mind running my photo.
And what did he tell you happened when he sent your picture through?
Yeah, nothing. I didn’ t get a response at all.
No results?
No results. And within a couple of minutes of me putting your photo up there — maybe five, less than 10 — I got a phone call from the Clearview company. They wanted to know why I was uploading a New York Times reporter’ s photo.
That is so wild. I don’ t know. [ LAUGHS ] It creeps me out as a reporter. I mean yeah, it just —
It kind of creeped me out as a user.
So this implied that Clearview flagged my face in their system such that they got an alert when a police officer ran my face. Which I found —
Wow.
— very alarming, because this is telling me for the first time that this company is able to monitor who law enforcement is looking for, and not just know who they’ re looking for, but manipulate the results. And so then that made me go back to the earlier officers who had run my photo. And they all confirmed, yes, I got a call from the company, and they said, we’ re not supposed to be talking to the media.
So were you able to keep using the app after that?
My account was deactivated.
Did you ever get access back?
I never did. But I have colleagues that have access. So if I were to need a picture searched, I could just email it to them and they can email me the results.
And you think the trade-offs are worth it, in terms of what the company has access to?
Do I think it’ s worth it? So from a law enforcement perspective, it’ s worth it. We get a lot of cases, and we don’ t usually have a lot of leads. And so anything that can — honestly, anything that can help us solve a crime is a win for us. From a privacy perspective, it’ s rather frightening the amount of information that they were able to get and provide. As long as they’ re doing it for the right reasons, then everything will work out. Let’ s put it that way.
But the problem is we don’ t know anything about the company at this point. We don’ t know if there’ s any kind of oversight. We don’ t know who the people are that are operating this and what their intentions are with their product. The person in charge of the company won’ t talk to me. But then, it’ s the end of December when I get a call from the company’ s spokeswoman. And she says that the founder, Hoan Ton-That, is ready to talk.
We’ ll be right back.
Do you have a hard stop?
No I don’ t actually. 12:30.
12:00 noon.
Oh, 12:00 noon.
I have no hard stop.
Oh.
And I have lots of questions, so I’ ll take as much time as you can give me.
So Kashmir, you finally got an interview with the founder of Clearview, this man named Hoan Ton-That. Where do you meet him?
So we met in a WeWork in Chelsea. He came down to the lobby.
You like New York, you’ re going to stay here?
Oh, yeah.
And his appearance surprised me, because I had Googled him online and there are a lot of photos of him. And he’ s usually pretty eccentric — like a lot of paisley shirts, he’ s at Burning Man.
Let’ s go to the back room.
But in person he was very conservative. He was in this dark blue navy suit with a white button-up and leather shoes. So he looked very much like the security start-up entrepreneur.
He was looking the part.
He was looking the part.
When were you born? How old are you?
‘ 88, so I’ m 31.
O.K.
And what do you learn about him?
So he is 31. He grew up in Australia, but you can’ t hear that in his voice.
I love computers, obviously.
Yeah, so how did you get interested in technology?
We had a computer, of course, when I was four or five years old.
So his family got a computer when he was three or four, and he was always tinkering with computers growing up.
We got the internet when I was 10, I think. And then you could discover all these things online. But Linux, I was like I have to get this thing. It’ s the nerdiest thing ever. I convinced my dad. We installed it, and I would spend the whole summer reinstalling and learning Linux stuff, staying home from high school and learning programming for fun. So that’ s — I just really liked it.
He enrolled in college, decided to drop out like many technologists do, and moved to San Francisco when he was 19.
— 2007, before it was a big thing, right? It was kind of getting there, but it wasn’ t huge.
This is 2007, and this is kind of a boom time. The iPhone has just come out.
That’ s the Facebook app era. Remember that?
Yeah.
People are becoming millionaires by making Facebook games. And he wants to be the next big app guy.
Being there is a lot different from reading about it online. You absorb a lot more of how people get things done. And you learn a lot more secrets.
What did he built?
So the Facebook apps were like “ would you rather ” apps and kind of like romantic GIFs.
Did Some of the first iPhone games as well.
One of his most recent apps was called Trump Hair, and it was an app for adding Trump’ s hair to your photos.
That’ s it?
That’ s it. The tagline was, “ It’ s gon na be yuge! ”
O.K. [ LAUGHS ] So how do you move from a Donald Trump hair app to something that seems like it could revolutionize police work?
Well, he moved to New York. And that seemed to be a big change for him. And he started meeting very different people. And one of the most important people he met was Richard Schwartz.
I ended up meeting Richard at a party.
This 61-year-old guy who worked for Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 1990s. He was just very politically connected.
I really loved that. He had a lot of stories. And then we talked for an hour about different ideas. Because I was like, this is what I do — technology. I can make anything. And it went from there.
And the two of them decided, with Hoan Ton-That’ s tech know-how and Richard’ s Rolodex, that they want to try to start a facial recognition company together.
And why facial recognition? Why did the two of them choose that?
I think it was because Hoan had started reading a lot of papers about facial recognition and machine learning.
I had never really studied AI stuff before, but I could pick up a lot of it.
And I think they realized they could make money doing it.
What would you say, in terms of the range of ideas at first, what were you thinking?
A lot. I could go on, really crazy, but —
There’ s a lot of face recognition algorithms out there, and a lot that work pretty well. What was different about what Hoan Ton-That and Richard Schwartz were doing is they had been willing to scrape all of these photos from the internet. So they just had a huge database of photos.
Right, the billions of photos.
Exactly.
And then we had this point where we got to 99 percent accuracy. I remember that, it was just in the office. And he was like, wow, it works. Try that one again. Try that one again. And just every time, it would pick the right person out. And that’ s when we knew, this is crazy. This actually works.
Is that legal? Can you just take photographs from anywhere on the internet and use them for this kind of thing?
There was a ruling in a federal court this fall that said, yeah, this kind of public scraping seems to be legal.
And what are they hoping to do with this software at this point?
I mean, they’ re just trying to figure out how they can make money off of the app. And so they eventually end up settling on law enforcement.
And they start solving cases from grainy A.T.M. photos, cases they would’ ve never solved. So this spread to different departments, and then from one agency to other agencies.
And do you ask him about that thing that happened with the officer who couldn’ t find your photos?
Yeah, so that was one of my questions, and I wasn’ t entirely satisfied by his answer.
So —
One thing that surprised me — some of the officers I talked to tried to run my photo through it, and they got no hits. And I tons of photos online.
[ LAUGHS ] It must have been a bug.
Did you guys block me from like getting results?
I don’ t know about that.
Because I was like, this doesn’ t make any sense.
He said, oh yeah, that was a software bug. But he laughed.
I was like, I have 1,000 photos online. This can’ t work as well as they say it works.
Yeah, well, it must have been a bug in the software or something.
[ LAUGHS ] Why did you do that? It totally made me think that —
Hey, maybe it doesn’ t work. You never know, right? This could be the long con.
Ah, O.K.
I’ m kidding, I’ m kidding. It works.
What do you think that was about?
[ LAUGHS ] I don’ t think it was a software bug.
It’ s a bug. I don’ t know. I —
You have no idea, huh?
Huh.
Yeah. So he said the software bug is now fixed.
Oh yes, so I’ ll show you. This is the iPhone version.
And he took a photo of me.
Oh, it does work.
Oh, that’ s so surprising.
I know.
And there, the results included a bunch of photos of me online.
Oh my god, I totally forgot.
Well, we can take —
That’ s 10 years ago.
Including some I had never seen before.
Some of these photos I didn’ t know were online.
So he’ s just brushing off this weird thing that happened to you. But do you get the sense that he’ s thinking at all about privacy?
So I asked him, you know, this is a very powerful app. And I asked him what restrictions is he thinking about for it. And he said, one, that they were only selling it to law enforcement right now, though it does turn out that they’ re also selling it to a few private companies for security purposes. But he said they wouldn’ t sell it to bad actors or bad governments.
— and our philosophy is basically, if it’ s a U.S. based — or like a democracy or an ally of the U.S. — we will consider it. But like, no China, no Russia or anything that wouldn’ t be good. So if it’ s a country where it’ s just governed terribly or whatever, I don’ t know if we’ d feel comfortable selling to certain countries.
So it doesn’ t sound like he has much of a rubric for deciding who to sell to. And it sounds like there’ s no one really overseeing how he’ s making these decisions.
At this point, it’ s just up to Clearview to decide who they want to sell the app to.
No pressure, but when we talk to some venture capitalists, they’ re like, “ Why don’ t you make this consumer? Law enforcement is such a small market. You won’ t make that much money. ” And we’ ve considered it, and we’ re just like, what’ s the use case here? And right now, we catch, help catch pedophiles. What if a pedophile got access to this, goes around the street, runs —
But when I was talking to one of their investors, he says, we want to dominate the law enforcement market, and then we want to move into other markets like hospitality, like real estate. And he predicted that one day, all consumers will have access to this app.
Um, and —
I can tell you that one of your investors hopes that you guys are going to go into the consumer market.
Well, yeah. He talks too much. But like, we’ re not — we’ re not going to do that. I just don’ t —
Hoan seems to be saying, yeah, there’ s pressure on us to sell to private consumers, but we’ re not going to do that. And how reasonable is it to think that he has control or the company has control at this point over where this technology goes?
I mean, one point that I made when I was talking to him is that oftentimes, the tools that law enforcement use end up in the hands of the public.
I just — I personally feel like you guys have opened the door to now this becoming more normalized, just because a lot of tools that law enforcement have eventually make their way into public hands.
Not always. Not everyone has a gun. [ LAUGHS ] Right? That would be —
Anyone who wants one can get one in the U.S. basically, but —
His response was strange. He said, well, look at guns. Law enforcement has guns, but not everybody has a gun. And I don’ t know if that’ s because he’ s from Australia?
Yeah, he’ s proving your point, in a way.
[ LAUGHS ] It did seem like he was proving my point, rather than rebutting it.
We’ ve been building the technology to make this possible for years now. Facebook building this huge database of our photos with our names attached to it, advances in image recognition and search technologies, it all led us here. But there’ s been no accompanying regulation or rules around how the technology should be used. There’ s no real law or regulation that makes this illegal. The scraping seems to be O.K. We don’ t have a big ban on facial recognition. We don’ t need to give consent for people to process our faces. And so in terms of holding this tool back, we’ re just relying on the moral compasses of the companies that are making this technology and on the thoughtfulness of people like Hoan Tan-That.
But yeah, what do you think about that? Do you think that this is too dangerous a tool for everybody to have?
I have to think about that and really get back to you on an answer, because it’ s a good question.
Yeah.
I’ ve thought about it a little bit.
You haven’ t thought about it? You have?
I have, I have. But I need to really come up with a good answer for that. Honestly like, yeah.
Thanks, Kashmir.
Thank you.
Since Kashmir began reporting on Clearview AI, several major social media companies including Facebook, Twitter and Venmo have demanded that the company stop using photos scraped from their websites. But it’ s unclear what, if any, power those social media companies have to force Clearview to comply. A few weeks ago, the state of New Jersey barred law enforcement from using Clearview’ s technology, but police remain free to do so in 49 other states.
We’ ll be right back.
Here’ s what else you need to know today. President Trump has begun a campaign of retribution against witnesses in the impeachment inquiry, firing Gordon Sondland, his ambassador to the European Union, who called the president’ s actions toward Ukraine a quid pro quo. And Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a member of the National Security Council, who expressed alarm over the president’ s phone call with the leader of Ukraine. The Times reports that several Republican senators urged Trump not to fire the witnesses, fearing it would send a dangerous message, but that the president ignored their advice. And the global death toll from the coronavirus has reached more than 800, surpassing that of the SARS epidemic, which killed 774 in 2003. The number of confirmed infections from the coronavirus now stands at more than 37,000. Finally, new polling in New Hampshire, which will hold its primary tomorrow, shows Mayor Pete Buttigieg neck-and-neck with Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden slipping into fourth place.
Vice President Biden, the first question is for you. In the last few days, you’ ve been saying that Democrats will be taking too big a risk if they nominate Senator Sanders or Mayor Buttigieg, but they came out on top in Iowa. What risks did the Iowa Democrats miss?
The poll, conducted by The Boston Globe, WBZ and Suffolk University suggest Buttigieg is benefiting from a strong performance in the Iowa caucuses and that Biden may perform poorly for the second time in a row, a prediction Biden confirmed during Friday night’ s debate on ABC.
Oh, they didn’ t miss anything. This is a long race. I took a hit in Iowa, and I’ ll probably take it here.
That’ s it for “ The Daily. ” I’ m Michael Barbaro. See you tomorrow.
In Gainesville, Fla., Detective Sgt. Nick Ferrara heard about Clearview last summer when it advertised on CrimeDex, a list-serv for investigators who specialize in financial crimes. He said he had previously relied solely on a state-provided facial recognition tool, FACES, which draws from more than 30 million Florida mug shots and Department of Motor Vehicle photos.
Sergeant Ferrara found Clearview’ s app superior, he said. Its nationwide database of images is much larger, and unlike FACES, Clearview’ s algorithm doesn’ t require photos of people looking straight at the camera.
“ With Clearview, you can use photos that aren’ t perfect, ” Sergeant Ferrara said. “ A person can be wearing a hat or glasses, or it can be a profile shot or partial view of their face. ”
He uploaded his own photo to the system, and it brought up his Venmo page. He ran photos from old, dead-end cases and identified more than 30 suspects. In September, the Gainesville Police Department paid $ 10,000 for an annual Clearview license.
Federal law enforcement, including the F.B.I. and the Department of Homeland Security, are trying it, as are Canadian law enforcement authorities, according to the company and government officials.
Despite its growing popularity, Clearview avoided public mention until the end of 2019, when Florida prosecutors charged a woman with grand theft after two grills and a vacuum were stolen from an Ace Hardware store in Clermont. She was identified when the police ran a still from a surveillance video through Clearview, which led them to her Facebook page. A tattoo visible in the surveillance video and Facebook photos confirmed her identity, according to an affidavit in the case.
Mr. Ton-That said the tool does not always work. Most of the photos in Clearview’ s database are taken at eye level. Much of the material that the police upload is from surveillance cameras mounted on ceilings or high on walls.
“ They put surveillance cameras too high, ” Mr. Ton-That lamented. “ The angle is wrong for good face recognition. ”
Despite that, the company said, its tool finds matches up to 75 percent of the time. But it is unclear how often the tool delivers false matches, because it has not been tested by an independent party such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a federal agency that rates the performance of facial recognition algorithms.
“ We have no data to suggest this tool is accurate, ” said Clare Garvie, a researcher at Georgetown University’ s Center on Privacy and Technology, who has studied the government’ s use of facial recognition. “ The larger the database, the larger the risk of misidentification because of the doppelgänger effect. They’ re talking about a massive database of random people they’ ve found on the internet. ”
But current and former law enforcement officials say the app is effective. “ For us, the testing was whether it worked or not, ” said Mr. Cohen, the former Indiana State Police captain.
One reason that Clearview is catching on is that its service is unique. That’ s because Facebook and other social media sites prohibit people from scraping users’ images — Clearview is violating the sites’ terms of service.
“ A lot of people are doing it, ” Mr. Ton-That shrugged. “ Facebook knows. ”
Jay Nancarrow, a Facebook spokesman, said the company was reviewing the situation with Clearview and “ will take appropriate action if we find they are violating our rules. ”
Mr. Thiel, the Clearview investor, sits on Facebook’ s board. Mr. Nancarrow declined to comment on Mr. Thiel's personal investments.
Some law enforcement officials said they didn’ t realize the photos they uploaded were being sent to and stored on Clearview’ s servers. Clearview tries to pre-empt concerns with an F.A.Q. document given to would-be clients that says its customer-support employees won’ t look at the photos that the police upload.
Clearview also hired Paul D. Clement, a United States solicitor general under President George W. Bush, to assuage concerns about the app’ s legality.
In an August memo that Clearview provided to potential customers, including the Atlanta Police Department and the Pinellas County Sheriff’ s Office in Florida, Mr. Clement said law enforcement agencies “ do not violate the federal Constitution or relevant existing state biometric and privacy laws when using Clearview for its intended purpose. ”
Mr. Clement, now a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, wrote that the authorities don’ t have to tell defendants that they were identified via Clearview, as long as it isn’ t the sole basis for getting a warrant to arrest them. Mr. Clement did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The memo appeared to be effective; the Atlanta police and Pinellas County Sheriff’ s Office soon started using Clearview.
Because the police upload photos of people they’ re trying to identify, Clearview possesses a growing database of individuals who have attracted attention from law enforcement. The company also has the ability to manipulate the results that the police see. After the company realized I was asking officers to run my photo through the app, my face was flagged by Clearview’ s systems and for a while showed no matches. When asked about this, Mr. Ton-That laughed and called it a “ software bug. ”
“ It’ s creepy what they’ re doing, but there will be many more of these companies. There is no monopoly on math, ” said Al Gidari, a privacy professor at Stanford Law School. “ Absent a very strong federal privacy law, we’ re all screwed. ”
Mr. Ton-That said his company used only publicly available images. If you change a privacy setting in Facebook so that search engines can’ t link to your profile, your Facebook photos won’ t be included in the database, he said.
But if your profile has already been scraped, it is too late. The company keeps all the images it has scraped even if they are later deleted or taken down, though Mr. Ton-That said the company was working on a tool that would let people request that images be removed if they had been taken down from the website of origin.
Woodrow Hartzog, a professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University in Boston, sees Clearview as the latest proof that facial recognition should be banned in the United States.
“ We’ ve relied on industry efforts to self-police and not embrace such a risky technology, but now those dams are breaking because there is so much money on the table, ” Mr. Hartzog said. “ I don’ t see a future where we harness the benefits of face recognition technology without the crippling abuse of the surveillance that comes with it. The only way to stop it is to ban it. ”
During a recent interview at Clearview’ s offices in a WeWork location in Manhattan’ s Chelsea neighborhood, Mr. Ton-That demonstrated the app on himself. He took a selfie and uploaded it. The app pulled up 23 photos of him. In one, he is shirtless and lighting a cigarette while covered in what looks like blood.
Mr. Ton-That then took my photo with the app. The “ software bug ” had been fixed, and now my photo returned numerous results, dating back a decade, including photos of myself that I had never seen before. When I used my hand to cover my nose and the bottom of my face, the app still returned seven correct matches for me.
Police officers and Clearview’ s investors predict that its app will eventually be available to the public.
Mr. Ton-That said he was reluctant. “ There’ s always going to be a community of bad people who will misuse it, ” he said.
Even if Clearview doesn’ t make its app publicly available, a copycat company might, now that the taboo is broken. Searching someone by face could become as easy as Googling a name. Strangers would be able to listen in on sensitive conversations, take photos of the participants and know personal secrets. Someone walking down the street would be immediately identifiable — and his or her home address would be only a few clicks away. It would herald the end of public anonymity.
Asked about the implications of bringing such a power into the world, Mr. Ton-That seemed taken aback.
“ I have to think about that, ” he said. “ Our belief is that this is the best use of the technology. ”
Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, Gabriel J.X. Dance and Aaron Krolik contributed reporting. Kitty Bennett contributed research. | business |
Coronavirus: Australia's top health official says there is 'no current need ' to enhance airport screening | Australia’ s top health official says there is “ no current need ” to enhance existing airport screening measures to target an unknown Sars-like virus that has infected nearly 50 people in China and killed two since it was reported on New Year’ s Eve.
Australia’ s chief medical officer, Prof Brendan Murphy, said authorities in Australia were “ watching developments very closely ” but had not issued a travel warning.
“ There is no current need for any travel advisory in Australia, which is consistent with recommendations from the World Health Organisation, ” he said in a statement on Saturday evening.
The outbreak of the previously unknown coronavirus has been linked to a fish market at Wuhan, the capital of China’ s central Hubei province.
The Wuhan South China Seafood City market, which also sells chickens, bats, marmots and other animals, has been closed since 1 January.
Laboratory tests performed in China found the virus was not Sars ( severe acute respiratory syndrome) or Mers ( Middle East respiratory syndrome).
Most of the cases were detected within days of the market being closed but Chinese authorities reported that four new patients had been diagnosed with viral pneumonia on Thursday.
Three major airports in the United States have announced they will screen passengers arriving from Wuhan and screening has also been increased in airports in Thailand, which has reported two cases of the mystery virus, as well as airports in Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia and the Philippines.
A case has also been detected in Japan.
One of the cases in Thailand was detected by the thermal surveillance equipment at Bangkok airport.
Murphy said the four new cases reported this week were “ of concern ”.
“ Whilst there is no clear evidence of human to human transmission, the identification of recent cases several days after the closure of the fish market, initially identified as the likely source, raises this as a possibility, ” he said.
“ Importantly, however, there have been no cases of infection in the several hundred healthcare workers who have been exposed to the patients in China. ”
Murphy said Australia already had mechanisms in place to screen for unwell travellers, including laws requiring that airlines report passengers who are showing signs of an infectious disease, such as fever, sweats, or chills. Planes that report unwell passengers are met on arrival and assessed by biosecurity officers.
The Australian Medical Association said it was also monitoring the situation.
“ The AMA is in regular contact with the chief medical officer and we will obviously seek further briefings should the current level of advice change, ” the AMA president, Dr Tony Bartone, said.
Doctors in Australia have been advised to ask anyone presenting with pneumonia-type symptoms if they have recently travelled to Wuhan.
Alerts issued by the New South Wales and Victorian health departments urged doctors to “ consider novel coronavirus infection in patients with fever and respiratory symptoms and travel to Wuhan City, China in the 14 days before illness onset ”. | general |
Billfold combines live events expertise with POS tech | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Published
Billfold was founded by two veteran entertainments event operators from New York City: Stas Chijik and Benjamin Roshia, together with developer Albert Akbashev. The development – Billfold POS – has been used to facilitate fast and seamless purchases at large-scale events. By ‘ POS’ this represents ‘ point of sale’.
Recently, the system has been implemented at multiple electronic music events, including at Art Basel Miami and the New Year’ s Day Block Party in San Francisco, and is also routinely used at The Brooklyn Mirage/Avant Gardner in New York City. For later in 2020, Billfold will team up with several events and venues including the upcoming BPM Festival in Costa Rica.
What connects these spaces together is the volume and expectations of the EDM/festival crowds–large body of people wanting an immersive experience, often in physically challenging settings like a street block or a beach.
By allowing patrons to ditch their wallets for the entirety of an event, and having two touch screens at all stations–one facing the patron with the RFID wristband, the other vendor/bartender–Billfold POS ensures seamless and secure transactions, guaranteeing more sales and customer satisfaction.
According to Billfold co-founder Stas Chijik, current payment applications at events have been limited: “ Most access control solutions currently on the market don’ t have displays or instant upgrades. ”
However, as he explains, the Billfold solution is more innovative: “ They are simple green light/red light setups. We’ ve added a display that opens up a new realm of possibilities for event organizers and operators and that lets patrons get VIP experiences with a tap of their wristband. ”
With the technology, Radio-frequency identification ( RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. Another example of how this technology is encroaching into everyday life is with supermarket. RFID tags, operating as intelligent bar codes. These tags can communicate with a networked system which could be used to track every product that a shopper puts into their shopping cart, making the final payment process easier.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
There are two confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus in Ottawa, the Ontario government announced Sunday.
Drug and alcohol addiction treatment experts blame treatment services closing their doors to addicts during the pandemic.
Donald Trump, pictured in his final days in office, is the first president since Herbert Hoover nearly a century ago to lose the House,...
Dubai, a former pearling town and now a brash trade and financial centre, boasts a forest of skyscrapers including the 830-metre Burj Khalifa.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
The biggest mistake managers make with remote workers | More people are working remotely unexpectedly as companies deal with travel restrictions and business interruptions due to the coronavirus. This means managers and employees have to adjust their daily habits and communication styles to adjust to this new routine. Technology makes it easy to stay in touch, but losing the benefits of unplanned interactions can have a bigger impact on productivity than managers realize.
When a person starts working remotely, managers lose the visual transparency that built trust in the first place. Managers have a tendency to assume employees are doing the wrong thing until they prove they're doing the right thing.
Chief of research for Gartner's HR practice Brian Kropp said there is one critical shift managers have to make when working with remote employees.
SEE: Policy pack: Guidelines for remote workers ( TechRepublic Premium)
`` If you're managing employees who are remote, you have to trust them more without asking them to be transparent with everything that they're doing, '' he said.
If a manager asks a remote employee to start reporting on every daily task, that comes across as micromanaging. Kropp said this approach is not worth the required level of effort and implies a lack of trust.
The right way to manage remote workers is to focus on accomplishments, outcomes, and goals rather than processes and workflows.
`` Managers should talk about what you 've accomplished rather than how you're accomplishing it, '' he said.
Nick Barber, a senior analyst at Forrester, said employees who feel disconnected from their employer are less likely to provide good customer service. To avoid that, companies should invest in robust, reliable, and high quality tools for video conferencing and team messaging.
`` These are two applications that allow for real-time, persistent collaboration and communication, '' he said.
Employees also should receive quick training sessions and clear documentation on how to use these tools to be comfortable using them. This should include tips on how to look good on video, such as making sure that the camera is at eye level, using natural light when possible and having a background that isn't too distracting.
Barber said people who are new to video conferencing may need some time to get used to the medium.
`` This can be overcome by making video feel natural and expected, so everyone should enable video, not just the remote employee, '' he said.
Another key to success is having policies and technologies that support remote work in place before a disruption occurs. `` That means the lift required for change management won't be as great amidst an already highly disruptive problem, '' he said.
When a team is all present in an office, there are plenty of unplanned, informal check-ins among workers and managers -- in the break room, over lunch, or after a meeting. When a team member moves to remote work, all those spontaneous opportunities disappear. One of the biggest mental shifts that a manager has to make is to start planning those interactions instead of just letting them happen naturally.
`` The most important thing is having intentionally designed interactions for people that you used to have unintentional, bump into interactions with before, '' he said. `` It's super awkward, but you have to do it. ''
SEE: Coronavirus having major effect on tech industry beyond supply chain delays ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
Another factor to consider is the difference between face-to-face communication and communication via email and chat. It is much harder to determine a person's intent from an email because there is no tone or facial expression to provide context.
`` When you're talking face-to-face, you are listening to body languages and facial expressions, and you learn as much from those cues as you do the words, '' Kropp said. `` When you switch to email, you lose a lot of the other ways you learn about intent. ''
Managers and employees should both resist the tendency to overanalyze every word in every email and to read negative intent into brief written replies.
Kropp said that everyone also has to adjust to a lag in response time that doesn't occur when everyone is in the same office. Managers and employees have to realize that and appreciate that the timing of communication will be different.
Over the next few years, Kropp said he thinks companies will start to be more deliberate about flex hours vs. face-to-face time. Kropp predicts that managers will start setting office hours when everyone has to be in the same place at the same time.
`` There's a lot of moments where you have to be in the same room with other people to generate ideas and solve problems, '' he said. Managers should be intentional about capturing productivity boosts as well as creating opportunities for personal interactions.
This article was updated with additional information on February 18, 2020.
If you can only read one tech story a day, this is it. Delivered Weekdays
| tech |
Coronavirus cases could be grossly underestimated, study says |
The number of cases in an outbreak of a new strain of
coronavirus in China
is likely to have been grossly underestimated, according to a new study, which warns that human-to-human transmission of the
mysterious virus
may be possible.
Authorities in China's Wuhan city have confirmed 45 cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus, which is in the same family as the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome ( MERS), but so far appears to be less lethal. Two people have died, Wuhan authorities say.
But the study, by Imperial College London, suggests that an estimated 1,723 people were likely to have been infected by January 12.
Officials in China
have linked the viral infections to a Wuhan seafood and wildlife market, which has been closed since January 1 to prevent further spread of the illness.
Members of staff of the Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team conduct searches on the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan.
{ `` @ context '': `` http: //schema.org '', '' @ type '': `` ImageObject '', '' name '': `` Members of staff of the Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team conduct searches on the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. ``, '' description '': `` Members of staff of the Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team conduct searches on the closed Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. ``, '' url '': `` //cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200114181046-wuhan-seafood-market-large-169.jpg '' }
Three travelers -- two now in Thailand and one in Japan -- who visited Wuhan but not the market have been infected with the virus, suggesting human-to-human transmission may be possible and raising concerns of the virus's further spread.
Read More
The number in the study is only an estimate and is based on several assumptions, including the number of cases that have been exported to Thailand and Japan, the number of people using Wuhan International Airport and the time it has taken for the infection to incubate.
Imperial College London's Neil Ferguson, a disease outbreak scientist, said that many aspects of the Wuhan coronavirus were `` highly uncertain. ''
China's new SARS-like virus has spread to Japan, but we still know very little about it
`` However, the detection of three cases outside China is worrying. We calculate, based on flight and population data, that there is only a 1 in 574 chance that a person infected in Wuhan would travel overseas before they sought medical care. This implies there might have been over 1,700 cases in Wuhan so far, '' Ferguson told CNN.
`` There are many unknowns, meaning the uncertainty range around this estimate goes from 190 cases to over 4,000. But the magnitude of these numbers suggests that substantial human-to-human transmission can not be ruled out. Heightened surveillance, prompt information sharing and enhanced preparedness are recommended. ''
Three US airports will start screening passengers arriving from Wuhan to check for signs of the virus, such as coughing, difficulty breathing and high temperatures with the use of an infrared thermometer, the
US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
announced Friday.
The agency is deploying more than 100 people to carry out the screenings at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, San Francisco International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. Last year, more than 60,000 passengers arrived in the US from Wuhan, the vast majority coming through those three airports.
While the new virus has not shown death rates like MERS and SARS -- which infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774 in a pandemic that ripped through Asia in 2002 and 2003 -- so little is known about it that health authorities are calling for vigilance.
`` Much remains to be understood about the new coronavirus, which was first identified in China earlier this month. Not enough is known about 2019-nCoV to draw definitive conclusions about how it is transmitted, clinical features of disease, or the extent to which it has spread. The source also remains unknown, '' the World Health Organization said Friday.
CNN's Vanessa Yung and Elizabeth Cohen contributed to this report. | general |
CDC takes steps to screen for new coronavirus at some airports | Hi, what are you looking for?
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On Friday, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC) began screening passengers who had traveled from Wuhan, China at San Francisco, New York’ s John F. Kennedy, and Los Angeles international airports for symptoms of a new coronavirus, reports The Hill.
Around 100 additional staff were deployed to the three airports to supplement existing staff at CDC quarantine stations. The CDC warned that its response could change as it learns more from its investigation of the virus. Scientists around the world are studying its genome sequence in the effort to understand it.
The coronavirus is in the same family of those causing the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS), and the Middle East respiratory syndrome ( MERS), however, it seems to be less lethal, according to CTV News Canada.
As of January 11, 2019, Wuhan officials said 41 patients have been diagnosed with nCoV pneumonia, and two have been discharged from the hospital. Seven had severe infections, and one patient died. The rest are listed in stable condition.
Most of the patients, but not all of them, reportedly visited the large seafood and animal market in Wuhan, China. The fact that some people did not visit the market suggests some limited person-to-person spread may be occurring, according to the CDC. At the same time, though, the agency says the risk of transmission for the American public is “ currently deemed to be low. ”
As of Saturday, three travelers – two now back in Thailand and one in Japan who visited Wuhan – but not the market – have been infected with the coronavirus, suggesting human-to-human transmission may be possible.
Genetic findings Chinese scientists submitted the coronavirus gene sequencing data for posting on Virological.org, a hub for prepublication data designed to assist with public health activities and research. The post was communicated by Edward Holmes, Ph.D., with the University of Sydney, on behalf of a Chinese group led by Yong-Zhen Zhang, Ph.D., with Fudan University in Shanghai.
Vineet Menachery, Ph.D., with the University of Texas Medical Branch ( UTMB) said on Twitter that the Wuhan nCoV appears to be a group 2B coronavirus, which puts it in the same family as the SARS ( severe acute respiratory syndrome) virus.
There is still much testing to do, although scientists are aware of the fact that bat viruses span coronavirus diversity and bats are a dominant host in much of the evolutionary history.
However, Andrew Rambaut, Ph.D., administrator of Virological.org and professor of molecular evolution at the University of Edinburgh says that while the Muhan nCoV is 89 percent similar to SARS-related bat coronavirus in the Sarbecovirus group of beta coronaviruses – ” that doesn’ t mean it comes from bats. MERS-CoV is 88 percent identical to the nearest known bat virus, and MERS is endemic in camels. ”
Karen Graham is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for environmental news. Karen's view of what is happening in our world is colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in man's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, `` Journalism is merely history's first draft. '' Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.
Mayor Bill de Blasio ( D) announced on Monday that New York City is implementing a vaccine mandate for private-sector employers.
Russia on Wednesday will send Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to the International Space Station.
This week’ s releases include revisiting a horror legend; a slasher version of a classic tale; a body switch movie from the vault and more.
PANGEA-RISK assesses the future of Zambia’ s economic reform and anti-corruption programme, identifying risk and vulnerabilities that may derail Hichilema’ s reformist agenda. [ Sponsored ]
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Top 5 video conferencing services to use with remote employees | There are many important reasons your business should consider making videoconferencing a top method for communication: It can increase productivity, include remote workers––a group that has expanded by 159% since 2005––and cut costs associated with business travel.
And––now that the coronavirus outbreak ( COVID-19) is a looming threat, shutting down offices, halting travel schedules, and disrupting regular work routines––videoconferencing offers a solution to cancelled in-person meetings, as well as a safe way to prevent the spread of a lethal disease. As with any technology, it's critical that managers lead the way in making videoconferencing a part of company culture, and foster an environment of participation.
SEE: Telecommuting policy ( TechRepublic Premium)
Here are five of the top video conferencing services that your company can choose from.
LogMeIn's web conferencing service GoToMeeting offers audio and video conferencing, screen sharing, and is mobile friendly for Android and iOS––ideal for employees who are on the go. It offers a range of audio and video settings, and chat features. GoToMeeting is also budget-friendly, with standard features at $ 14/month, or $ 12/month annually.
The platform can hold up to 150 team members––or, for $ 19/month, your company can opt for the Business plan tier, which will expand the range to 250 participants. This version also features drawing tools, mouse sharing, and other administrative tools. Large businesses can choose the Enterprise plan, which can connect up to 3,000 people.
SEE: How to secure your zoom conference line from hackers ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
Another mobile-and-desktop platform for videoconferencing is Zoom Meetings, which offers an easy, scalable solution for setting up HD video and audio.
Enterprises can include 1,000 participants––and up to 49 screens––on this platform simultaneously. Additionally, since these meetings can be saved to the cloud, they can be accessed later on. Zoom is also great for collaboration, offering participants the option to share screens and collaborate on notes, which can be easily shared and searched. The meeting history also extends back 10 years. For the security-conscious, there's a 256-bit TLS encryption for both meetings and shared files.
There are different versions of Zoom. The free option can include 100 people for 40 minutes. If you pay $ 14.99/month, you can get additional features for management. And $ 19.99 will buy your business a superior package.
Another cloud-based video conferencing service is BlueJeans. It has limited features, but offers high-quality streaming. It offers three options for services, as well as a 30-day free trial––but no free version. Here they are:
Me: Annually, $ 9.99/month per user for up to 50 attendees, which can connect from computers, iOS or Android devices and include dial-in numbers. Also includes free phone audio in 40 countries.
My Team: Annually, $ 13.99/month per host, with the addition of 10 hours of cloud meeting recordings, command center dashboard for up to 75 participants.
My Company: This option, which is quoted to companies directly, adds connection `` H.323//SIP room systems, room system calendar support and up to 150 participants. ''
SEE: Microsoft Teams: The right collaboration platform for your organization? ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
Part of Intermedia Unite, a platform that joins video conferencing, chat, and screen-sharing into a `` cloud-based service that also includes VOIP capabilities and an enterprise-grade PBX system, '' AnyMeeting also has simpler Lite and Pro plans for roughly $ 10/month––which includes 10 participants. These plans include conferencing features and offer participants a way to customize meeting URLs, schedule recurring meetings, and use tools from Google, Slack, and other platforms.
End-to-end encryption and HIPPA features are included in AnyMeeting. The Pro plan can work for up 30 participants, and includes the ability to record and transcribe meetings and unlimited cloud storage of meetings.
A free version of Cisco Webex is a great option––up to three users, and 50 participants for 40 minutes––including HD video, screen-sharing, and recording features. Paid plans include:
Starter: $ 13.50/host per month, 50 attendees
Plus: $ 17.95/month, 100 attendees
Business: $ 26.95/month, with a five-license minimum, for up to 200 attendees
Enterprise plans
You get additional cloud storage and management features in the first two tiers. If you want single sign-on and support for Microsoft Exchange and Active Directory, go with the Business plan.
SEE: Managing remote workers: A business leader's guide ( free PDF) ( TechRepublic)
Discover the secrets to IT leadership success with these tips on project management, budgets, and dealing with day-to-day challenges. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays
How to become a software engineer: A cheat sheet ( TechRepublic)
10 free alternatives to Microsoft Word and Excel ( TechRepublic download)
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Microsoft Office 365 for business: Everything you need to know ( ZDNet)
The 10 most important iPhone apps of all time ( Download.com)
It takes work to keep your data private online. These apps can help ( CNET)
Must-read coverage: Programming languages and developer career resources ( TechRepublic on Flipboard)
| tech |
Major Asian markets mostly rise as China keeps its loan prime rate unchanged | Stocks in major Asian markets were mostly higher on Monday, with the People's Bank of China ( PBoC) keeping the loan prime rate ( LPR) unchanged.
Mainland Chinese stocks saw gains on the day, with the Shanghai composite up 0.66% to about 3,095.79 while the Shenzhen composite was 1.311% higher at around 1,829.95. The Shenzhen component also gained 1.47% to 11,115.88.
Shares of Chinese drugmakers and facial mask firms also surged amid concerns over a coronavirus outbreak in the the country. Jiangsu Sihuan Bioengineering and Shandong Lukang Pharmaceutical saw their stock surge by about 10%, their daily movement limit. Meanwhile, facial mask maker Shanghai Dragon also soared around 10%.
The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong, however, slipped 0.6% as of its final hour of trading.
The moves came as the People's Bank of China kept the one year and five year loan prime rates unchanged for January.
`` We still expect some changes to the LPR at some point this year, even though we're not seeing that as early as like the first month of the year right now, '' Kevin Leung, executive director of investment strategy at Haitong International Securities, told CNBC's `` Street Signs '' on Monday.
`` The phase one of the trade deal has been... signed right now, so i think ( the Chinese authorities) would take a few months to see if anything is going on or if there's any further improvements made or if there's any deterioration in... the second phase when that happens, '' Leung said. `` If there's any more stimulus policies coming in, I think it will be coming in the second quarter of the year. ''
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.18% to close at 24,083.51 despite shares of index heavyweight Fast Retailing falling 1.58%. The Topix index also advanced 0.5% to finish its trading day at 1,744.16.
South Korea's Kospi added 0.54% to close at 2,262.64 as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics jumped 1.79% after the firm announced some leadership changes, according to a Reuters report.
Meanwhile, shares in Australia saw gains as well, with the S & P/ASX 200 up 0.22% to end its trading day at 7,079.50.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was fractionally lower.
The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 97.588 after seeing a spike from levels below 97.4 on Friday.
The Japanese yen traded at 110.17 per dollar after weakening from levels below 109.8 last week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.6886 after declining from levels above $ 0.692 in the previous trading week.
Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 1.05% to $ 65.53 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also advanced 0.94% to $ 59.09 per barrel. | business |
A glance at the new coronavirus outbreak in China | BEIJING – Chinese authorities and the World Health Organization say a new strain of coronavirus is behind the outbreak of pneumonia in the central city of Wuhan, which has erupted just ahead of the Lunar New Year, the country’ s biggest festival.
Health officials say the strain does not appear as lethal as some other strains of coronavirus such as severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS), which killed nearly 800 people worldwide during a 2002-03 outbreak that also originated from China.
As of Jan. 19, there were 65 confirmed cases of patients with pneumonia caused by the new strain of coronavirus. All patients were either Wuhan residents or people who recently went to the city. Their symptoms included fever, cough and difficulty breathing.
Of the 62 patients in Wuhan itself, two have died and 19 have been discharged.
Thailand has also reported two confirmed cases of the pneumonia, both of whom were Chinese tourists from Wuhan. Japan has also confirmed one case of a Japanese citizen who visited Wuhan.
Chinese authorities says the outbreak is strongly linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, but some patients diagnosed with the new coronavirus deny exposure to this market.
Health officials say there is no clear evidence that the virus spreads easily from one person to another, but they can not completely rule out the possibility of human-to-human transmission.
Wuhan municipal authorities released information about a married couple who contracted the virus on Jan. 15. The husband, who got sick first, worked at the market, but the wife denied any exposure to the market.
The authorities did not explicitly state whether this was a case of human-to-human transmission.
There is no vaccine for the new virus. Symptoms include fever, difficulty in breathing as well as pneumonic infiltrates in the lungs.
Chinese authorities have stepped up monitoring and disinfection efforts ahead of the lunar new year holiday in late January, when many of the country’ s 1.4 billion people will travel domestically and overseas.
Airport authorities in the United States as well as many Asian countries, including Japan, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea, have stepped up screening of passengers from Wuhan.
The World Health Organization sent directives to hospitals around the world on infection prevention and control. It has advised against travel or trade restrictions based on available information, however. | tech |
Coronavirus domain names are the latest hacker trick | Check Point Research found a spike in coronavirus domain name registrations earlier this month as hackers increase malicious activity around the illness.
Check Point listed `` vaccinecovid-19\.com '' as an example of a malicious site. It was created on February 11, 2020, registered in Russia, and offers a $ 300 cure for the coronavirus.
Hackers also are exploiting fears about the virus as a new way to distribute the Emotet trojan.
Check Point's monthly report on malware found that the top three malware families in January are the same as December: Emotet retains first place, impacting 13% of organizations globally, followed by XMRig and Trickbot impacting 10% and 7% of organizations worldwide.
Emotet was originally a banking Trojan but recently has been used to distribute other malware or malicious campaigns. It also can spread through phishing spam emails containing malicious attachments or links.
SEE: Mobile device security: Tips for IT pros ( free PDF)
The January report also identified a malicious Lokibot sample targeting Indonesia with a coronavirus message. Check Point expects coronavirus spam campaigns to increase over the coming days.
Check Point recommended that IT departments share these tips with users:
David Richarson, vice president for product management at Lookout, said that people also should be skeptical of emails that try to create a sense of urgency about taking advantage of a deal.
`` They're trying to get you to turn your brain off because if something sounds too good to be true, it is, '' he said.
Richardson said training should include tips on how to spot a phishing site, including pixelated logos and URLs that look suspicious.
Michael Bruemmer, vice president of Data Breach Resolution and Consumer Protection at Experian, said he is seeing a spike in SMS-based phishing attacks as well. Bad actors send texts that look like they are from a trustworthy source, such as a credit card company, financial institution, or retailer. Clicking the link in a text can activate malware.
`` I tell people not to click on any links from anybody unless you have talked to them in the last hour because people's credentials can be compromised, '' he said.
Strengthen your organization's IT security defenses by keeping abreast of the latest cybersecurity news, solutions, and best practices. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays
Check Point Research found that hackers are using fears about the coronavirus to send a new wave of phishing and malware attacks. | tech |
Coronavirus: China reports 17 new cases of Sars-like mystery virus | Chinese authorities are to step up efforts to contain the outbreak of a new virus before the lunar new year holidays amid fears of the bug spreading to other countries.
Health officials in Wuhan, the city at the heart of the outbreak, confirmed 17 new cases of the Sars-like coronavirus on Sunday, including three patients who are said to be in a severe condition.
The new strain has caused alarm because of its connection to severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed more than 750 people globally in 2002-03.
Adding to those concerns is the imminent movement of hundreds of millions of Chinese who will be travelling to visit family during the holidays that start next week, increasing the potential for the virus to spread further afield.
“ Our commission will step up our guard during the spring festival, pay close attention to the development and change of the epidemic, and direct the implementation of prevention and control measures, ” China’ s national health commission said on Sunday, adding that it believed the outbreak could be controlled.
Of the 17 new cases confirmed in Wuhan, three were described as severe and two patients were too critical to be moved, authorities said.
Two people have died from the virus in Wuhan, the largest city in central China. Three cases have been confirmed abroad – two in Thailand and one in Japan, involving people either from Wuhan or who had recently visited the city.
The virus has infected 62 people in Wuhan, with eight in a severe condition, 19 cured and discharged from hospital, and the rest remaining in isolation where they are receiving treatment. Those infected have ranged from 30 to 79 years old.
Authorities said they had begun “ optimised ” testing of pneumonia cases across the city to identify others infected, and would begin “ detection work … towards suspected cases in the city ” as a next step, as well as carrying out “ sampling tests ”.
The World Health Organization said on Sunday that some of the new cases did not appear to be linked to the Huanan seafood market, the suspected source of the outbreak.
“ The fact that three cases have been exported to Thailand and Japan without connection to the Huanan seafood market suggests that the virus has spread beyond the Huanan seafood market into the community, ” David Hui, a professor of respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told Reuters.
Wuhan’ s deputy mayor, Chen Yanxin, said oversight would be strengthened at big events and the number of public gatherings would be reduced, state media reported. Since 14 January, city officials have used infrared thermometers at airports, railways and other routes into the city to screen passengers, but their task is being hampered by this being the peak of the influenza season.
Chen said passengers with fevers were being registered, given masks and taken to medical institutions, with nearly 300,000 body temperature tests carried out, according to CCTV.
Scientists with the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College in London said in a paper published on Friday that the number of cases in the city was likely to be closer to 1,700 – much higher than the number officially identified.
No human-to-human transmission has been confirmed so far, but Wuhan’ s health commission has previously said the possibility “ can not be excluded ”.
Authorities in Hong Kong have stepped up detection measures, including rigorous temperature checkpoints for inbound travellers from the Chinese mainland.
The US said from Friday it would begin screening direct flights arriving from Wuhan at San Francisco airport and New York’ s JFK as well as Los Angeles, where many flights connect.
Thailand said it was already screening passengers arriving in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket and would soon introduce similar controls in the beach resort of Krabi.
Wuhan is a major transport hub, including during the lunar new year holiday when Chinese people make an estimated 3bn trips around the country to visit family. | general |
1 in 3 adolescent girls from the poorest households has never been to school | DAVOS/GENEVA/NEW YORK, 20 January 2020 – Nearly 1 in 3 adolescent girls from the poorest households around the world has never been to school, according to a new UNICEF paper launched today as education ministers gather at the Education World Forum and as leaders prepare to convene at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.
Poverty, discrimination due to gender, disability, ethnic origin or language of instruction, physical distance from schools and poor infrastructure are among the obstacles that continue to prevent the poorest children from accessing quality education. Exclusion at every step of education perpetuates poverty and is a key driver of a global learning crisis.
The paper Addressing the learning crisis: an urgent need to better finance education for the poorest children highlights major disparities in the distribution of public education spending. Limited and unequally distributed funding results in large class sizes, poorly trained teachers, lack of education materials and poor school infrastructure. This in turn has an adverse impact on attendance, enrolment and learning.
“ Countries everywhere are failing the world’ s poorest children, and in doing so, failing themselves, ” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “ As long as public education spending is disproportionately skewed towards children from the richest households, the poorest will have little hope of escaping poverty, learning the skills they need to compete and succeed in today’ s world, and contributing to their countries’ economies. ”
Looking at 42 countries with available data, the paper finds that education for children from the richest 20 per cent of households are allocated nearly double the amount of education funding than children from the poorest 20 per cent of households.
Ten countries across Africa account for the highest disparities in education spending, with four times as much funding allocated to the richest children compared with the poorest. In Guinea and the Central African Republic – countries with some of the world’ s highest rates of out-of-school children – the richest children benefit from nine and six times, respectively, the amount of public education funds than the poorest children.
Barbados, Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Sweden are the only countries included in the analysis that distribute education funding equally between the richest and poorest quintiles.
The paper notes that the lack of resources available for the poorest children is exacerbating a crippling learning crisis, as schools fail to provide quality education for their students. According to the World Bank, more than half of children living in low- and middle-income countries can not read or understand a simple story by the end of primary school.
“ We are at a critical juncture. If we invest wisely and equitably in children’ s education, we have the best possible chance of lifting children out of poverty by empowering them with the skills they need to access opportunities, and create new ones for themselves, ” said Fore.
UNICEF works in some of the world’ s toughest places, to reach the world’ s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.
How women and girls are leading the COVID-19 response. | general |
Coronavirus: China confirms new cases as virus spreads to new cities | An outbreak of a new coronavirus in China has spread to more cities, Chinese authorities said on Monday, as the number of patients tripled and a third person died, stoking concerns about the containment of the virus.
The Daxing health commission in the capital Beijing said it had confirmed two cases of coronavirus, while the southern Guangdong province's health commission confirmed one case in Shenzhen. They mark the first cases in China beyond the central city of Wuhan where the virus first emerged.
The Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said 136 new cases of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus strain had been found in the city over the weekend, adding to 62 already known cases. A third death occurred on Saturday, the authority said in a statement.
This brings the total number of known cases worldwide to more than 200, underscoring the challenge for health authorities seeking to contain the outbreak.
Hundreds of millions of Chinese tourists will be traveling domestically and abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday period that starts later this week.
A report by London Imperial College's MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis estimated that by Jan. 12 there were 1,723 cases in Wuhan City with onset of related symptoms. Chinese health authorities have not commented directly on the report.
Authorities around the globe, including in the United States and many Asian countries, have stepped up screening of travelers from Wuhan. Outside China, two cases have been reported in Thailand and one in Japan, all involving people from Wuhan or who recently visited the city.
The virus belongs in the same family of coronaviruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS), which killed nearly 800 people globally during a 2002/03 outbreak that also started in China.
Its symptoms include fever and difficulty in breathing, which are similar to many other respiratory diseases and pose complications for screening efforts.
China's National Health Commission said on Sunday it will step up prevention efforts, but acknowledged it still doesn't know the source of the virus.
Shares in pharmaceutical firms and mask makers in China surged Monday because of the outbreak.
The outbreak was one of the top trending topics on Chinese social media platform Weibo, where many users expressed concerns about their safety.
`` Who knows how many people who have been to Wuhan may be unaware that they have already been infected?, '' one user said.
China's Global Times, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily newspaper, said in an editorial the government needs to disclose all information and not repeat the mistakes made with SARS. Chinese officials covered up the SARS outbreak for weeks before a growing death toll and rumors forced it to reveal the epidemic.
`` Concealment would be a serious blow to the government's credibility and might trigger greater social panic, '' the editorial said. | business |
Q & A: Globant outlines how the cyber-skills shortage can be met ( Includes interview) | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Published
Maintaining cyber-security is of great importance to any business. The problem is how to develop a coherent strategy and how to recruit people with the right skills. This can prove challenging in the context of a cyber-skills shortage. Globant specailizes in meeting such challenges and has a road-map for strategy development.
To learn more, Digital Journal spoke with Pablo Villareal, CISO at Globant.
Digital Journal: How significant is cybersecurity for businesses?
Pablo Villareal: Nowadays, cybersecurity should be a key practice for every single business. I can’ t think of a single business that doesn’ t work with technology on a daily basis, whether it’ s through email or home banking services. Of course, as companies grow and become more complex, and the more they rely on technology in core business practices, the more necessary a proactive cybersecurity strategy is.
DJ: What are the most dangerous types of cyber-risks?
Villareal: There are no top 10 cyber-risks that are the same for every business across the board. There are the usual suspects, phishing for example, but each risk depends on how each unique company defines specific threats. However, generally speaking, we could say that data exposure is always a potential risk, and while it may not lead to a direct economic or financial impact, it may negatively affect branding and customer trust in an organization.
DJ: Where do most of the cyber-risks originate from?
Villareal: Most cyber-risks originate from people. Companies are investing more and more in protecting their information, whether that be personal data, financial data or IP, using technologies and talent training. Technology requires humans to understand what is being protected and apply the necessary rules to comply. If that fails, and there are no safeguards or automatic controls in place, then the potential for a breach is created, just waiting for someone to exploit.
On the other hand, when someone tries to get into a company’ s systems, one of the easiest ways to break in – apart from the one mentioned before – is to simply ask through phishing. There’ s another kind of risk, also originated by people, that is the extensive use of rogue IT. Again, when there’ s no cyber awareness training for employees, many people will try to use these kinds of unapproved technologies because it’ s easier than asking IT.
DJ: How can businesses best meet such cyber-challenges?
Villareal: Training is a key factor for cybersecurity best practices, and having the proper processes in place to detect risks is essential to take the next steps: Avoid, Accept, Mitigate or Transfer. Many businesses don’ t yet have the proper resources to detect these risks.
Staying on top of cybersecurity requires a lot of time, technology, people and finances, which are not always a given for small businesses. This is why training is so important across the board, so employees have a base knowledge of potential cybersecurity issues.
DJ: Is there a cyber-skills shortage?
Villareal: Yes, there is a growing IT skill shortage in general, and information security skills are no different. On top of that, the need for cybersecurity staff has grown over the last decade, but the exposure for cyberattacks and data leaks have grown far more quickly, creating a huge shortage of highly-skilled professionals in the area.
DJ: What types of technologies can best aid businesses?
Villareal: First, businesses should invest in the basics of firewalls, DLPs, antivirus software, encryption and proper employee training to use these solutions. In addition, user solutions that provide behavior analytics are another great way to understand what’ s happening with the people working in your organization. There have also been strides in technology and services that can help test for security configurations and deviations, which can be a beneficial, proactive measure for many organizations. Regardless of the solutions organizations invest in, business leaders must be aware of how much data they can process, along with knowledge of how to make that data make sense and actionable in order to get the most out of their tech investment and ensure it’ s making improvements throughout the organization.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
The hunt for answers - like whether the Omicron variant will trigger new waves of infection.
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At its core, Zero Trust is all about authenticating and authorizing access policies that have been designed to provide the least privilege, for the...
The Omicron variant that causes COVID-19 likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up genetic material from another virus.
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
Deadly Mystery Virus Reported in 2 New Chinese Cities and South Korea | BEIJING — The authorities in China reported a third death from a mysterious virus and more than 130 new cases over the weekend, including ones found in Beijing and southern China for the first time. One new case was also reported in South Korea on Monday.
The jump in cases raised questions about how the virus is being transmitted and added to concerns about the spread of the illness ahead of China’ s busiest travel season.
The health commission in Wuhan, a central Chinese city where the virus originated last month, said early Monday that 136 new cases had been detected on Saturday and Sunday, including one who died. Nine patients in the city remained critically ill.
Two new cases were reported in Beijing, and one in Shenzhen, a booming metropolis in the south, near Hong Kong. That brought the total number of cases in China to around 200, more than double the number reported just a day earlier.
The latest cases come amid growing concern among some experts that the outbreak could be more severe than China’ s government has described.
[ Read: What we know about China’ s new coronavirus. ]
The virus already appears to have spread outside China, with the authorities in South Korea reporting on Monday that a Chinese woman who arrived at the Incheon International Airport on Sunday from Wuhan had tested positive for the illness. Last week, three cases were reported in Thailand and Japan involving people who had traveled through Wuhan.
And with hundreds of millions of people in China expected to travel for the Lunar New Year holiday, which begins Friday, public health officials are working to stop a major outbreak.
On Sunday, China’ s central government sought to reassure the public that it had the situation under control. In Beijing’ s most extensive remarks on the outbreak since it began last month, the National Health Commission said that experts agreed that an epidemic was “ still preventable and controllable. ”
Still, the commission acknowledged that the source of the virus and its path of transmission were not fully understood.
“ The mutation of the virus still needs to be closely monitored, ” the statement said.
Of the new patients found in Wuhan over the weekend, 66 were men and 70 women, and their ages ranged from 25 to 89, the health commission reported on Monday. It said that they mostly had symptoms such as fever, coughing and difficulty breathing.
Most people with the infection have contracted it through exposure to animals at a market in Wuhan that sells seafood and live animals, the authorities say. But the health commission in Wuhan said on Sunday that some people who had come down with the virus had no exposure to the market.
That acknowledgment raises the possibility that the virus could be present in other markets in Wuhan, experts said, adding to fears that more people might be at risk.
“ If you can not find the source and control the source of the virus, you can not extinguish the fire, ” said David Hui, the director of the Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Dr. Hui said the risk of the virus spreading from human to human on a broad scale appeared to be low, though he noted that the virus could mutate.
The World Health Organization said on Sunday that while its analysis indicated that limited transmission of the virus is possible, it remained unclear whether it can easily spread from one person to another. The group said it would continue to examine the issue.
“ We do not have enough evidence to evaluate the full extent of human-to-human transmission, ” its Manila office said.
Some experts have suggested that there are probably far more cases of the illness than the authorities have disclosed. In previous incidents, like the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, the Chinese government withheld critical information.
One estimate by researchers at Imperial College London suggested on Friday that there could now be as many as 1,700 cases of the new virus.
The W.H.O. said on Sunday that China could potentially confirm more cases in the coming days and weeks as more people were screened for it.
Updated June 12, 2020
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’ s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “ very rare, ” but she later walked back that statement.
A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’ s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.
Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “ start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid, ” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “ When you haven’ t been exercising, you lose muscle mass. ” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.
States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’ t being told to stay at home, it’ s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. ( Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
Taking one’ s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “ normal ” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’ t have a thermometer ( they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’ t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’ t replace hand washing and social distancing.
If you’ ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
If you’ re sick and you think you’ ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’ s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’ re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’ t be able to get tested.
The new virus has brought back memories of the SARS outbreak, which was also caused by a coronavirus. SARS, which is believed to have jumped to humans from animals at markets, originated in China and spread to other countries, infecting more than 8,000 people and killing more than 800.
While the new coronavirus appears to be less severe than SARS, public health officials around the world are exercising caution.
On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States announced that airports in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles would begin screening passengers from Wuhan for the virus.
W. Ian Lipkin, a Columbia University professor who worked to fight the SARS outbreak, said it was too early to know how dangerous the new virus might prove to be.
“ Until it becomes capable of human-to-human transmission, there’ s not a major threat of a pandemic, ” said Dr. Lipkin, the director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at the university’ s Mailman School of Public Health.
“ We need to prepare for the possibility that this could be a larger outbreak, and it could become a pandemic, ” he said. “ But that doesn’ t mean that it will. ”
Choe Sang-Hun contributed reporting from Seoul. Elsie Chen, Albee Zhang and Claire Fu contributed research. | business |
Nestlé to take ‘ bold steps to create a wider market for food-grade recycled plastics’ | Or wait...
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20-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 20-Jan-2020 at 09:52 GMT
Related tags: Nestlé, Packaging, Pet, Plastics industry function sanitize gpt value2 ( gptValue) { var vOut= '' ''; var aTags = gptValue.split ( ', '); var reg = new RegExp ( '\\W+ ', `` g ''); for ( var i=0; i < aTags.length; i++) { vOut += aTags [ i ].trim ().replace ( reg, '- ').substring ( 0,40); if ( i! = ( aTags.length-1)) vOut += ', '; } vOut = vOut.toLowerCase (); return vOut; } $ ( document).ready ( function () { dataLayerNews = { }; dataLayerNews.related tags = sanitize gpt value2 ( `` Nestlé, Packaging, Pet, Plastics industry ''); dataLayer.push ( dataLayerNews); });
To create a market, Nestlé says it is sourcing up to 2 million metric tons of food-grade recycled plastics and allocating more than CHF 1.5bn to pay a premium for these materials from now until 2025.
As well as its in-house research at Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences the company will launch a CHF 250m sustainable packaging venture fund to invest in start-up companies that focus on these areas including new materials, refill systems and recycling.
`` No plastic should end up in landfill or as litter. Making recycled plastics safe for food is an enormous challenge for our industry. That is why in addition to minimizing plastics use and collecting waste, we want to close the loop and make more plastics infinitely recyclable, ” said Mark Schneider, CEO, Nestlé.
“ We are taking bold steps to create a wider market for food-grade recycled plastics and boost innovation in the packaging industry. We welcome others to join us on this journey. ''
He added, Nestlé does not currently have a breakdown or timeframe of how the project will progress but it will sign long-term supply agreements to secure the supply of food-grade recycled plastics from its suppliers.
“ How we get there will differ from market to market and will depend if there is capacity in existing recycling plants to process and transform the input materials, ” said Schneider.
“ As we see it, the greater the demand from our industry to buy recycled PE and PP, the greater the focus placed on building capacity to meet that demand. Nestlé’ s investment aims to boost a market for food-grade recycled PP and PE. Of course we welcome others to join us on this journey. ”
He added, aside from PET, most plastics are difficult to recycle for food packaging, leading to a limited supply of food-grade recycled plastics. There is currently only a limited supply for food-grade recycled plastics and it will boost this market with its investment.
“ We will work with companies around the world, which share our commitment to creating a market for high-quality food-grade recycled plastics. This initiative aims to foster collection and recycling in countries where infrastructure is not always in place, and will therefore help to stop plastic leakage into the environment, ” said Schneider.
“ In terms of reaction to the news, it’ s important to know that plastic will continue to play an important role in the food industry. This said, plastic must not end in nature. We want to close the loop, make more plastics infinitely recyclable and overall help advance the circular economy.
“ We are confident that the investment we make will have both a positive and transformative impact. ”
These two initiatives come in addition to Nestlé's ongoing efforts in research, sourcing and manufacturing to make its packaging recyclable or reusable and contribute to its goal to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
As part of the company's packaging commitment and to increase transparency, Nestlé will continue to outline further initiatives and provide regular progress updates.
`` We are pleased to see Nestlé commit a CHF 2bn investment toward creating a circular economy for plastics, alongside a reduction of its use of virgin plastic in packaging by one third by 2025, ” said Andrew Morlet, CEO, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
“ By eliminating the plastics we don't need, innovating in areas like reuse models and new materials, and circulating the plastics we do need - also in more challenging food grade applications - we can create an economy where plastic never becomes waste.
“ Achieving the commitments announced today will significantly contribute towards realizing this vision. ''
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The Red Cross is teaching Fortnite players to save, not take, lives | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Teaching online video game players to save lives, not take them -- that is the aim of a new product developed in an unusual collaboration between the creators of the wildly popular Fortnite games and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The new game mode, called Liferun, teaches players the four main activities carried out by Red Cross workers in more than 80 countries: caring for civilians in need, rebuilding essential infrastructure, removing land mines and distributing aid as rapidly as possible -- hardly the stuff of a typical shoot-'em-up game.
Three well-known players, who go by DrLupo, Lachlan and ONE Shot GURL, are to present the new mode Sunday at the PAX South video gaming convention in San Antonio, Texas, the Red Cross said in a statement.
`` The ICRC is recognizing the growing importance of the gaming community, '' the organization said, estimating the number of gamers at 2 billion worldwide.
`` Video games have been mainstream entertainment and social platforms for a long time, and we know that many gamers are also current, past or future soldiers, army officers, armed group members, CEOs of companies, lawyers and political leaders, '' Jennifer Hauseman, the ICRC director of communications and technology, said in the statement.
`` We need to talk to them in a smart and engaging way to explain that civilians suffer greatly in conflict. ''
The ICRC, which works to promote respect for international humanitarian law, had earlier partnered with the Prague-based Bohemia Interactive studio to integrate messages about humanitarian law into its Arma 3 game.
Launched in July 2017, Fortnite rapidly became a cultural phenomenon. It now boasts 250 million registered players.
Teaching online video game players to save lives, not take them — that is the aim of a new product developed in an unusual collaboration between the creators of the wildly popular Fortnite games and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The new game mode, called Liferun, teaches players the four main activities carried out by Red Cross workers in more than 80 countries: caring for civilians in need, rebuilding essential infrastructure, removing land mines and distributing aid as rapidly as possible — hardly the stuff of a typical shoot-’ em-up game.
Three well-known players, who go by DrLupo, Lachlan and ONE Shot GURL, are to present the new mode Sunday at the PAX South video gaming convention in San Antonio, Texas, the Red Cross said in a statement.
“ The ICRC is recognizing the growing importance of the gaming community, ” the organization said, estimating the number of gamers at 2 billion worldwide.
“ Video games have been mainstream entertainment and social platforms for a long time, and we know that many gamers are also current, past or future soldiers, army officers, armed group members, CEOs of companies, lawyers and political leaders, ” Jennifer Hauseman, the ICRC director of communications and technology, said in the statement.
“ We need to talk to them in a smart and engaging way to explain that civilians suffer greatly in conflict. ”
The ICRC, which works to promote respect for international humanitarian law, had earlier partnered with the Prague-based Bohemia Interactive studio to integrate messages about humanitarian law into its Arma 3 game.
Launched in July 2017, Fortnite rapidly became a cultural phenomenon. It now boasts 250 million registered players.
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A man gets a Covid-19 jab at a vaccination station in Vienna on August 25, 2021; from February 2022, vaccinations against the virus will...
A growing number of Western nations and cybersecurity groups have issued digital surveillance warnings for next month's Winter Olympics in Beijing.
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Wuhan virus kills fourth patient, infects hospital staff amid fear of ‘ super-spreader’ | Health authorities in the Chinese city of Wuhan said another person had died from the recently identified coronavirus infection, bringing the total to four. | business |
John O'Connell's Top Picks: Jan. 20, 2020 | The information you requested is not available at this time, please check back again soon.
The market is quickly approaching most people's year-end targets. It had a very strong fourth quarter to finish of 2019 and we 've continued that pace into the new year. I think a lot of people are calling into question the ability for the market to keep doing this and, of course, it's unlikely you 'll see it going up every single day... But the combination of decent economic activity, a moderation in the trade rhetoric, and the fact interest rates are going to remain low for a long period of time has given markets a lot of comfort. There not being a lot of alternatives out there means stocks have been getting their fair share of attention these days.
John O'Connell of Davis Rea shares his top picks: Amazon, UnitedHealth and Visa.
John O'Connell of Davis Rea reviews his past picks: Alphabet, Stryker and Raytheon.
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The Federal Reserve signaled it will start raising interest rates “ soon ” and shrink its bond holdings after liftoff has begun, moving toward ending ultra-easy pandemic support to fight the hottest inflation in a generation.
The Bank of Canada surprised markets Wednesday by keeping its key lending rate at 0.25 per cent, while putting Canadians on notice that interest rates will eventually rise.
Canadians are able to get a fuller picture of the reasons why the Bank of Canada opted to hold its benchmark rate on Wednesday, with the release of its Monetary Policy Report ( MPR).
Homeowners who have opted for a variable rate mortgage over a fixed-rate one are likely cheering the Bank of Canada’ s decision on Wednesday to hold steady on its key lending rate.
Dr. Donna Ferguson, clinical psychologist at CAMH, talks about how employers can support their workers’ mental health as we approach the second anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic. She says leaders need to be trained on mental health, check-in with their workers more frequently and expand accessibility to resources as many individuals are still working from home. Ferguson added that workers need to be careful about setting boundaries around their job since it’ s easy to lose that work-life balance while being remote.
Advocates in Ontario's live music industry say upcoming shows big and small hang in the balance as they face provincial restrictions that are tougher on concert and live theatre venues than other entertainment spaces.
When Jenny Dickson goes grocery shopping, they only buy off-brand foods or items on sale for fear of overestimating how much money they have available in their bank account.
Snowpack in the U.S. West has decreased by about 20 per cent in the last century, making man-made snow more vital each year to opening ski resorts and fueling ski town economies as they head into an uncertain future | general |
Brazilian premium beverage trends from bullet coffee to craft beer | Or wait...
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20-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 20-Jan-2020 at 18:20 GMT
Related tags: Premium brands, Craft beer, artisan, Soft drinks function sanitize gpt value2 ( gptValue) { var vOut= '' ''; var aTags = gptValue.split ( ', '); var reg = new RegExp ( '\\W+ ', `` g ''); for ( var i=0; i < aTags.length; i++) { vOut += aTags [ i ].trim ().replace ( reg, '- ').substring ( 0,40); if ( i! = ( aTags.length-1)) vOut += ', '; } vOut = vOut.toLowerCase (); return vOut; } $ ( document).ready ( function () { dataLayerNews = { }; dataLayerNews.related tags = sanitize gpt value2 ( `` Premium brands, Craft beer, artisan, Soft drinks ''); dataLayer.push ( dataLayerNews); });
One of the biggest changes currently shaping the beverage industry is the move from in-bar to at-home consumption, according to Euromonitor analyst Angélica Salado.
She attributed this to consumers’ desire to disconnect from the pull of social media and smartphones and find ‘ the joy in missing out’, known as JOMO. Premium-positioned, craft or artisan beverages allow them to recreate the experience of drinking in bars or restaurants in a more intimate setting.
“ They are breaking away from the need to stay connected and share their habits, ” she wrote in an online blog ( in Portuguese). “ [ They ] are more interested in experimentation and higher value-added brands [ for ] in-home consumption. They are allowing themselves to consume more sophisticated products as a form of self-indulgence.
`` This is impacting the brands they consume, as they choose the brand according to the occasion of consumption: a brand to take with friends in bars; others on occasions such as barbecues; others at home for when they are alone. ”
Craft beer is one beverage riding on this wave. According to Euromonitor data, premium beer consumption in Brazil grew by an average of 3.7% per year between 2012 and 2017 while retail-only sales were even higher, at 4.4% for the same period.
Pratinha’ s Magic Booze, a concentrated and bottled Indian Pale Ale ( IPA) that consumers 'craft ' themselves by adding sparkling water, is an example. According to Pratinha, its first batch sold out within 24 hours of launching and Mintel analyst Lynn Dornblaser selected it as one of the most innovative food and drink products of 2019, describing it as unique.
“ The original drink is produced the usual way, but then it goes through a process of freezing at very low temperatures and pressure reduction, which sublimates the liquids, '' she said. “ After this process, the drink gets a new addition of malts and hops of aromatic profiles and adjusted alcohol content. ”
Premiumization is not limited to alcoholic drinks such as craft beer or gin, however.
Brazil’ s RTD tea category has boomed in recent years and products span the full spectrum, ranging from “ super affordable brands - including private label - to super premium and functional versions ”, said Euromonitor.
The market data company suggested that small and regional players are growing faster in off-trade volume terms for RTD teas but some of Brazil's big beverage are trying to meet demand for premium RTD teas. At the end of 2018, for instance, Danone Waters Brazil launched 4U, a range of premium carbonated juices and flavored teas made with natural ingredients and free from preservatives or artificial colors.
Manufacturers of RTD coffee, which already has mass appeal in Brazil, can offer up-market products thanks to the trend for bullet coffee. Made with brewed coffee, butter and medium-chain triglyceride ( MCT) coconut oil, the drink is popular with individuals on a high-fat, low-carb diet.
Organic brand Puravida sells a bullet coffee kit that includes coffee, MCT coconut and ghee – clarified butter - made with milk from grass-fed, antibiotic-free cows. It also recently launched an RTD bullet coffee suitable for vegans made with coconut oil and cold-brew coffee, available in a 300 ml carton.
“ Although it costs around four times more than a regular RTD coffee brand in Brazil, the [ bullet coffee ] beverage concept has been attracting consumers, especially those who are heavy sports practitioners, ” said Euromonitor. “ Over the next few years, the brand [ Puravida ] is not expected to be democratized but could lead the way for other brands to offer similar solutions. ”
Ingredient suppliers are developing products that can help manufacturers create products with a craft feel.
Last year, for instance, Duas Rodas added an aromatic herbal extract that contains a blend of star anise, balsamic and clove, among others, that answers the growing demand for botanical ingredients and drinks with a more nuanced, bitter taste profile. The supplier said it could be used in RTD cocktails, bitters or liqueurs. | general |
Malta minister quits over husband's links to reporter murder 'mastermind ' | Hi, what are you looking for?
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Maltese minister Justyne Caruana resigned Monday after her husband, a former investigator into the murder of a prominent journalist, was revealed to have holidayed with the alleged mastermind behind the killing.
Caruana -- who was appointed to the government's brand-new cabinet just last week -- said in her resignation letter that she was quitting despite being `` totally extraneous '' to the affair, the prime minister's office said in a statement.
Her exit came after the Times of Malta said Sunday her husband, Silvio Valletta, travelled to a football match in Britain with tycoon Yorgen Fenech, who has been charged with complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Caruana had sworn in on Wednesday as minister for the island of Gozo under Malta's new leader Robert Abela.
She had held the same post under his predecessor, Joseph Muscat, who resigned over allegations he hampered the murder probe.
Valletta was deputy police commissioner at the time of blogger Caruana Galizia's 2017 car bomb murder. She had exposed high level corruption in the island state.
He suspended himself from the case in June 2018 after a court upheld a claim by the slain reporter's family that there was a conflict of interest, because of the investigator's ties to a minister in a government Caruana Galizia had frequented targeted.
That ruling was appealed by the attorney general, but upheld by the country's highest court in October 2018.
Valletta travelled to watch a football match at Chelsea FC's Stamford Bridge Stadium in September 2018, after suspending himself from the case but before the constitutional court's decision.
A video showing him in Fenech's Rolls Royce was found on the businessman's phone.
Fenech was charged as an accomplice in the murder after being detained trying to leave the country on his yacht.
His arrest in November sparked the resignation of Muscat's chief of staff and the tourism minister, before claiming Muscat's scalp as well.
Three men are on trial for allegedly detonating the bomb that killed the 53-year-old mother of three.
Valletta on Sunday admitted the holiday with Fenech, but said it only came once he had stepped aside from the case.
He said he paid for the flights himself, and he did not know Fenech was a suspect in the murder at the time.
`` I never did anything wrong and would certainly never have gone abroad with anyone who I suspected or knew to be under investigation '', Valletta, who retired from the police force in September, told journalists.
Malta's home affairs minister said Valletta's trip with Fenech will be investigated.
Maltese minister Justyne Caruana resigned Monday after her husband, a former investigator into the murder of a prominent journalist, was revealed to have holidayed with the alleged mastermind behind the killing.
Caruana — who was appointed to the government’ s brand-new cabinet just last week — said in her resignation letter that she was quitting despite being “ totally extraneous ” to the affair, the prime minister’ s office said in a statement.
Her exit came after the Times of Malta said Sunday her husband, Silvio Valletta, travelled to a football match in Britain with tycoon Yorgen Fenech, who has been charged with complicity in the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Caruana had sworn in on Wednesday as minister for the island of Gozo under Malta’ s new leader Robert Abela.
She had held the same post under his predecessor, Joseph Muscat, who resigned over allegations he hampered the murder probe.
Valletta was deputy police commissioner at the time of blogger Caruana Galizia’ s 2017 car bomb murder. She had exposed high level corruption in the island state.
He suspended himself from the case in June 2018 after a court upheld a claim by the slain reporter’ s family that there was a conflict of interest, because of the investigator’ s ties to a minister in a government Caruana Galizia had frequented targeted.
That ruling was appealed by the attorney general, but upheld by the country’ s highest court in October 2018.
Valletta travelled to watch a football match at Chelsea FC’ s Stamford Bridge Stadium in September 2018, after suspending himself from the case but before the constitutional court’ s decision.
A video showing him in Fenech’ s Rolls Royce was found on the businessman’ s phone.
Fenech was charged as an accomplice in the murder after being detained trying to leave the country on his yacht.
His arrest in November sparked the resignation of Muscat’ s chief of staff and the tourism minister, before claiming Muscat’ s scalp as well.
Three men are on trial for allegedly detonating the bomb that killed the 53-year-old mother of three.
Valletta on Sunday admitted the holiday with Fenech, but said it only came once he had stepped aside from the case.
He said he paid for the flights himself, and he did not know Fenech was a suspect in the murder at the time.
“ I never did anything wrong and would certainly never have gone abroad with anyone who I suspected or knew to be under investigation ”, Valletta, who retired from the police force in September, told journalists.
Malta’ s home affairs minister said Valletta’ s trip with Fenech will be investigated.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
New York's weaknesses in the face of climate change, the city is erecting a $ 1.45-billion system of walls and floodgates.
Kroger, the country’ s biggest traditional grocery chain, is ending some benefits for unvaccinated workers.
Australia will push ahead with plans to ease Covid restrictions before Christmas.
Nearly 10 years after Imad al-Hisso fled the civil war in Syria, he remains trapped in Gaza, a place he calls `` a prison. ''
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
What is coronavirus? COVID-19 explained | `` What we know is it causes pneumonia and then doesn't respond to antibiotic treatment, which is not surprising, but then in terms of mortality, SARS kills 10% of the individuals, '' Poon, a virologist at the School of Public Health at The University of Hong Kong, said.
It's not clear how deadly the Wuhan coronavirus will be, but fatality rates are currently lower than both MERS and SARS. Experts stress that it will change as the outbreak develops.
The World Health Organization offered guidance to countries on how they can prepare for it, including how to monitor for the sick and how to treat patients. Here's what you should know about coronaviruses.
What is a coronavirus?
Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are common among animals. In rare cases, they are what scientists call zoonotic, meaning they can be transmitted from animals to humans, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Coronavirus symptoms
The viruses can make people sick, usually with a mild to moderate upper respiratory tract illness, similar to a common cold. Coronavirus symptoms include a runny nose, cough, sore throat, possibly a headache and maybe a fever, which can last for a couple of days.
For those with a weakened immune system, the elderly and the very young, there's a chance the virus could cause a lower, and much more serious, respiratory tract illness like a pneumonia or bronchitis.
There are a handful of human coronaviruses that are known to be deadly.
Middle East respiratory syndrome, also known as the MERS virus, was first reported in the Middle East in 2012 and also causes respiratory problems, but those symptoms are much more severe. Three to four out of every 10 patients infected with MERS died, according to the CDC.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome, also known as SARS, is the other coronavirus that can cause more severe symptoms. First identified in the Guangdong province in southern China, according to the WHO, it causes respiratory problems but can also cause diarrhea, fatigue, shortness of breath, respiratory distress and kidney failure. Depending on the patient's age, the death rate with SARS ranged from 0-50% of the cases, with older people being the most vulnerable.
The Wuhan coronavirus is currently thought to be more mild than SARS and MERS and takes longer to develop symptoms. Patients to date have typically experienced a mild cough for a week followed by shortness of breath, causing them to visit the hospital, explains Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health at the University of Oxford. So far, around 15% to 20% of cases have become severe, requiring, for example, ventilation in the hospital.
How it spreads
Viruses can spread from human contact with animals. Scientists think MERS started in camels, according to the WHO. With SARS, scientists suspected civet cats were to blame. Officials do not yet know what animal may have caused the current outbreak in Wuhan.
When it comes to human-to-human transmission of the viruses, often it happens when someone comes into contact with an infected person's secretions, such as droplets in a cough.
Depending on how virulent the virus is, a cough, sneeze or handshake could cause exposure. The virus can also be transmitted by touching something an infected person has touched and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes. Caregivers can sometimes be exposed by handling a patient's waste, according to the CDC.
Human-to-human transmission has been confirmed for the Wuhan coronavirus, but experts are now trying to understand who is transmitting it most, who is at most risk and whether transmission is occurring mostly in hospitals or in the community. SARS and MERS were largely transmitted inside hospitals, Horby said. Some people are also considered to be `` superspreaders. ''
Who is affected?
MERS, SARS and the Wuhan coronavirus appear to cause more severe disease in older people, though uncertainty remains around the latest outbreak. Of the cases of Wuhan coronavirus reported so far, none are yet confirmed to be among children, Horby said. The average age is people 40 or over, he said.
Coronavirus treatment
There is no specific treatment, but research is underway. Most of the time, symptoms will go away on their own and experts advise seeking care early. If symptoms feel worse than a standard cold, see your doctor.
Doctors can relieve symptoms by prescribing a pain or fever medication. The CDC says a room humidifier or a hot shower can help with a sore throat or cough.
Drink plenty of fluids, get rest and sleep as much as possible.
Should you worry about the Wuhan coronavirus?
The Wuhan coronavirus fatality rate is lower than for SARS and MERS, but still comparable to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, explains Neil Ferguson, professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London.
`` It is a significant concern, globally, '' Ferguson says, noting that we don't fully understand the severity.
Ferguson believes the fatality rate is likely to be lower due to an `` iceberg '' of milder cases we are yet to find, but he highlights that novel viruses spread much faster through a population.
How can you can prevent it?
There is no vaccine to protect against this family of viruses, at least not yet. Trials for a MERS vaccine are underway. The US National Institutes of Health is working on a vaccine against the new virus, but it will be months until clinical trials get underway and more than a year until it might become available.
You may be able to reduce your risk of infection by avoiding people who are sick. Try to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Wash your hands often with soap and water and for at least 20 seconds.
Awareness is key. If you are sick and have reason to believe it may be the Wuhan coronavirus due to travel to the region or coming into contact with someone who has been there, you should let a health care provider know and seek treatment early.
Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, and disinfect the objects and surfaces you touch.
If traveling to China, be aware of symptoms and avoid live animal markets, which is where the latest outbreak began in Wuhan.
Coronavirus and pregnancy
In pregnant women, the more severe versions of MERS and SARS coronaviruses can be serious. There are cases in which a woman infected with MERS had a stillbirth, a 2014 study showed.
SARS-associated illnesses were linked to cases of spontaneous abortion, maternal death and critical maternal illness, a 2004 study found.
Coronavirus and cats, dogs and other animals
Pets can catch coronaviruses and the infections can become severe. Sometimes the viruses can lead to deadly diseases. One can cause feline infectious peritonitis in cats and something called a pantropic canine coronavirus can infect cats and dogs, according to a 2011 study.
Cats can catch SARS, but none of the infected cats developed symptoms, according to the study. The feline coronavirus typically is asymptomatic, but can cause mild diarrhea. Feline infectious peritonitis, or FIP, can cause flu-like symptoms for a cat, but can also be more serious for cats and can cause organ failure, but it is not contagious and will not spread from animal to animal or person to person.
Pantropic canine coronavirus that can impact cats and dogs can be fatal to dogs, studies show.
These particular dog and cat viruses don't seem to spread to humans. | business |
Essential Science: Developing ML to see protein patterns | Hi, what are you looking for?
By
Published
The patterns of interest are leucine-aspartic acid motifs. These are short amino acid sequences found within some proteins designed to connect them to the cellular molecules which control cell adhesion, motility, and survival.
LD motifs and their role in disease
The proteins are involved with embryogenesis ( the process by which the embryo develops from the fertilised egg cell), wound healing and the evolution of multicellularity ( as characterized by advanced lifeforms).
However, leucine-aspartic acid motifs are also known to function in cancer cell spreading plus in relation to cardiovascular and infectious diseases. Hence, a greater understanding of the patterns could lead to new medical advancements.
Developing knowledge about leucine-aspartic acid motifs began with their discovery in 1996, although only four such proteins have been discovered to date, according to Laboratory Manager magazine. Accurate prediction of the proteins has proven to be difficult due to their shortness and sequence degeneracy.
Machine learning and new developments
The new understanding about the protein structures comes from King Abdullah University of Science & Technology and it involved the application of machine learning. The developed tool has been named the LD Motif Finder ( LDMF).
Machine learning is concerned with the creation and evaluation of algorithms that facilitate pattern recognition, classification, and prediction, based on models derived from existing data.
The algorithm scans through the human proteome and identify leucine-aspartic acid motif patterns. The initial design proved to be highly-complex, given the very few number of available patterns available to train the platform.
The accuracy of the algorithm was enhanced by including experimental testing of earlier predictions and teaching the system to learn from the results.
By applying the machine learning, the science group were successful in identifying twelve new human proteins that carry functional leucine-aspartic acid motifs.
Commenting on this lead researcher Stefan Arold states: “ This gives us a good idea of how many of these motifs exist within the human proteome. It seems there are far fewer than researchers initially suggested. Of course, this does not mean that they are biologically irrelevant. ”
The key finding was that proteins containing leucine-aspartic acid motifs possess functions connected to cell adhesion and morphogenesis. This infers that leucine-aspartic acid motifs significantly define the cellular roles of proteins.
The machine learning tool was also applied for the examination of the genomes of mammals, birds, fish, worms, insects and microorganisms, in order to track down leucine-aspartic acid motifs. The broader analysis enabled the researchers to conclude that leucine-aspartic acid motif signaling evolved some 800 million years ago in unicellular organisms.
Other applications of machine learning
Machine learning is being used to advance biological research in other ways. For example, one research group at MIT used an algorithm to predict how human cells respond to breaks in DNA. This led to the finding that cells generally repair broken genes in ways that are precise and predictable. This finding could help to treat some forms of rare genetic diseases.
With medicine, the application of machine learning has extended from preliminary ( early-stage) drug discovery to the initial screening of drug compounds and with predicted success rates of various biological factors.
Such examples suggest that the big paradigm shift of machine learning will, in time, be adopted in all areas of biology and medicine.
Research paper
The research has been published in the journal Bioinfomatics, with the paper titled “ Proteome-level assessment of origin, prevalence and function of leucine-aspartic acid ( LD) motifs. ”
Essential Science
This article is part of Digital Journal’ s regular Essential Science columns. Each week Tim Sandle explores a topical and important scientific issue.
Last week the subject was exoplanets. This followed news that NASA has reported it has detected an Earth-like planet that has all the indications of being habitable. This forms part of the space agency’ s attempt to seek out new planets of interest in the cosmos.
The week before we looked at why earlier attempts to develop a vaccine against the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus have failed. The research indicates that a new approach for vaccine design is required. This approach is one where an untapped set of immune cells need to be activated.
Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
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China's new coronavirus has spread to more cities — Quartz | Chinese authorities confirmed on Monday ( Jan. 20) that an outbreak of a new pneumonia-like illness had spread to two more mainland cities. The number of new infections reported has also sharply jumped in Wuhan, the Chinese city where it was first spotted last month, officials said.
The worrying turn for China’ s mysterious new coronavirus comes as the country readies for one of its busiest travel seasons in the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, and as some health experts caution that the actual number of infections could be far higher than what authorities are saying.
South Korea, meanwhile, confirmed its first case on Monday. Officials there said a traveler arriving at Seoul’ s Incheon airport, who had been to Wuhan last week, tested positive for the virus and had been treated at a local hospital. This brings the number of countries with confirmed cases to four.
Last week, one case was confirmed in Japan and two in Thailand, all among people who had recently traveled to Wuhan.
Meanwhile, Beijing’ s Daxing district announced early Monday that it had confirmed two cases of the new type of coronavirus, a family of infections that cause the common cold but also far more serious illnesses, such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS.
Three people have so far died from illnesses caused by this new virus—all in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
“ Two patients have been treated in isolation at designated hospitals. They have no respiratory symptoms and are in stable condition. Our district has carried out medical observations on close contacts, and currently, there are no abnormalities such as fever, ” the Beijing district’ s health commission said ( link in Chinese).
The southern tech hub of Shenzhen, located a short high-speed train ride from Hong Kong, confirmed that it had one case. Meanwhile, 136 fresh infections were reported over the weekend in Wuhan, bringing the total number of cases China has confirmed to more than 200. A statistical analysis from Imperial College London’ s infectious disease research center estimated on Friday that the number of infections in Wuhan ought to be far higher, in the range of roughly 1,700 cases. The estimate was based on an extrapolation from the presence of international cases.
On Dec. 31, China informed the World Health Organization of a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown cause, later identifying the infection on Jan. 7 as a new type of coronavirus, which typically is transmitted to humans from animals. The Wuhan infections, which include symptoms such as fever and shortness of breath, have been linked to a wholesale seafood market in that city, but some of the confirmed cases involve people who had not visited the market.
The three patients in Beijing and Shenzhen had traveled to Wuhan recently, state-run news agency Xinhua said. The patient in Japan had traveled to Wuhan, where he did not visit any live animal market but did come into close contact with a person with pneumonia. Chinese authorities have not confirmed any cases of human-to-human infection, but the Hong Kong health department noted that ” the possibility of limited human-to-human transmission could not be ruled out. ”
Social media users said the developments of recent days were bringing back uneasy memories of the 2003 SARS outbreak, which left more than 8,000 people in the region sick and killed nearly 800, including nearly 270 in Hong Kong. Some also wondered if China had announced the spread of infections to other cities as speedily as it ought to have. “ They could not cover this up and now finally decided to announce the cases, ” said one user of social media platform Weibo ( link in Chinese).
Airports in and beyond the region have begun tracking travelers from China for symptoms and exposure to agricultural markets in Wuhan. Hong Kong has been screening travelers with temperature checks. Thailand, where two cases of coronavirus were reported, is screening arrivals in Bangkok and other popular tourist cities. The US said it will begin screening travelers arriving at New York’ s JFK and other key hubs.
Jane Li contributed reporting.
Correction: The analysis from Imperial College London’ s MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis was published on Jan. 17, not Jan. 20. | tech |
The Wuhan coronavirus likely made the jump from animals to humans — Quartz | As of today ( Jan. 20), a new respiratory virus in China has sickened more than 200 people across six cities. Cases have also been reported in South Korea, Japan, and Thailand. The head of the Chinese health authority confirmed that it appears the virus can be spread from person to person, putting health authorities on high alert ahead of the Lunar New Year, which is accompanied by some of the year’ s biggest travel days in the region.
The first cases of the virus appeared in the mainland city Wuhan late last year. Health officials say the virus, which isn’ t named yet, causes a fever and shortness of breath, which has led to pneumonia in some cases and three deaths so far.
Virologists studying this recent outbreak have identified the culprit as a coronavirus, which gets its name for the protein protrusions that decorate the outside of the virus like a crown. At first glance, coronaviruses are unremarkable: They’ re common among animals, and in humans cause illnesses similar to the common cold, which are usually not severe. But coronaviruses have one trait that makes them particularly hard to contain: They’ re zoonotic, meaning they have the ability to jump between animals and humans.
Viruses are essentially genetic code encapsulated in a protein shell, and they have three goals in life ( if we can call them alive): Find another life form they’ re compatible with, copy themselves like crazy, and jump into the next host. Typically, viruses are only capable of invading a certain type of cell, like for example those that line the respiratory tracts of pigs. That’ s why viruses that make animals sick usually won’ t make their way to humans.
That’ s not the case with coronaviruses and other zoonotic microbes. These viruses have a single strand of genetic material, called RNA, which means it mutates easily as it copies itself. ( More complex lifeforms, like us and animals, have double-stranded genetic material called DNA. The mirroring strand can act like a copy editor.) Most of the time, these mutations are useless—but every now and then, they can enable a pathogen to infect a new species, as Ben Longdon, a virologist at the University of Exeter, explained for TED Ed.
This particular virus seems to have originated from a fish and live-animal market in Wuhan, according to the World Health Organization. The coronavirus that caused the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, epidemic in China, originated in horseshoe bats before making its way to civets, small mammals that some people eat, which is how it became the first pandemic of the 21st century. The 2012 Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, first jumped from camels to humans.
Zoonotic viruses are particularly dangerous because they’ ve got multiple species to infect and spread between, and are therefore harder to contain. Our risk of picking up these types of viruses has only gone up in modern times, as we continue to interact with animals and encroach further into their territory through activities like deforestation. Climate change hasn’ t helped, because warmer climates mean that certain pathogens can survive for longer in more parts of the world. And globalization means that we can introduce viruses to new parts of the world as we travel.
With quick action from public health officials, it’ s still possible to contain viruses. Hong Kong has already initiated a disease response plan, and airports in Shenzhen have started screening passengers for fevers and are doubling down on measures to stop illegal wildlife trading. Hopefully, these coordinated efforts will be enough to stop this coronavirus from reaching around the globe. | tech |
China Confirms New Coronavirus Spreads From Humans to Humans | WUHAN, China — The mysterious coronavirus that has killed at least four people and sickened more than 200 in China is capable of spreading from person to person, a prominent Chinese scientist said on Monday, adding to fears of a broader epidemic.
The disclosure increased pressure on the Chinese government to contain a growing public health crisis, just as China enters its busiest travel season of the year. On Tuesday, the authorities confirmed a fourth death from the illness in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.
The authorities had previously said the deadly virus seemed capable of spreading only from animals to humans in most cases, tracing the outbreak to a market in Wuhan.
But in recent days at least two people have become infected with the pneumonialike virus even though they live hundreds of miles from Wuhan, experts said on Monday, suggesting that the illness is spreading from person to person.
“ Now we can say it is certain that it is a human-to-human transmission phenomenon, ” Dr. Zhong Nanshan, a scientist who is leading a government-appointed expert panel on the outbreak, said in an interview on state-run television on Monday.
The World Health Organization announced Monday that it was convening an emergency meeting on Wednesday “ to ascertain whether the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, and what recommendations should be made to manage it. ”
Millions of Chinese are traveling this week for the Lunar New Year holiday, adding to fears that the virus could spread swiftly and on a broader scale. Experts said the severity of the outbreak would now depend on how many people, on average, a person with virus could infect.
“ There are now sufficient cases that it’ s not going to die out by chance, ” said Neil Ferguson, a public health expert at Imperial College London who has studied the new virus. “ The real question now is, how efficiently can this virus spread from person to person? ”
China’ s leader, Xi Jinping, said on Monday that the outbreak “ must be taken seriously ” and that every possible measure should be taken to contain it, according to the state broadcaster CCTV.
Also on Monday, the authorities reported that new cases had been detected for the first time in Beijing, Shanghai and the southern province of Guangdong, all hundreds of miles from Wuhan. Cases have also been reported in Japan, South Korea and Thailand. In many of these cases, people infected with the virus had traveled to Wuhan.
Here is what we know about the virus, where it has been found, how it is spreading and what precautions are being taken:
The government of Wuhan first confirmed on Dec. 31 that hospitals in the city were treating dozens of patients for pneumonia with an unknown cause.
Many of the cases were connected to the Huanan Seafood Market, which also sold live poultry and exotic animal meats. Considered a likely source of the virus, the market was closed and disinfected.
The health commission in Wuhan said on Sunday that the illness had also appeared in people who had not been exposed to the market, raising the possibility that the virus could be present elsewhere in the city.
Local officials have pledged to handle the outbreak with transparency. But the memory of how China initially covered up the extent of a deadly SARS outbreak that infected more than 8,000 people in 2002 and 2003 has not completely faded. Although flu experts have said the Chinese government is trying to be more transparent now, many in China remain skeptical.
Over the weekend, the number of reported cases more than tripled to about 200, mostly in Wuhan. One more person in the city died, bringing the total death toll to three, while nine others remained critically ill, the city’ s health commission said. Twenty-five people have recovered.
The authorities have started detecting the country’ s first cases outside of Wuhan. Five new cases were reported in Beijing, 14 in Guangdong Province, and two in Shanghai. The total number of cases climbed to at least 219.
The World Health Organization said the spike in reported cases was the result of increased searching and testing for respiratory illnesses.
Researchers in China identified the mysterious pneumonialike illness in early January as a new coronavirus.
Experts initially said that it did not appear to be readily spread by humans, but on Monday Dr. Zhong, the scientist appointed by the government to study the outbreak, said that in Guangdong, two individuals appeared to have been infected by relatives who had traveled to Wuhan.
Dr. Zhong said the virus could be present in particles of saliva. In one case, he said, a patient appears to have infected 14 medical workers.
Coronaviruses are named for the spikes that protrude from their membranes, like the sun’ s corona. Such viruses cause several illnesses of the respiratory tract, ranging from the common cold to severe diseases like SARS. Dr. Zhong was China’ s leading SARS expert during that outbreak.
According to the World Health Organization, common signs of infection include fever, cough, and respiratory difficulties like shortness of breath. Serious cases can lead to pneumonia, kidney failure and even death.
The authorities in Thailand detected the new coronavirus last week in two Chinese women who had flown from Wuhan to Bangkok on separate trips. The government said the women, aged 74 and 61, were in good condition.
In Japan, a Chinese man who returned from Wuhan on Jan. 6 was also confirmed to have the disease. He was discharged after five days in a hospital.
Updated June 12, 2020
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’ s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “ very rare, ” but she later walked back that statement.
A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’ s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.
Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “ start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid, ” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “ When you haven’ t been exercising, you lose muscle mass. ” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.
States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’ t being told to stay at home, it’ s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. ( Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
Taking one’ s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “ normal ” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’ t have a thermometer ( they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications.
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’ t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’ t replace hand washing and social distancing.
If you’ ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
If you’ re sick and you think you’ ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’ s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’ re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’ t be able to get tested.
South Korea confirmed its first case of the coronavirus on Monday in a 35-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan who arrived on Sunday at Incheon International Airport, which serves Seoul.
The woman was found with a fever, muscle pain and other symptoms while going through customs and was immediately quarantined for tests, said Jung Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The woman was traveling with five other people intending to spend the Lunar New Year holidays in South Korea and Japan, Ms. Jung said. South Korean officials were running tests on anyone believed to have come in contact with the woman in the plane, she said.
In Hong Kong, the government initiated a disease response plan after the first cases were reported in Wuhan. Dozens of people were hospitalized after returning to Hong Kong from mainland China, but none were found to have been infected with the new virus.
Five people who traveled from Wuhan to Zhejiang, a coastal Chinese province south of Shanghai, are being treated for fever but have not been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, the health authorities there said.
State media also reported six suspected cases on Monday, including two in Sichuan Province, one in Shanghai, one in Yunnan Province, one in Shandong Province and one in the region of Guangxi.
In the southern city of Shenzhen, the authorities have started imposing temperature screening procedures at the airport and at train and bus stations. The city said it would also crack down on the illegal trading of wild animals.
The W.H.O. says animals appear to be the most likely primary source of the outbreak, though it is still not known which animals are responsible.
Past outbreaks of similar illnesses, like SARS, were believed to have emerged from markets where people and live animals were in regular contact.
To prevent the spread of respiratory infections, the W.H.O. recommends that people wash their hands regularly, cover their mouths and noses when coughing and sneezing, and avoid direct contact with farm or wild animals.
The health authorities in Hong Kong have also advised residents traveling outside the city not to touch live animals, not to eat wild animals, and to avoid markets selling fresh meat and live poultry.
Javier C. Hernández reported from Wuhan and Austin Ramzy reported from Hong Kong. Choe Sang-Hun contributed reporting from Seoul, South Korea. Elsie Chen contributed research from Wuhan, and Albee Zhang contributed research from Beijing. | business |
Human-to-human coronavirus transmission confirmed with China in heavy-travel Lunar New Year period | BEIJING ( AP) — The head of a Chinese government expert team said Monday that human-to-human transmission has been confirmed in an outbreak of a new coronavirus, a development that raises the possibility that it could spread more quickly and widely.
Team leader Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory expert, said two people in Guangdong province in southern China caught the virus from family members, state media said. Some medical workers have also tested positive for the virus, the English-language China Daily newspaper reported.
The late-night announcement capped a day in which authorities announced a sharp uptick in the number of confirmed cases to more than 200, and China’ s leader called on the government to take every possible step to combat the outbreak.
Market Pulse ( Jan. 17):
CDC to start screening some travelers from China at three major U.S. airports for signs of Coronavirus
“ The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously, ” President Xi Jinping said in his first public statement on the crisis. “ Party committees, governments and relevant departments at all levels should put people’ s lives and health first. ”
Xi’ s remarks were reported by state broadcaster CCTV on its main 7 p.m. evening news broadcast.
In Geneva, the World Health Organization announced it would convene an Emergency Committee meeting on Wednesday to determine whether the outbreak warrants being declared a global health crisis.
Such declarations are typically made for epidemics of severe diseases that threaten to cross borders and require an internationally coordinated response. Previous global emergencies have been declared for crises including the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo, the emergence of Zika virus in the Americas in 2016 and the West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2014.
The spread of the viral pneumonia comes as the country enters its busiest travel period, when millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. The outbreak is believed to have started late last month when people picked it up at a fresh food market in Wuhan, a city in central China.
Wuhan health authorities said Monday an additional 136 cases have been confirmed in the city, raising the total to 198. Three have died.
Authorities elsewhere also announced cases in other Chinese cities for the first time.
Five individuals in Beijing and 14 in Guangdong have also been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, CCTV reported Monday evening. A total of seven suspected cases have been found in other parts of the country, including in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in the southwest and in Shanghai.
Zhong said the two people in Guangdong had not been to Wuhan but fell ill after family members had returned from the city, the China Daily said.
The outbreak has put other countries on alert as millions of Chinese travel for Lunar New Year. Authorities in Thailand and in Japan have already identified at least three cases, all involving recent travel from China.
South Korea reported its first case Monday, when a 35-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan tested positive for the new coronavirus one day after arriving at Seoul’ s Incheon airport. The woman has been isolated at a state-run hospital in Incheon city, just west of Seoul, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.
At least a half-dozen countries in Asia and three U.S. airports have started screening incoming airline passengers from central China.
Videos posted online show people in protective suits checking one-by-one the temperatures of plane passengers arriving in Macao from Wuhan. A man surnamed Yang who works for the Macao Health Bureau confirmed over the phone that such checks are taking place in the southern Chinese region.
Canada’ s Chief Medical officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said additional signage will be in place in the coming days at airports in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. There will also be additional screening questions at electronic kiosks at customs asking people if they have traveled to areas where coronavirus is and if they have flu like symptoms.
“ The Chinese lunar year is coming so out of abundance precaution that’ s why we are putting out additional information for travelers, ” Tam said.
Many of the initial cases of the coronavirus were linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, which was closed as authorities investigated.
Since hundreds of people who came into close contact with diagnosed patients have not gotten sick, the municipal health commission maintains that the virus is not easily transmitted between humans.
China’ s National Health Commission said experts have judged the current outbreak to be “ preventable and controllable. ”
“ However, the source of the new type of coronavirus has not been found, we do not fully understand how the virus is transmitted, and changes in the virus still need to be closely monitored, ” the commission said in a statement Sunday.
Coronaviruses cause diseases ranging from the common cold to SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. SARS first infected people in southern China in late 2002 and spread to more than two dozen countries, killing nearly 800. The Chinese government initially tried to conceal the severity of the SARS epidemic, but its cover-up was exposed by a high-ranking physician.
“ In the early days of SARS, reports were delayed and covered up, ” said an editorial in the nationalistic Global Times. “ That kind of thing must not happen again in China. ”
“ We have made great strides in medicine, social affairs management and public opinion since 2003, ” the editorial said.
Xi instructed government departments Monday to promptly release information on the virus and deepen international cooperation.
China has notified and maintained close communication with the World Health Organization and other relevant countries and regions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular news briefing.
Wuhan has also adopted measures to control the flow of people leaving the city, Geng said.
The virus causing the current outbreak is different from those previously identified, Chinese scientists said earlier this month. Initial symptoms of the novel coronavirus include fever, cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath.
On the Weibo social media platform, which is widely used in China, people posted prevention advice such as wearing masks and washing hands. State broadcaster CCTV recommended staying warm, increasing physical activity, eating lightly and avoiding crowded places. Some people said they had canceled their travel plans and were staying home for Lunar New Year. | business |
As millions set to travel, China's coronavirus outbreak spreads | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The president’ s remarks, broadcast over state-owned CCTV came about as health authorities confirmed that the new coronavirus is spreading to cities across the country, including the capital Beijing and Shanghai. An additional case has been reported outside the country, according to Reuters.
“ The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and other places must be taken seriously, ” Xi said, according to CCTV, as reported by the Associated Press. “ Party committees, governments, and relevant departments at all levels should put people’ s lives and health first. ”
They should “ ensure that the masses have a quiet, peaceful and joyous Spring Festival, ” he added.
In Wuhan, where the coronavirus is said to have originated, health officials said an additional 136 cases of the pneumonia-like illness has been confirmed, bringing the total number of cases in the city to 198 infected patients. An additional person has died.
Five cases have been confirmed in Beijing and 14 cases have been confirmed in southern China’ s Guangdong province. Seven more cases have been confirmed in other cities across China, including Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in the southwest and in Shanghai.
The new case, outside China, was confirmed in South Korea where a 35-year-old Chinese woman from Wuhan tested positive for the coronavirus one day after arriving in Seoul. She has been hospitalized in isolation, according to NBC News,
“ Wuhan is a major hub and with travel being a huge part of the fast approaching Chinese New Year, the concern level must remain high. There is more to come from this outbreak, ” said Jeremy Farrar, a specialist in infectious disease epidemics and director of the Wellcome Trust global health charity.
The new coronavirus belongs to the same family of coronaviruses as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS), which killed 800 people worldwide during a 2002/03 outbreak. That coronavirus also started in China.
The symptoms of the new coronavirus mimic those of many upper respiratory tract ailments, including fever, cough, tightness of the chest and shortness of breath.
Meanwhile, millions of people are preparing to travel to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which begins on January 25 and lasts until February 4. China’ s National Health Commission said on Sunday that it will “ step up our guard ” and bring in new “ control measures ” in advance of the huge celebration, a major holiday that’ s referred to as the “ world’ s largest annual human migration, ” according to Business Insider.
Karen Graham is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for environmental news. Karen's view of what is happening in our world is colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in man's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, `` Journalism is merely history's first draft. '' Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.
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New virus surging in Asia rattles scientists | A lethal viral outbreak in China probably originated in a Wuhan animal market, which has since been closed.
Credit: Noel Celis/AFP/Getty
Scientists are increasingly concerned about a new virus that is spreading in Asia. The number of people known to have the respiratory illness, which originated in China, has more than doubled in the past few days. On 20 January, Chinese government officials reported 136 new cases in Wuhan, where the outbreak began, as well as a slew of new cases elsewhere in China. South Korea also reported its first infection. The total number of confirmed cases is now 221: 217 in China and four outside the country.
It also now seems that the virus can be spread from person to person, although the extent of such transmissibility is unclear. So far, three people with the illness are known to have died.
Why Japan imported Ebola ahead of the 2020 Olympics
The surge in new infections is particularly alarming given the approach of the Chinese New Year, the country’ s most significant annual holiday. From Friday, hundreds of millions of people will travel back to their home towns or overseas.
“ This could be the beginning of a disaster, ” says Seungtaek Kim, a virologist at the Institut Pasteur Korea in Seongnam, South Korea.
The illness was first detected last December among people who had visited a live-animal market in the city of Wuhan. But on 20 January, officials in South Korea reported the country’ s first case of the virus, which belongs to the same coronavirus family as the pathogen that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and that killed hundreds of people between 2002 and 2003. The South Korea detection comes after two people in Thailand and one in Japan tested positive last week.
The virus is also being detected more widely within China. Shenzhen and Beijing reported their first cases over the weekend. On 20 January, there were 5 confirmed cases in Beijing, and 14 in Guandong province, where Shenzhen is located. The total in Wuhan was 198 and there were 7 suspected cases elsewhere in China.
This Nigerian doctor might just prevent the next deadly pandemic
The World Health Organization has moved to subdue rising panic. On Twitter, it said that the increase in cases was the result of authorities increasing their searching and testing of people already sick with respiratory illnesses. It said that some human-to-human transmission was occurring between people in close contact, but that an animal seems the most likely primary source of the virus. China’ s National Health Commission has also tried to allay fears.
Cases jump
But some scientists are concerned that the jump in new cases, and the outbreak’ s geographic spread, might suggest that the virus is spreading more quickly than is currently reported by authorities. The initial cases were traced back to the live-animal market in Wuhan. But although the market has been shut since 1 January, new cases continue to be reported, including in people who had not visited the market.
Machine learning helps to identify the animals that deadly viruses call home
The latest cases probably include some of the ‘ first generation’ human-to-human infections, says Linfa Wang, director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases programme at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. If people are newly infected in other locations where the virus has since shown up, including Japan, Thailand, Beijing and Shenzhen, they are likely be part of a second generation of human-to-human cases, he says.
A group led by researchers at Imperial College London estimate that, on the basis of its
simulations of travel in and out of Wuhan
, some 1,700 people have been infected with the coronavirus. Airports in the United States, South Korea, Japan and other countries have already started to screen passengers from Wuhan for signs of infection.
Earlier this month, Chinese scientists
announced that they had identified the new virus
— and that it was the cause of the infections. Since then, research groups have sequenced six different samples of the virus. Although the new coronavirus is related to the virus that causes SARS, so far it lacks the transmissibility of SARS, says Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a virologist at the University of Tokyo. It has also caused only 3 deaths among the more than 200 people it is known to have infected,
whereas SARS killed some 15% of those it infected, and about half of those over 60 years old
. But the new virus could mutate into something more easily transmitted and more virulent, says Kawaoka.
Pandemics: spend on surveillance, not prediction
Scientists will need to keep sequencing the virus to know how it is evolving, says Kim, and to make sure that detection tests don’ t miss cases. It is also crucial that China identifies the animal source of the virus so that proper measures can be taken to limit its spread, he says.
Scientists outside China are hungry for information about the infected people, such as the exact dates they fell ill and whether they had been to a live-animal market, notes Kim. “ China needs to share more appropriate information and as soon as possible, ” says Kim. “ The disease is no longer confined within the country. A virus doesn’ t know borders. ” | science |
China confirms new coronavirus can spread between humans | Zhong Nanshan, head of the team set up by China's National Health Commission to investigate the pneumonia-like virus, confirmed that at least two cases had been spread from person to person and medical staff had also been infected.
Authorities had previously said that the new strain of coronavirus, which was traced by health officials to a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, was primarily passed from animals to humans.
But at least two people have become infected in recent days, despite living hundreds of miles from Wuhan.
`` The current cases show there is definitely human-to-human transmission, '' Zhong told Chinese state-run CCTV, explaining that two people in China's Guangdong province were infected by a family member who had recently returned from Wuhan.
Zhong, who helped discover the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus ( SARS) in 2003, said the infectiousness of this virus was not as strong as SARS, but that the disease was `` climbing '' and suggested that the `` death rate at the moment is not so representative. ''
SARS infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774 in a pandemic that ripped through Asia in 2002 and 2003.
Earlier on Monday, Chinese authorities reported that the number of cases had tripled over the weekend to 218. The outbreak has spread to Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzen, hundreds of miles from Wuhan, where the virus first surfaced last month.
Thailand has also reported two cases, while Japan and South Korea reported one each, taking the global total to 222.
Fears of major outbreak amid busy travel period
The spread of the outbreak comes as the country gets ready for the Lunar New Year holiday later this week. On Sunday, the World Health Organization ( WHO) said that there was evidence of `` limited human-to-human transmission '' of the new virus raising fears of a wider regional outbreak. The holiday period typically sees hundreds of millions of Chinese travel throughout the country and overseas.
The three cases outside China have all been linked to Wuhan. On Monday, South Korea also confirmed its first case of the virus.
According to the South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC), a 35-year-old Chinese woman was detected by temperature screening upon arriving Sunday at Seoul's Incheon International Airport from Wuhan. She has been quarantined and is in a stable condition, the CDC said.
The woman, a Wuhan resident, had planned to go on holiday in South Korea and Japan with five others. She said she developed a fever and muscle pains on Saturday and was prescribed cold medicine by a doctor in Wuhan, according to the CDC.
Almost 7 million Chinese were estimated to have traveled overseas last year during the Lunar New Year holiday season. `` I believe Chinese tourists will bring the virus to many other countries in Asia in the coming days, due to their overseas travels during the Lunar New Year holiday, '' Professor David Hui Shu-cheong, a respiratory expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told CNN Monday.
Study suggests infections may be underestimated
The pneumonia outbreak emerged last month in Wuhan, the largest city in central China and a major transportation hub. Officials in China have linked the viral infections to a Wuhan seafood and wildlife market, which has been closed since January 1 to prevent further spread of the illness.
Chinese scientists on January 8 identified the pathogen as a new strain of coronavirus, in the same family of the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome ( SARS).
While the new virus has not shown death rates like SARS, a new study by Imperial College London suggests the number of infections in Wuhan is likely to have been grossly underestimated.
`` The detection of three cases outside China is worrying. We calculate, based on flight and population data, that there is only a 1 in 574 chance that a person infected in Wuhan would travel overseas before they sought medical care. This implies there might have been over 1,700 cases in Wuhan so far, '' Imperial College London's Neil Ferguson, a disease outbreak scientist, told CNN.
On Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced three US airports -- in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles -- will start screening passengers arriving from Wuhan to check for signs of the new virus, following similar measures taken by governments in Asia.
In Wuhan, infrared thermometers have been installed at the airport, train stations, coach terminals and passenger piers to measure the temperature of passengers departing the city since January 14, Chen Xiexin, deputy mayor of Wuhan, was quoted as saying by state-media China Daily on Sunday.
The measures were only imposed five weeks after the onset of the outbreak, with countless passengers having left the city without screening. | business |
Wuhan pneumonia: what we know about the coronavirus outbreak — Quartz | This story was last updated on Feb. 4, 10:30pm ET ( Feb. 5 11:30am HKT), to include the number confirmed cases and deaths in China through Tuesday.
A mysterious new virus that was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December and has since spread to two other domestic cities and several countries in the Asian region is raising fears of an epidemic like the deadly SARS outbreak that hit the region nearly two decades ago.
The virus surfaced just weeks before the all-important Lunar New Holiday, which sees hundreds of millions of Chinese travel to celebrate with family.
The first suspected cases were identified in Wuhan in December, and reported to the World Health Organization ( WHO) on Dec. 31, but it was not immediately clear what was behind the pneumonia outbreak. A wholesale fish and live animal market is suspected to be connected with the cases. A Jan. 24 study in Lancet notes that among the first 41 confirmed cases, one patient noted the onset of symptoms as early as Dec. 1.
On Jan. 7, Chinese authorities identified the cause of the disease as a new kind of coronavirus, a family of viruses that cause less serious diseases like the common cold, but also more lethal diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. Chinese authorities have so far reported that laboratory tests ruled out SARS and MERS as the cause.
Though it was initially thought that the outbreak was limited to animal-to-human transmission, Chinese officials on Jan. 20 confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission, with two patients in Guangdong catching the virus from infected family members and some medical staff also testing positive for the virus, according to state media.
Chinese authorities on Jan. 20 reported a sharp jump in the number of cases to more than 200, announcing the discovery of 136 new infections over the weekend in Wuhan alone. In addition, the disease was confirmed to have spread for the first time to several other mainland Chinese cities. On Jan. 22, officials said that mutation of the virus is possible and a further spread is likely.
On Feb. 52, China said it had more than 24,000 confirmed cases of the virus ( link in Chinese). And 490 people have died from illnesses caused by the new virus, according to health officials, the vast majority of them in Hubei province, where Wuhan is located. ( You can find more daily Chinese-language coronavirus bulletins from China’ s National Health Commission and from Hubei province.)
The city of Wuhan has begun building two new temporary hospitals that can each take more than 1,000 patients, to be completed in early February.
Some researchers think that the numbers of infections reported are a huge underestimation. By running a statistical analysis and extrapolating from the presence of overseas cases, a report published Jan. 16 by Imperial College London’ s infectious disease research center estimated that the number of infections in Wuhan should be in the range of some 1,700 cases—more than eight times the 198 cases reported in the city on Jan. 20.
Last week, Thailand and Japan became the first countries to report confirmed cases outside China. South Korea reported its first case Jan. 20. On Jan. 21, Taiwan reported its first confirmed case, as did the US. Hong Kong and Macau also have had confirmed cases. Other countries with confirmed cases include Australia, France, Germany, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Around Jan. 18, Wuhan airport installed temperature checkpoints at the entrance of its main terminal to check all passengers, with those found to have fevers to be placed under quarantine. On Jan. 21, the Wuhan government implemented more measures to curb the disease’ s spread, including barring outbound tour groups from departing the city, and checking private cars coming in and out of the city for wildlife and live poultry, according to state news outlet People’ s Daily.
On Jan. 23, officials put Wuhan on lockdown, shutting down the city’ s transportation systems and urging people not to leave unless they had a “ special reason. ” Meanwhile, Hubei province, where the outbreak started, raised its public health emergency response to the highest level on Jan. 24.
As of Saturday ( Jan. 25), 16 cities with a combined population of close to 50 million were under travel restrictions. Beijing also cancelled Lunar New Year celebrations—the first day of the new year falls on Jan. 25—in a bid to minimize public gatherings. Some health experts say quarantining entire cities can be counterproductive.
On Jan. 26, China suspended overseas group travel out of the country.
Initially, the WHO was not recommending any travel or trade restrictions, and at its Jan. 23 it decided it was not ready to declare the outbreak a global health emergency. Numerous airports did, however, begin screening travelers and conducting temperature checks. On Jan. 30, following instances of human-to-human transmission outside China, the WHO reversed itself and made that declaration. The US then increased its travel warning alert level for China, putting it on the same level as Iraq and Venezuela, urging travelers not to go.
From Sunday ( Feb. 2), the US will begin barring entry to foreign nationals who have been to mainland China in the last 14 days. Americans who were in Hubei province will be required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine. The US is also routing flights arriving from China to seven airports, to ensure proper health screening.
Hong Kong has been screening travelers with temperature checks at the airport. Primary and secondary schools will remain closed after the Lunar New Year Holiday, until March 2, as will the main universities. In the face of criticism and calls for restricting travel from the mainland, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Jan. 28 announced that rail travel between Hong Kong and the mainland, including a new high-speed rail link, would be suspended from Friday, while Beijing will stop issuing travel permits for people to go to the territory. Flights to the mainland will also be reduced by half from Jan. 31.
Singapore is also barring the arrival of travelers from China, unless they are Singaporean citizens or permanent residents. Australia announced similar measures on Saturday ( Feb. 1).
North Korea has reportedly shut its borders to foreign tourists, according to a leading tour operator. On Jan. 24, Philippines said it would repatriate 135 tourists who had arrived from Wuhan. Taiwan on Jan. 26 announced a ban on most travelers from mainland China. Russia closed 16 out of 25 crossings on its border with China from Feb. 1, and suspended issuing e-visas to Chinese nationals.
Since Jan. 29, a number of airlines have announced they are suspending service to mainland China, including Air Canada, American Airlines, British Airways and United Airlines.
On Feb. 4, United and American Airlines announced they would suspend service to Hong Kong through Feb. 20.
The clinical signs and symptoms reported are mainly fever, cough, tightness of the chest, and difficulty with breathing. Some patient chest scans have also shown lungs inflamed and filled with fluid, according to the WHO. China has said that the virus, unlike the SARS virus, is infectious even when it is in incubation, that is when people aren’ t showing any symptoms yet.
Precautionary measures that can reduce risk of infection include wearing masks covering the mouth and nose when outside, and washing hands frequently with soap and water for at least 15 seconds. If a tissue is not available, people should try to sneeze or cough into the crook of their elbow instead of their hands. Science journalist Laurie Garrett also recommends wearing gloves when out and about and refraining from using personal utensils in shared dishes.
Being a novel coronavirus, there is no vaccine—developing one can take a number of years. In addition, coronaviruses are notoriously hard to treat because they are effective at evading the human immune system. Nevertheless, there are multiple efforts underway to develop a vaccine.
The National Health Commission, in its first statement since the start of the outbreak, said on Jan. 19 that the new coronavirus is “ still preventable and controllable ” and promised to step up monitoring during Lunar New Year, the country’ s busiest travel season when tens of millions criss-cross the nation to return home for the holidays. Later, in a press conference on Jan. 22 it warned that the virus is adapting and mutating.
One of the top doctors involved in investigating the outbreak, Wang Guangfa, confirmed on Jan. 22 that he has been diagnosed with the virus ( link in Chinese).
Zhong Nanshan, a Chinese respiratory expert, said that two cases of infection in Guangdong province were due to human-to-human transmission.
As a sign of how seriously the central government is taking the outbreak, Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Jan. 20 said that safeguarding people’ s lives is the “ top priority ” and that every possible measure must be taken to “ resolutely contain ” the outbreak, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Tripti Lahiri contributed reporting. | tech |
Pharmaceutical stocks spike after China reports new coronavirus cases -- Asian market latest | A major stock index in China that mainly tracks healthcare and IT companies closed at its highest level in three years. The ChiNext Price Index jumped 2.6% to its highest finish since January 2017.
More than a dozen pharmaceutical firms listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen spiked by 10%, the daily maximum amount allowed. Tianjin Teda, which makes masks that are often used to protect against the the transmission of illnesses, also surged 10% in Shenzhen.
Jiangsu Bioperfectus Technologies, a company that recently said it has created a drug testing kit that could allow hospitals to better detect the virus, jumped 20% on the Star Market. That's the maximum allowed on that board, which was launched in Shanghai last year.
China has reported 139 new cases of the sickness, including a third death. The outbreak is spreading beyond Wuhan, the city in central China where it was first identified in December: Two cases have been reported in Thailand, and one has been reported in Japan. All cases have been linked to Wuhan.
More broadly, stocks were mostly higher in Asia. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite ( SHCOMP) closed up 0.7%. South Korea's Kospi ( KOSPI) rose 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei 225 ( N225) edged up 0.2%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ( HSI), though, dropped 0.9%.
Here are a few other talking points in Asia at 5 p.m. Hong Kong time:
The People's Bank of China kept its one-year loan prime rate ( LPR) unchanged at 4.15% on Monday. The five-year LPR also remained steady at 4.8%. The LPR, which banks charge corporate clients for new loans, is a new benchmark that China introduced in August. It hopes the rate will gradually replace the existing fixed benchmark lending rate, and do a better job in passing on lower rates to borrowers in the corporate sector.
One of China's largest insurers on Sunday forecast that its annual net profit might have increased by as much as $ 7 billion — a 420% increase. China Life Insurance said in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it benefited from strong investment returns and from favorable tax policies. The company's stock jumped 0.9% and 3.4% in Hong Kong and Shanghai, respectively.
— CNN's Nectar Gan contributed to this report. | business |
Spain's 'drunken gummy bears ' on edge as Haribo bares its teeth | Hi, what are you looking for?
By
Published
Ander Mendez and his friends were hoping they 'd struck it rich when they came up with the idea of selling alcohol-infused gummy bears -- until they found themselves in the sights of sweet giant Haribo.
Now, these three Spaniards say they're afraid of being shut down by the German confectionery king, which is famed for its vast array of jelly sweets and was founded 100 years ago in the western city of Bonn.
In a not-so-sweetly worded legal letter, Haribo has accused their startup of infringing its trademarked little bear.
But these graduates from the northern Spanish port city of Bilbao insist they will carry on producing their `` drunken gummy bears '' -- `` because people like them. ''
The conflict arose from the apparent similarities between the fruit gums created a year ago by their startup, Osito & Co, and the miniature jelly bear that has become Haribo's best-known product.
With a manufacturing setup in Spain's northern Basque Country, the trio created a premium product in five different flavours that come in stylish metal tins that hold 30 sweets and retail at nine euros ( $ 10).
Each is colour-coded to denote different flavours: blue for rum and pineapple, pink for gin and strawberry, orange for vodka and orange, brown for whisky and coke, and yellow for tequila and lemon.
Haribo's chewy confections are alcohol-free and sold thousands of shops across the world, from Europe to China, Australia, Brazil and the United States.
`` As normal in such cases, Haribo has started judicial proceedings to protect its registered trademarks, '' a spokesperson for the company told AFP.
- 'Give us your website ' -
But for Mendez, who heads Osito & Co, it was a huge shock when he received a `` cease and desist '' letter from a law firm working on behalf of Haribo.
`` It like was a bolt from the blue, '' the 24-year-old engineering graduate told AFP.
The six-page letter `` explained in very threatening English that we were copying their trademarked product, that what we were doing was unfair competition, '' he said.
`` At the end, they said they wanted to resolve the matter amicably, '' he said.
The letter, a copy of which was seen by AFP, demands that Osito & Co halt all manufacturing, sales and advertising of their product, destroy all promotional material, both online and off, cancel its Spanish trademark application and that it transfer ownership of the domain name, ositosconalcohol.com, to Haribo.
`` We're not doing any harm to their brand and the bears don't even look similar, '' insisted Mendez, accusing the sweetmaker of trying `` to take over '' the startup's creation.
In 2012, Haribo took legal action against Swiss chocolate-maker Lindt, saying its hollow chocolate teddy bears wrapped in gold foil were an imitation of its products.
But following a long-running legal battle, a German court ruled in Lindt's favour, saying the chocolate bears could not be mistaken for Haribo's jelly sweets.
- 15 bears = one gin & tonic -
Osito & Co, which sells its products online and at entertainment venues in Spain -- mostly in the Basque Country -- was set up by Mendez and two of his university friends, fellow engineer Julen Justa, 25, and Tamar Gigolashvili, a 24-year-old law and management graduate.
It began operating exactly a year ago and quickly won an innovative enterprise grant awarded by the local authorities in Getxo, an upmarket coastal town near Bilbao.
At the time, the award generated some controversy with opposition figures saying the product would encourage the consumption of alcohol among youngsters.
Each of the tiny treats contain 15 percent alcohol, with seven to nine of them equating to a 150 ml glass of wine, while 15 to 17 would be the equivalent of a gin and tonic, Mendez explains.
All three are currently mulling the letter `` very carefully '' with the help of a lawyer without knowing yet what they will do, and in any case, acknowledging they `` don't have enough resources to take on a legal case ''.
For now, though, they will keep on marketing their products `` as we have done until now '', he says.
`` We will try and ensure that this festive spirit that runs through our veins will make it into bars, clubs and cocktail lounges. ''
Ander Mendez and his friends were hoping they’ d struck it rich when they came up with the idea of selling alcohol-infused gummy bears — until they found themselves in the sights of sweet giant Haribo.
Now, these three Spaniards say they’ re afraid of being shut down by the German confectionery king, which is famed for its vast array of jelly sweets and was founded 100 years ago in the western city of Bonn.
In a not-so-sweetly worded legal letter, Haribo has accused their startup of infringing its trademarked little bear.
But these graduates from the northern Spanish port city of Bilbao insist they will carry on producing their “ drunken gummy bears ” — “ because people like them. ”
The conflict arose from the apparent similarities between the fruit gums created a year ago by their startup, Osito & Co, and the miniature jelly bear that has become Haribo’ s best-known product.
With a manufacturing setup in Spain’ s northern Basque Country, the trio created a premium product in five different flavours that come in stylish metal tins that hold 30 sweets and retail at nine euros ( $ 10).
Each is colour-coded to denote different flavours: blue for rum and pineapple, pink for gin and strawberry, orange for vodka and orange, brown for whisky and coke, and yellow for tequila and lemon.
Haribo’ s chewy confections are alcohol-free and sold thousands of shops across the world, from Europe to China, Australia, Brazil and the United States.
“ As normal in such cases, Haribo has started judicial proceedings to protect its registered trademarks, ” a spokesperson for the company told AFP.
– ‘ Give us your website’ –
But for Mendez, who heads Osito & Co, it was a huge shock when he received a “ cease and desist ” letter from a law firm working on behalf of Haribo.
“ It like was a bolt from the blue, ” the 24-year-old engineering graduate told AFP.
The six-page letter “ explained in very threatening English that we were copying their trademarked product, that what we were doing was unfair competition, ” he said.
“ At the end, they said they wanted to resolve the matter amicably, ” he said.
The letter, a copy of which was seen by AFP, demands that Osito & Co halt all manufacturing, sales and advertising of their product, destroy all promotional material, both online and off, cancel its Spanish trademark application and that it transfer ownership of the domain name, ositosconalcohol.com, to Haribo.
“ We’ re not doing any harm to their brand and the bears don’ t even look similar, ” insisted Mendez, accusing the sweetmaker of trying “ to take over ” the startup’ s creation.
In 2012, Haribo took legal action against Swiss chocolate-maker Lindt, saying its hollow chocolate teddy bears wrapped in gold foil were an imitation of its products.
But following a long-running legal battle, a German court ruled in Lindt’ s favour, saying the chocolate bears could not be mistaken for Haribo’ s jelly sweets.
– 15 bears = one gin & tonic –
Osito & Co, which sells its products online and at entertainment venues in Spain — mostly in the Basque Country — was set up by Mendez and two of his university friends, fellow engineer Julen Justa, 25, and Tamar Gigolashvili, a 24-year-old law and management graduate.
It began operating exactly a year ago and quickly won an innovative enterprise grant awarded by the local authorities in Getxo, an upmarket coastal town near Bilbao.
At the time, the award generated some controversy with opposition figures saying the product would encourage the consumption of alcohol among youngsters.
Each of the tiny treats contain 15 percent alcohol, with seven to nine of them equating to a 150 ml glass of wine, while 15 to 17 would be the equivalent of a gin and tonic, Mendez explains.
All three are currently mulling the letter “ very carefully ” with the help of a lawyer without knowing yet what they will do, and in any case, acknowledging they “ don’ t have enough resources to take on a legal case ”.
For now, though, they will keep on marketing their products “ as we have done until now ”, he says.
“ We will try and ensure that this festive spirit that runs through our veins will make it into bars, clubs and cocktail lounges. ”
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci warned of a bleak winter ahead as the Covid-19 Omicron variant spurs a new wave of infections globally.
The EU's drug regulator will decide Monday whether to approve a Covid jab by Novavax, which uses a more conventional technology.
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AT & T Teams Up with Golfer Maria Fassi in Multi-Year Deal | AT & T announced it is now the official sponsor of professional golfer Maria Fassi. The sponsorship begins as the LPGA golfer hits the course at the Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio Jan. 20 – 26.
With this deal, AT & T continues its commitment to professional golf and the charities and communities it supports through the sponsorship of the AT & T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Augusta National Women’ s Amateur, the Masters, Volunteers of America LPGA Texas Classic and AT & T Athlete Jordan Spieth.
“ Sports need role models like Maria whose incredible skills on the course and character beyond it continually elevate the game of golf for women and for all athletes, ” said Lori Lee, Global Marketing Officer for AT & T Inc. and CEO AT & T Latin America. “ We’ re committed to raising the visibility of women in sports and are thrilled to have Maria join our team. ”
“ I’ m excited to be a part of the AT & T family and represent the brand for the first time as an AT & T Athlete this week at Gainbridge, ” said Maria Fassi. “ It’ s great to be supported by a company that’ s championed golf for decades, gives back to communities and supports up-and-coming athletes like me. ”
Elements of the sponsorship include AT & T logo placement on Maria’ s bag, sleeve, towel and phone case.
Fans can follow along with Maria on Twitter ( @ MariaFassi0) and Instagram ( @ MariaFassi1) using # ATTAthlete.
Eight years after her death, acclaimed poet, author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou has landed another historic honor. She is now the first Black woman ever to appear on an official United States coin. CNN’ s Sarah Fortinsky and Devan Cole reported that a new U.S. quarter featuring the late…
Fourteen-year-old Valentina Orellana-Peralta was laid to rest on Monday, Jan. 10, after being accidentally shot by police during part of a tragic retail store shoot-out. Christopher Weber of The Associated Press reported that Orellana-Peralta “ was killed when a Los Angeles police officer fired at a suspect at a clothing store…
In-person learning may be returning to Los Angeles schools today, but that doesn’ t mean COVID-19 is no longer a problem in the nation’ s second-largest district. CNN’ s Cheri Mossburg reported that based on current data, more than 62,000 Los Angeles students and staff have recently tested positive for the coronavirus. Mossburg…
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that affects millions of people around the globe each year. Data from The Polaris Project, operator of the U.S. Human Trafficking Hotline, revealed 11,500 victims and survivors called the hotline in 2019, a 20% increase over the previous year and likely only…
Voting rights remain one of the biggest issues in politics today, with a number of conservative lawmakers continuing efforts to restrict voting rights — especially for people of color. And now, former First Lady Michelle Obama has stepped into the battle with a newly announced effort to register one million…
Although 2021 was dubbed by many, including the Human Rights Campaign. as the “ worst year in recent history for LGBTQ state legislative attacks, ” many equality and advocacy experts warn 2022 appears to be getting off with an equally hate-filled start. Matt Lavietes of NBC News reported that “ throughout the first…
In a newly filed lawsuit, parents of a teen in Kentucky claim a teacher told their son “ he was just another Black boy who got shot ” before getting into an altercation with the student that involved kicking him, holding him down on the ground and even pulling his hair. Insider’ s…
New Brunswick, New Jersey-based multinational pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson ( a DiversityInc Hall of Fame company) has announced that its current Chairman and CEO Alex Gorsky will be transitioning to the new position of Executive Chairman. In his place, Joaquin Duato, the company’ s current Executive Committee Vice Chairman, will become…
Originally published at press.humana.com. Humana ranked No. 13 on The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity list in 2021. Humana, one of the nation’ s leading health and well-being companies, launched a series of efforts to assist its members, employees and communities in the Midwest and southern part of the…
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WHO Emergency Committee on coronavirus to meet on Wednesday | The World Health Organisation is convening an emergency committee of experts on Wednesday to assess whether the coronavirus outbreak in China constitutes an international emergency, the WHO said on Monday.
The meeting follows the virus spreading from Wuhan, where it has infected nearly 200 people, to more Chinese cities, including the capital Beijing and Shanghai, and a fourth case has been reported beyond China’ s borders.
Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Angus MacSwan | business |
World's 22 richest men have more than all women in Africa: Oxfam | Hi, what are you looking for?
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The number of billionaires has doubled in the past decade and the world's 22 richest men now have more wealth than all the women in Africa, Oxfam said Monday in an appeal to the Davos elite to get serious about inequality.
`` Our broken economies are lining the pockets of billionaires and big business at the expense of ordinary men and women. No wonder people are starting to question whether billionaires should even exist, '' Oxfam's India head Amitabh Behar said.
`` Women and girls are among those who benefit least from today's economic system, '' Behar said ahead of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, where he will represent Oxfam.
There will be at least 119 billionaires worth about $ 500 billion attending Davos this year, Bloomberg reported, with the highest contingents coming from the United States, India and Russia.
`` The very top of the economic pyramid sees trillions of dollars of wealth in the hands of a very small group of people, predominantly men, '' the Oxfam report said.
`` Their wealth is already extreme, and our broken economy concentrates more and more wealth into these few hands, '' it said.
The report said women and girls put in 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work each and every day, estimated to be worth at least $ 10.8 trillion a year.
Oxfam's annual report on global inequality is traditionally released just before the forum opens on Tuesday in the Swiss Alpine resort.
- Startling stats -
It had some astonishing statistics.
If the world's richest one percent paid just 0.5 percent extra tax on their wealth for 10 years, it would equal the investment needed to create 117 million new jobs in elderly and child care, education and health, Oxfam said.
Oxfam's figures are based on data from Forbes magazine and Swiss bank Credit Suisse, but they are disputed by some economists.
The numbers show that 2,153 billionaires now have more wealth than the 4.6 billion poorest people on the planet.
Women and girls are burdened in particular because they are most often care givers that keep `` the wheels of our economies, businesses and societies moving, '' Behar said.
They `` often have little time to get an education, earn a decent living or have a say in how our societies are run, '' and `` are therefore trapped at the bottom of the economy, '' he added.
`` Across the globe, 42 percent of women can not get jobs because they are responsible for all the caregiving, compared to just six percent of men, '' Oxfam figures showed.
The report called on world governments to `` build a human economy that is feminist and values what truly matters to society, rather than fuelling an endless pursuit of profit and wealth ''.
The number of billionaires has doubled in the past decade and the world’ s 22 richest men now have more wealth than all the women in Africa, Oxfam said Monday in an appeal to the Davos elite to get serious about inequality.
“ Our broken economies are lining the pockets of billionaires and big business at the expense of ordinary men and women. No wonder people are starting to question whether billionaires should even exist, ” Oxfam’ s India head Amitabh Behar said.
“ Women and girls are among those who benefit least from today’ s economic system, ” Behar said ahead of the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, where he will represent Oxfam.
There will be at least 119 billionaires worth about $ 500 billion attending Davos this year, Bloomberg reported, with the highest contingents coming from the United States, India and Russia.
“ The very top of the economic pyramid sees trillions of dollars of wealth in the hands of a very small group of people, predominantly men, ” the Oxfam report said.
“ Their wealth is already extreme, and our broken economy concentrates more and more wealth into these few hands, ” it said.
The report said women and girls put in 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work each and every day, estimated to be worth at least $ 10.8 trillion a year.
Oxfam’ s annual report on global inequality is traditionally released just before the forum opens on Tuesday in the Swiss Alpine resort.
– Startling stats –
It had some astonishing statistics.
If the world’ s richest one percent paid just 0.5 percent extra tax on their wealth for 10 years, it would equal the investment needed to create 117 million new jobs in elderly and child care, education and health, Oxfam said.
Oxfam’ s figures are based on data from Forbes magazine and Swiss bank Credit Suisse, but they are disputed by some economists.
The numbers show that 2,153 billionaires now have more wealth than the 4.6 billion poorest people on the planet.
Women and girls are burdened in particular because they are most often care givers that keep “ the wheels of our economies, businesses and societies moving, ” Behar said.
They “ often have little time to get an education, earn a decent living or have a say in how our societies are run, ” and “ are therefore trapped at the bottom of the economy, ” he added.
“ Across the globe, 42 percent of women can not get jobs because they are responsible for all the caregiving, compared to just six percent of men, ” Oxfam figures showed.
The report called on world governments to “ build a human economy that is feminist and values what truly matters to society, rather than fuelling an endless pursuit of profit and wealth ”.
With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.
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Boris Johnson's own MPs say they will rebel against the government's new coronavirus restrictions - Copyright UK PARLIAMENT/AFP JESSICA TAYLORBritain’ s health minister has refused...
COPYRIGHT © 1998 - 2021 DIGITAL JOURNAL INC. Digital Journal is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more about our external linking. | general |
China confirms human-to-human transmission of coronavirus | China’ s health ministry has confirmed human-to-human transmission of a mysterious Sars-like virus that has spread across the country and fuelled anxiety about the prospect of a major outbreak as millions begin travelling for lunar new year celebrations.
Zhong Nanshan, a respiratory expert and head of the national health commission team investigating the outbreak, confirmed that two cases of infection in China’ s Guangdong province had been caused by human-to-human transmission and medical staff had been infected, China’ s official Xinhua news agency said on Monday.
Authorities earlier reported 139 new cases of the new strain of coronavirus over the weekend, bringing the total number of infected patients to 217 since the virus was first detected last month in the central city of Wuhan.
It was also confirmed on Tuesday that an 89-year-old man had died from the virus in Wuhan, bringing the number of fatalities to four.
It is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals. The World Health Organization ( WHO) has declared it a pandemic.
According to the WHO, the most common symptoms of Covid-19 are fever, tiredness and a dry cough. Some patients may also have a runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion and aches and pains or diarrhoea. Some people report losing their sense of taste and/or smell. About 80% of people who get Covid-19 experience a mild case – about as serious as a regular cold – and recover without needing any special treatment.
About one in six people, the WHO says, become seriously ill. The elderly and people with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, or chronic respiratory conditions, are at a greater risk of serious illness from Covid-19.
In the UK, the National health Service ( NHS) has identified the specific symptoms to look for as experiencing either:
As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work, and there is currently no vaccine. Recovery depends on the strength of the immune system.
Medical advice varies around the world - with many countries imposing travel bans and lockdowns to try and prevent the spread of the virus. In many place people are being told to stay at home rather than visit a doctor of hospital in person. Check with your local authorities.
In the UK, NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days. If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.
China’ s national health commission confirmed human-to-human transmission in January. As of 4 April, more than 1.1m people have been infected in more than 170 countries, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
There have been over 58,000 deaths globally. Just over 3,200 of those deaths have occurred in mainland China. Italy has been worst affected, with over 14,600 fatalities, and there have been over 11,000 deaths in Spain. The US now has more confirmed cases than any other country - more than 278,000. Many of those who have died had underlying health conditions, which the coronavirus complicated.
More than 226,000 people are recorded as having recovered from the coronavirus.
Cases were confirmed in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong province in the south, heightening fears ahead of the lunar new year holiday, when more than 400 million people are expected to travel domestically and internationally.
State broadcaster CCTV said on Monday evening there were seven suspected cases in other parts of the country, including Shandong in the east, and the south-western provinces of Sichuan, Guangxi and Yunnan. Five people who travelled from Wuhan were also being treated for fevers in Zhejiang province.
“ People’ s lives and health should be given top priority and the spread of the outbreak should be resolutely curbed, ” said China’ s president, Xi Jinping, weighing in on the matter for the first time.
The strain has caused alarm because of its connection to severe acute respiratory syndrome ( Sars), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-03. The current outbreak has spread to Thailand, Japan and South Korea.
A man was in isolation in Brisbane, Australia after being suspected of having the virus after he returned from a visit to Wuhan.
China’ s National Health Commission said it had sent working groups to all provinces to oversee outbreak prevention, describing the situation as “ controllable ”. Hospitals in Shanghai and Beijing and in Zhejiang province have “ comprehensively ” strengthened examination procedures. In Shenzhen, temperature checks have been put in place in airports, ports and railway stations.
More than 100 patients with symptoms were waiting to be seen at the Xiehe hospital in Wuhan at 6am on Monday. “ If you are coming now, you have to wait between three and four hours before you can see the doctors, ” a hospital worker said by phone.
At a hospital in Chaoyang district in Beijing, patients were being given masks and forms to fill out, detailing any recent travel to Wuhan. A nurse said preventive measures were also being taken to protect doctors
Coronaviruses are transmitted between animals and people, and the outbreak in Wuhan has been linked to a now-closed seafood market where live animals were reportedly sold.
The World Health Organization has said an animal source was “ the most likely primary source ” of the outbreak, with “ some limited human-to-human transmission occurring between close contacts ”. Researchers worry the number of infections has been severely underestimated.
The WHO said it would convene an emergency meeting in Geneva on Wednesday to discuss whether the new coronavirus constituted an international health emergency.
Xi Chen, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Public Health, said the likelihood of human-to-human transmission had appeared large given how many cases were confirmed. “ It’ s hard to see all these cases coming from animals at the same market, ” Chen said.
For weeks, the only reported cases were in Wuhan and areas outside mainland China, prompting many people to question whether other cities were simply not reporting or testing for the virus. Some internet users joked the virus appeared to be “ patriotic ” by only spreading beyond China’ s borders.
Chen said the high cost of testing for diagnosis may have contributed to underreporting.
Authorities have still not identified the source of the infection, which further complicates the government’ s ability to contain the outbreak. The Huanan seafood market, where thousands of traders sold products, has been closed since 1 January. But some of the detected cases are patients with no history of visiting the market.
“ What concerns me is the source of infection. We have no idea. That’ s the most important thing. Without knowing that we don’ t know the harm, how hard it can be, ” Chen said.
Others fear that authorities have not moved quickly enough to contain the spread of the virus or educate the public. In Wuhan, temperature checkpoints have been installed at the airport and at train stations and bus terminals since 14 January, about five weeks after the virus was first detected.
Observers and residents worry about the possibility of a cover-up worsening the outbreak, as was the case with Sars in 2003.
Some residents in Wuhan have been told not to speak to media. The official Weibo account of Wuhan police said on 1 January that eight internet users who spread false information online “ causing adverse social impacts ” had been dealt with “ according to the law ”.
But Chinese health officials have made improvements since the Sars episode. In response to a bird flu outbreak in 2013, authorities quickly worked with the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fresh food markets were shut down but the outbreak was exacerbated by poultry sales into smaller, less-regulated markets.
The situation is complicated by the fact that farmers are unlikely to be compensated by the government or give up their sick animals.
“ It’ s not about a cover-up. Rather it’ s about a lack of capacity and about a lack of enforced regulation, ” said Nicholas Thomas, associate professor focusing on health security at City University of Hong Kong.
“ At the moment, it is a bad flu. Yes, it is something to be concerned about and it is probably going to get worse in terms of infections and mortality, but again it’ s winter, ” he said. “ It is likely to spread but we are still a long way off the levels of Sars or bird flu. ”
The state-run Global Times said in an editorial on Sunday: “ In the early days of Sars, there was a cover-up and delayed reporting. Such things can never be repeated again in China. ”
Authorities have advised residents in the run-up to the lunar new year, which falls on 25 January, to be on the lookout for symptoms including fever, coughs, breathing difficulties and pneumonia.
Millions of people will crisscross the country during a weeklong public holiday starting on 24 January, in what is known as humanity’ s largest migration. Some of those travelling will have set off already.
The WHO has not recommended any travel restrictions and Chinese authorities have not yet issued any. Still, not all residents were comforted by government assurances.
“ With this huge amount of spring festival travel, why are there not any prevention measures? ” one wrote on Weibo. On the Douban forum, another observed that few people at Wuhan train station were wearing masks.
Traders at the now-closed suspected seafood market in Wuhan said they were not overly worried, seeing the virus as little more than the common cold. “ We start early, at 2am or 3am. We put our hands in the cold water. If we catch a cold, we don’ t pay it much attention, ” said Li, 52, who has operated a stall in Huanan for most of the past decade.
Li said that starting from late December, the property developer that owned the market asked renters to wear masks to work and avoid going to crowded places. “ I’ m not worried, ” said Li. “ My grandchildren all live in Wuhan and we don’ t believe it. It’ s just rumours. ”
However, Li said some tenants who might have shown symptoms of the virus were unlikely to have reported themselves, fearing the impact on their business and being quarantined. “ Most people wouldn’ t say if they had it, ” he said.
Additional reporting by Lillian Yang | general |
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