| UN chief: pandemic threatens peace and risks new conflicts Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:14 PM PDT  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that the COVID-19 pandemic not only threatens gains in fighting global poverty and building peace but risks exacerbating existing conflicts and generating new ones. The U.N. chief told a Security Council meeting on the challenge of sustaining peace during the pandemic that his March 23 call for an immediate cease-fire in conflicts around the world to tackle the coronavirus led a number of warring parties to take steps to de-escalate and stop fighting. "Yet, regrettably, in many instances, the pandemic did not move the parties to suspend hostilities or agree to a permanent ceasefire," Guterres said.
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| Why the Mauritius oil spill is so serious Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:09 PM PDT  The location of the Mauritian oil spill means the environmental consequences of the incident could be wide-ranging
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| Russia just approved a COVID vaccine—but that’s not necessarily good news Posted: 12 Aug 2020 03:00 PM PDT |
| Let it flow: Trump administration eases showerhead rules Posted: 12 Aug 2020 02:59 PM PDT  The Trump Administration wants to change the definition of a showerhead to let more water flow, addressing a pet peeve of the president who complains he isn't getting wet enough. Publicly talking about the need to keep his hair "perfect," President Donald Trump has made increasing water flow and dialing back long held appliance conservation standards — from light bulbs to toilets to dishwashers — a personal issue. Since 1992, federal law has dictated that new showerheads shouldn't pour more than 2.5 gallons of water per minute (9.5 liters).
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| US commander: Islamic State threat in west Syria growing Posted: 12 Aug 2020 02:48 PM PDT  Elements of the Islamic State group are working to rebuild in western Syria, where the U.S. has little visibility or presence, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East warned on Wednesday. In the region west of the Euphrates River where the Syrian regime is in control "conditions are as bad or worse" than they were leading up to the rise of the Islamic State, said Gen. Frank McKenzie. McKenzie said insurgents are operating with some degree of freedom, and he said the U.S. and its allies have little hope the Syrian regime will do anything to tamp down the group there.
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| Nigeria court fines pirates for seizing ship in Gulf of Guinea Posted: 12 Aug 2020 02:12 PM PDT  Three men have been ordered to pay about $52,000 (£40,000) each for kidnapping a ship's crew for ransom.
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| Mauritius oil spill: Almost all fuel oil pumped out of MV Wakashio Posted: 12 Aug 2020 02:00 PM PDT  There has been a race against time to remove the fuel oil, amid fears that the ship will break up.
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| For Americans waiting on virus aid, no new relief in sight Posted: 12 Aug 2020 01:18 PM PDT  Negotiations over a new virus relief package have all but ended, with the White House and congressional leaders far apart on the size, scope and approach for shoring up households, re-opening schools and launching a national strategy to contain the virus. President Donald Trump's top negotiator, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, tried to revive stalled talks Wednesday, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dismissed the "overture," saying the Trump administration is still refusing to meet them halfway. Congressional Republicans are largely sitting out the talks.
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| Tear gas at Portland protests raises concern about pollution Posted: 12 Aug 2020 12:50 PM PDT  The presence of U.S. agents has diminished in Portland, Oregon, but city officials are still cleaning up tear gas residue from the streets, dirt and possibly the storm drains after the chemical was used frequently by both police and federal officers during more than two months of often-violent protests over racial injustice. The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services cleaned and took samples from six storm drains last week around the federal courthouse and a building with a police station and jail that have been targeted in nightly demonstrations.
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| Editorial Roundup: US Posted: 12 Aug 2020 12:28 PM PDT |
| Egyptians wrap up voting for Senate seats with no power Posted: 12 Aug 2020 12:20 PM PDT  Egyptian election authorities began counting ballots Wednesday after polls closed in a vote for two-thirds of the seats in the newly restored but powerless Senate, the upper chamber of Parliament. The Senate was restored as part of constitutional amendments approved in a referendum last year. Voters paid little attention since the 300-seat body — unlike the House of Representatives, the lower chamber — has no legislative powers and will have mainly an advisory role.
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| State Department rejects further probe of diplomat's remarks Posted: 12 Aug 2020 12:15 PM PDT  A report Wednesday by the State Department's internal watchdog confirms news accounts that staffers at the U.S. Embassy in Britain have accused Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets and the U.S. ambassador, of making "insensitive" and "inappropriate" remarks. Johnson denies the allegations. State Department officials replied to the watchdog office that no further investigation is necessary because Johnson is "well aware of his responsibility to set the right tone for his mission," according to the report.
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| How American Guns Are Fueling U.K. Crime Posted: 12 Aug 2020 11:40 AM PDT  NORTHAMPTON, England -- Josh Bains was 28 when he was killed after an argument over a drug debt of about $50 just a few miles from the English village where he grew up -- with a gun that had traveled thousands of miles from America.His was one of a rising number of gun deaths in recent years that have British authorities worried about an expanding smuggling pipeline from the United States. The gun used to kill Bains in October 2018 -- a Taurus Model 85 -- is banned outright in Britain."I think Americans wouldn't believe that something that they produce could affect people like us," said Clare Bains, who was Bains' stepmother. "If there weren't all these guns, they wouldn't be seeping out of America all over the world."Gun deaths remain extremely rare in Britain, and very few people, even police officers, carry firearms. But the growing presence of U.S. weapons on the streets, which has not previously been widely reported, comes as serious violent crime, like murders and stabbings, has risen sharply.Most illegal firearms in Britain still come from Europe. But investigators seized hundreds of smuggled U.S. guns last year, a small figure by international standards, though experts say the number that police do not discover is likely to be far higher.British police have traced some of the smuggled U.S. guns back to loosely regulated gun fairs in states like Florida. Investigators have also seized U.S. weapons being smuggled on a container ship and hidden in car engines.Now authorities fear that after Brexit, when borders with the European Union will be more tightly regulated, the illegal gun trade from the United States could accelerate, especially given the Trump administration's broad support for the gun industry."A major Trump administration goal is to globalize the firearms trade and facilitate exports, and if you're facilitating legal exports, it's almost inevitable that there will be an illegal diversion of weapons into criminal markets in other countries," said Aaron Karp, a senior consultant for the Small Arms Survey in Geneva and a lecturer at Old Dominion University in Virginia.The United States is one of the biggest legal exporters of firearms in the world, but hundreds of thousands of guns also illegally leak out of the country and fuel homicides, especially in Latin America and the Caribbean.In Britain, criminal groups primarily use knives for acts of violence. Knife crime reached a record high last year, accounting for around 2 out of every 5 killings. By comparison, only 33 people were killed with a gun.But the number of illegal guns in circulation is growing. In the last year alone, gun seizures by Britain's national policing body, the National Crime Agency, more than doubled, and firearm offenses have soared by 38% since 2015. Authorities worry that violence could surge if criminal groups switch from knives to guns. A BBC investigation linked a single firearm to 11 different gunmen and multiple murders over a six-year period."The homicide rate is already a problem without easy access to guns," said Robert McLean, a researcher on organized crime in Britain based at the University of the West of Scotland. "Once in circulation, a single firearm can move around criminal networks and can be used in a number of shootings and killings."In many cases, the trade in smuggled guns is driven by gangs who traffic drugs from cities to smaller towns and rural areas -- known as "county lines" gangs -- like Bains' killers.In the last few years, the National Crime Agency has found that gangs favor "cleaner" antique or deactivated weapons that are harder to trace. Those weapons are sold legally at gun shows or by collectors, many in the United States, and are easier to buy because they can only fire if they are illegally reactivated.One former London gang leader and gun trafficker said that he had handled more than 50 firearms and sold many more to gangs across Britain. Sometimes, he said, the smuggled guns had arrived in the country inside boxes containing infant highchairs."I got my first gun from one of my elders when I was like 13, 14," said the former gang leader, now 23, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid arrest or retribution from his old associates. He stepped away from the gang three years ago with the help of Gangsline, a London-based organization that helps gang members leave crime.He recalled being warned that "if you've got a knife and someone has a gun, he isn't going to hesitate to shoot." His gang trafficked dozens of new and used weapons, including American Glocks, he said, with prices reaching 15,000 pounds, about $20,000. Today, investigators say the smuggling pipeline is well established.At least 782 U.S. guns have been discovered by police since 2017, data obtained by The New York Times shows. The figure is from the National Ballistics Intelligence Service, which tracks illegal firearms in Britain, and includes guns that came directly and indirectly to Britain from the United States.Gun control is one of the few issues that unites a politically divided Britain. Where the United States has had horrific mass school shootings for decades, it took just one such attack in Britain to usher in a ban on private ownership of handguns.That attack -- a shooting in 1996 in which 16 children and their teacher were murdered at Dunblane Primary School in Scotland by a gunman who then killed himself -- remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history. Since then, only one other mass shooting has taken place in Britain.But even with the tougher laws, handguns have still found their way into even some of the quietest corners of the country, like Bains' hometown.He grew up in a red-bricked cottage overlooking golden fields in Rothersthorpe, a small village in England's East Midlands where the biggest event was often sheep escaping the local farm. His father, Dave Bains, says his son fell in with a "bad crowd" after his parents separated and soon began selling cannabis.On the night of his murder on a street corner in Upton, Northampton, Bains fought for his life, according to security camera footage, struggling to disarm an attacker who pointed a Glock at him. As Bains stumbled on the curb, a second attacker pulled out a revolver and shot him through his lung.Bains' parents watched his final moments during the trial of the two men convicted of his murder, Jerome Smikle and Kayongo Shuleko, both in their 20s, who were part of a county lines drug-trafficking gang, police said. They were sentenced to life in prison last summer."I guess the justice is they're in prison, but Josh shouldn't have been killed in the first place," said Bains' mother, Lyn Knott. "If they didn't have a gun, of course he'd still be alive."The gun was discovered three months after the murder, when a dog walker found it in a nearby field. The killers had not removed the serial numbers on the weapon, and police traced it back to Florida."We don't often get people being shot in nice estates in sleepy villages in Northampton," said Alastair White, a senior detective with Northamptonshire Police, who led a team of around 80 on the investigation. "It was headline news."The presence of U.S. guns became even more evident several months later, in July 2019, when officers with the National Crime Agency raided a rusted blue container ship as it arrived at the port of Ambarli in northern Turkey after traveling nearly 6,000 miles from Florida.Inside some of the shipping containers were old American cars, and hidden inside were 57 firearms and 1,230 bullets that investigators say were meant for gangs in Britain and Bulgaria. The guns were purchased legally at antique gun fairs in Florida, the investigators said, and then smuggled to Turkey to be illegally reactivated before sale.Matthew Prefect, who leads the National Crime Agency's firearms unit, said officials were concerned enough about smuggled guns that his unit had almost doubled its staffing in the last two years as the agency tries to suppress the firearms market to try to prevent handguns becoming as common as knives."If suddenly guns became the weapon of choice as opposed to a knife," Prefect said, "we'd be in a really difficult situation."The first high-profile case involving illegal U.S. firearms was in 2010, when a former Marine named Steven Greenoe was prosecuted for smuggling dozens of guns into northwestern England on commercial flights.While gun trafficking is almost always a secondary source of income for gangs, the Greenoe case showed that it could be a highly profitable trade, with guns that he bought for around $400 selling for a "three times markup," according to Gregg Taylor of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service.One of the 70 guns that Greenoe smuggled was used in a murder in Scotland, another in a shooting in Manchester and a third in an attempted shooting near Liverpool, the court heard. Ten years later, the majority of the guns he trafficked to Britain remain missing."Weapons that don't matter in the United States, because America deals in millions, routinely have an enormous impact in the U.K. because of the extraordinary scarcity of handguns," said Karp of the Small Arms Survey. "Dozens can have an enormous impact on British crime."Today, Bains' father and stepmother have turned their home into a tribute to their lost 28-year-old. Framed photographs of Bains are placed throughout the house. His stepmother still can't shake the memory of seeing her seemingly healthy stepson in a coffin."I haven't seen a healthy person in a coffin before," Clare Bains said. "I've always seen ill people or old people, and that was a shock."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| How Belarus' 'booming' IT sector could turn the tide of election protests Posted: 12 Aug 2020 11:35 AM PDT  Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko reportedly likes to take credit for developing Belarus' "booming" information technology sector, although it was reportedly really championed by an opposition candidate, Valery Tsepkalo, who was disqualified from running and fled the country at the end of July. Fast forward a few weeks, and it appears Lukashenko may have incidentally boxed himself in by claiming responsibility.The so-called "last dictator in Europe" is trying to squash protests that have ignited throughout the country following his disputed election victory against challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who is now in Lithuania. Belarusian law enforcement authorities have been shown violently apprehending protesters, and the government cut off internet access to disrupt communication. But on Wednesday, more than 300 CEOs of IT companies and investors signed a letter demanding a new election as well as an end to state-sponsored violence. Otherwise, they claimed, they'll head elsewhere.It's unclear if all those demands would be met by Minsk, but there's seemingly reason to believe the warning could at least force Lukashenko's hand in some capacity, given how he seems to be aware of the industry's importance to the country, which is already dealing with hefty amounts of emigration. > Unlike rentier regimes like Russia and Iran that can rely on oil and gas to sustain their budgets, Belarus is more reliant on human capital. Already 2.5-3.0 million have left. More departures of the best and brightest will do even more damage to the economy. Enough. https://t.co/eQGdHJPxDU> > -- Michael McFaul (@McFaul) August 12, 2020More stories from theweek.com Trump has pretty much eliminated daily intelligence briefings. Biden has already started receiving them. The case against American truck bloat Kamala Harris hammers Trump's coronavirus 'failure' in 1st speech as VP candidate
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| WHO keen to review Russian vaccine trials Posted: 12 Aug 2020 11:20 AM PDT  The World Health Organization said on Wednesday it was looking forward to reviewing clinical trials of a potential coronavirus vaccine developed in Russia. President Vladimir Putin declared Russia the first country to approve a vaccine on Tuesday even though final stage testing involving more than 2,000 people was only due to start on Wednesday. Russia's vaccine, developed by the Gamaleya research institute and the defence ministry, is among the 28 in clinical evaluation but is listed by the WHO as only being in Phase 1.
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| France seeks cooperation from Iran, Russia on Lebanon Posted: 12 Aug 2020 10:35 AM PDT |
| Report: At least 41 children alleged assaults at nonprofit Posted: 12 Aug 2020 10:28 AM PDT |
| Macron warns Iran against 'interference' in Lebanon Posted: 12 Aug 2020 10:25 AM PDT  French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday warned Iran against any interference in Lebanon after the gigantic blast last week that has prompted a political crisis in the country. In telephone talks with President Hassan Rouhani, Macron emphasised the "necessity for all the powers concerned... to avoid any outside interference and to support the putting in place of a government which can manage the emergency," the Elysee said. Lebanon's government under Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned this week following days of demonstrations demanding accountability over the explosion at the Beirut port last week that devastated entire neighbourhoods of the city.
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| Can Trump aide Meadows move from deal breaker to deal-maker? Posted: 12 Aug 2020 10:06 AM PDT  Mark Meadows dropped to a knee in then-Speaker John Boehner's office, the still-new congressman apologizing for joining those trying to oust the Republican leader. Two years later, Meadows did it anyway, leading the House Freedom Caucus' push for Boehner's departure in 2015. Now, as President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Meadows is an unorthodox pick for the White House role, trying to negotiate a coronavirus relief package on Capitol Hill.
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| YVY Life Sciences, A Cannabis Success Story In Uruguay Posted: 12 Aug 2020 09:55 AM PDT  This article was originally written by Hernan Panessi for El Planteo. Published here with permission.Green open spaces and sunshine. The dream of the countryside. The longing for a quiet life: fresh air, slow times, calm. Thus, in that search, a couple of serial entrepreneurs - her an Uruguayan, him a South African - settled in Canelones, in rural Montevideo, and founded YVY Life Science, a medical cannabis company that works with local producers and stands under the regenerative agriculture model.The story is long and has its twists. In 2003, at the age of 18, the young Andrea Kruchik Krell traveled to Israel to study economics. There she founded Microfy, a microfinance organization that helped refugees from Africa to tackle ventures in order to survive."As a result of that experience, I knew that I was going to be an entrepreneur all my life, that I was going to be interested in social impact and that that was my purpose," says Andrea, from her home in Uruguay.Related: Bella Thorne Talks About Her New Cannabis Strains, Shares Exclusive PhotosLater on, in 2005, Andrea met Kevin Nafte, who became her partner both in life and in business. Kevin was born in South Africa and was in Israel studying Government and Diplomacy. During this period, Kevin had created Telalivit, a platform that helped immigrants find a place to live and work in community.Until, suddenly, their projects started mixing: "Someday we have to do something together," they said to each other.A new trip, new adventures and new ventures arrived: they moved to California, United States. More precisely, they went to live in Silicon Valley in order to develop an application to help find parking spots.And, sideways, life, love, pain.Kevin suffers from psoriatic arthritis, a type of inflammatory arthritis whose symptoms include joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. And, for this condition, he approached cannabis. "It did him good," says Andrea.Meanwhile, when the dream of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley was running smoothly, some talks began to twist destiny again. His cousin joined Flow Kana, one of the largest cannabis companies in America. And, from there, they joined forces and a new opportunity arose.Related: From Humble Origins To M In Annual Revenues: Rebel Spirit Is Poised For Cannabis Growth"His aim was to help small cannabis growers in California," he recalls.And that changed them.Quickly, Kevin joined Flow Kana as head of operations: the company grew (they went from having a staff of 7 to about 70) and, most importantly, this growth allowed them to develop a bond with the farmers of North California.They moved there.What am I doing with my life?, Andrea wondered.Gone was Silicon Valley and ahead they had a new move, a new history to weave."On those farms, Kevin was in his element. In Israel, he lived in a Kibbutz, an agricultural commune, and he always dreamed of returning to that lifestyle. The relaxed atmosphere is very good for him, "recalls Kruchik Krell.Once there, Andrea got together with women who taught her how to make cannabis extract from plants. "We had plenty and we started working a lot. We helped a group of farms to go legal. So we had access to many genetics," he adds.Because of his health issues, Kevin takes a very harmful pharmaceutical drug. "At some point we need something natural," they thought. Therefore, they were using different genetic extracts to find natural relief. "Kevin was like a guinea pig: at first it was trial and error, until we came up with a good dosage, the right levels of cannabinoids that showed results and lowered his inflammations," he comments.Again with the suitcases and once again after the adventure. With that in mind and with the dream of starting a business together, they traveled to Uruguay, the first country in the world to legalize cannabis.He did not picture it, he did not anticipate it, nor did he want to do it at all: "Well, yeah, we're going to Uruguay," he jokes today, while at that time his experience in Silicon Valley was increasingly blurred.In 2017 they settled in Charrua lands. At first, they lived with Andrea's parents and helped each other with savings from their California days. These were times of meetings, of expanding their contacts, of getting together with other entrepreneurs to share experiences, and getting to know IRCA, the Cannabis Regulatory Institute.A year later, YVY Life Science started."At first I didn't know how many years I was going to stay in Uruguay, but my mother was happy that I was going to be around. We were parents with Kevin and, now that I think about it, starting a family and a project at the same time is something very intense. It was quite a challenge," she stirred with emotion.Her first steps were based on the inspiration of the "sustainable farm in the middle of nowhere" model. Then, they received support from Leandro Martinelli, a friend and agronomist who has powerful know-how on the subject and who, according to Andrea, "has the most spectacular plants in the world."Meanwhile, it was Martinelli who trained the Uruguayan farmers, who were used to working with organics but who had never handled cannabis.Time to undertake new challenges, to set the wheel in motion. In this way, they received the first economic boost that came from friends and family funds. "We had a super positive response because they are people who have known us for a lifetime. They know well what kind of people we are." With that boost, they raised about $250,000.Related: Repairing New York's Economy And Community By Legalizing CannabisLater on, the Argentine entrepreneur Facundo Garreton joined in, bringing investors under the concept of smart money. Smart money? "CEOs of companies that have added value for what we do, such as technology, agriculture, health, pharmaceutical, and others," explains Andrea. With this new round, they added another $1,500,000.Their structure of small grower's allowed them to expand without too much investment in infrastructure and they went from growing about 300kg to project about 3 metric tons.In their own words: "Part of the investment goes to the expansion of the crop, which requires basic infrastructure. In addition, we created a hub, a center for collection, storage, and training in regenerative agriculture. We generate the seedlings to give to all the farms. We are starting a research project to develop our own genetics. And with that, we want to have different ratios of CBD and THC. We are also in the process of obtaining another industrialization license for final products. The idea is to be a sustainable brand of medical cannabis."From YVY Life Science they plan to be the example of how agriculture can be different: sustainable, without damaging the ecosystem and that is nourished by biodiversity. In fact, the United Nations even recommends returning to the small farm production system, its main source of inspiration.With things underway, during March and April 2020, YVY Life Science had its first harvest. And now, they are in the process of drying and packaging. They are already negotiating with buyers from Switzerland, Israel, and Australia.In the midst of setting up the business, one of the most outstanding points of recent times resulted from its approach to farms of women's cooperatives in the interior of Uruguay.Andrea stated: "We were looking to partner with farms. We start with one and then we look to add one or two more. We arrived at the Calmañana Cooperative, which began in the 1980s, with a rural crisis in which women took control of the situation. They were meeting and getting their own clients. When I got together with them, It gave me a flash of my microfinance days working with women."Related: Cresco Labs, Curaleaf, Green Thumb, Tilray: Here Are The Cannabis Companies Currently HiringAnd she continued: "They joined the cultivation of medicinal cannabis knowing that they were taking a great risk. For example, last year we did not commit to a sale price. They risked it. And now that we have more possibilities to export, not only will they be compensated according to fair trade, which is one of our values, but their experience helps more women dare to join."In the future, Andrea and Kevin aspire to reach a final product for consumers, based on a model of social and environmental impact. "We are targeting a wellness industry, with several verticals: from medicinal products to general wellness products, such as food supplements," he projects. And she concludes: "We want to develop a lifestyle."Just in case you were wondering, "YVY" means "soil" in Guarani, an indigenous language of Uruguay.Read the original Article at El Planteo.See more from Benzinga * Average Earnings Fall, Consumer Price Index Rises In July * 60 Stocks Moving In Wednesday's Mid-Day Session * Understanding Dynavax Technologies's Unusual Options Activity(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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| Global Ceramic Filters Industry Posted: 12 Aug 2020 09:46 AM PDT |
| Radical or moderate? Trump paints Democratic ticket as both Posted: 12 Aug 2020 09:32 AM PDT  President Donald Trump's campaign is struggling to define California Sen. Kamala Harris, the newly announced running mate for Democratic rival Joe Biden. With Trump lagging in the polls less than 90 days before the election, his team faces a pivotal choice.
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| Mocimboa da Praia: Key Mozambique port 'seized by IS' Posted: 12 Aug 2020 09:30 AM PDT  After days of fighting, IS is said to have driven government forces out of Mocimboa da Praia.
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| Russia’s ‘first’ COVID vaccine has health officials concerned Posted: 12 Aug 2020 09:30 AM PDT  As nations and NGOs around the world scramble to develop a safe and effective vaccine against the coronavirus, Russia claimed on Tuesday to already have one. "A vaccine against coronavirus has been registered for the first time in the world this morning," Russian President Vladimir Putin said on state TV during a press conference outside his residence. "One of my own daughters has tested the vaccine," Putin continued.
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| Global Ceramic Inks Industry Posted: 12 Aug 2020 09:26 AM PDT |
| Russia's coronavirus vaccine 'not certain to work' according to scientists who developed it Posted: 12 Aug 2020 09:17 AM PDT  The Russian coronavirus vaccine hailed by President Vladimir Putin is not certain to work and has side effects including swelling, fever and pain, according to scientists who developed the drug. Mr Putin announced on Tuesday that Russia had approved the world's first vaccine against the virus, saying his own daughter had taken part in clinical trials. Officials said the vaccine would be offered to medics as early as this month and rolled out to the general population from October. But documents on an official Russian health ministry website said the vaccine had been tested on too few volunteers over too short a time to draw conclusions about its effectiveness, and described a number of side effects. "Adverse events...were met frequently or very frequently," according to the report from Moscow's Gamaleya Institute, which developed the vaccine. "It is not possible to define the occurrence of adverse events more accurately because of the limited number of participants in the research." Thirty-eight volunteers took part in the trials over 42 days. Side effects included swelling, hyperthermia, lethargy, headaches, itching at the vaccination site, decreased appetite, diarrhea and cold-like symptoms. Over the course of the trials, 144 "adverse events" were recorded, more than 30 of which were ongoing.
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| Global Ceramic Membrane Industry Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:46 AM PDT |
| EXPLAINER-The U.S. push to extend U.N. arms embargo on Iran Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:33 AM PDT |
| Russia is moving too fast with COVID-19 vaccine, U.S. experts warn Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:27 AM PDT  American vaccine experts are alarmed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that Russia will begin vaccinating against the coronavirus.
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| UK not 'match fit' for post-Brexit trade talks, claims New Zealand's deputy prime minister Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:14 AM PDT  Britain attempting multiple Brexit trade deals at once is like a cricketer who hasn't played in 30 years attempting to win the Ashes, New Zealand's deputy prime minister said on Wednesday. New Zealand has blamed Britain for slow progress towards a free trade deal and accused it of not being "match fit" for international negotiations. British officials are currently in formal trade talks with the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the US and racing to finalise as many deals as possible before the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31. Winston Peters, New Zealand's deputy PM, said he was "very frustrated" with the progress made on a post-Brexit agreement with Britain, adding: "We just need the British to realise that you can do more than one deal at a time." Mr Peters blamed the UK's 47-year membership of the EU for it not being ready to pursue multiple trade deals around the world at once. The European Commission negotiates trade deals on behalf of the whole bloc, which means the UK has not negotiated a trade deal since it joined the forerunner of the EU in 1973. New Zealand, which is also in formal trade negotiations with the EU, negotiates its own trade agreements rather than as a bloc with other countries. Mr Peters said: "We've had to look offshore for a long time and so we are seriously match fit when it comes to that, in a way that I don't believe that the UK is because the UK has been locked up in the EU all these years. "In terms of their trading skills and finesse and their firepower – without being critical – they've never had an outing lately."
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| Global Ceramic Textiles Industry Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:06 AM PDT |
| Hand Sanitizer Market Size Worth US$ 15.3 Billion by 2026 |CAGR: 9.15%| UnivDatos Market Insights Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:00 AM PDT  UnivDatos Market Insights released a report titled "Hand Sanitizer Demand Analysis - COVID-19 Impact Market by Product (Gel, Liquid, Foam, Others), End-Users (Hospitals, Households, Restaurants & Hotels, Government & Commercial Offices, Other Public Places), Sales Channel (Pharmacies, Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Departmental/Convenience Stores, Others (Online, Direct & Institutional Sales, etc.)) and Region (United States, Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, United Kingdom, India, Iran, Turkey, Netherlands, Rest of World) - Current Analysis and Forecast (2020-2026)." Global hand sanitizer Market was valued at US$ 2,615.4 1 million in 2019 and is anticipated to witness very high growth in 2020 and would reach a market size of US$ 15,352.6 million by the end of 2020. Further, the market is expected to witness a CAGR growth of 9.15% during the 2021-2026 period.
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| Solving COVID: August 12, 2020 Posted: 12 Aug 2020 08:00 AM PDT |
| Iran's Rouhani hopeful US arms embargo push will fail Posted: 12 Aug 2020 07:54 AM PDT  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani expressed "great hopes" Wednesday that a US bid to extend an arms embargo on his country will fail, warning of consequences if the UN Security Council backs it. Rouhani's remarks came after Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said the US would have to redraft its proposed resolution on the issue after being "rebuffed" by Security Council members. "We have great hopes that America will fail," Rouhani told a televised meeting of his cabinet.
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| Syria: President Assad suffers brief drop in blood pressure Posted: 12 Aug 2020 07:46 AM PDT  Syrian President Bashar Assad interrupted a speech he was giving to parliament Wednesday, telling a room full of lawmakers that he needed to "sit down for a minute" after suffering a brief drop in blood pressure. Assad, 54, was half an hour through his speech when he began appearing tired and halted his speech twice to take a sip of water from a glass in front of him. It was not clear how long he was away but when he returned, Assad, a trained eye doctor, joked that "doctors are the worst patients."
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| Global Ceramic Tubes Industry Posted: 12 Aug 2020 07:46 AM PDT |
| Israel says it foiled hackers targeting defense industry Posted: 12 Aug 2020 07:14 AM PDT |
| Global Chemical Mechanical Planarization Industry Posted: 12 Aug 2020 07:06 AM PDT |
| QAnon-supporting candidate unrepentant despite GOP criticism Posted: 12 Aug 2020 06:52 AM PDT  Political newcomer Marjorie Taylor Greene was mocked as a supporter of QAnon conspiracies and denounced for videos deemed racist even by fellow Republicans who withdrew endorsements and declared her unfit for Congress. The businesswoman from northern Georgia had a blunt message for her critics as she coasted to victory in a Republican primary runoff election that should put her on an easy path to winning an open U.S. House seat: "I will not apologize." "If Republicans want to win in 2020, they need to listen the message that I'm speaking," Greene told cheering supporters in a victory speech that railed against "spineless Republicans" and "anti-American leftists."
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| Biden, Harris lash Trump at debut of historic VP choice Posted: 12 Aug 2020 06:38 AM PDT  Joe Biden and Kamala Harris pushed past their one-time political rivalry Wednesday to deliver an aggressive attack on the character and performance of President Donald Trump in their historic first appearance as running mates. The physical debut of the Democratic ticket was without parallel in recent political annals. The coronavirus prevented Biden and Harris from appearing before the large, adoring crowd that typically greets a presidential nominee and his or her running mate.
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| U.S. Goes It Alone to Keep Weapons Out of Iran Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:43 AM PDT |
| U.S. Aims to Extend U.N. Arms Embargo on Iran Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:23 AM PDT  The U.S. is aiming to extend a United Nations arms embargo on Iran — indefinitely. The embargo prohibits Iran from buying and selling conventional weapons. The U.S.' new proposed resolution reportedly recommends extending the ban until the "council decides otherwise."
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| U.S. Aims To Extend U.N. Arms Embargo On Iran Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:23 AM PDT The U.S. is aiming to extend a United Nations arms embargo on Iran — indefinitely. The embargo prohibits Iran from buying and selling conventional weapons. The U.S.' new proposed resolution reportedly recommends extending the ban until the "council decides otherwise."
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| Trump v. Putin: A Vaccine Manhood Contest Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:08 AM PDT  American scientists hope this is one time that President Donald Trump really does believe it is all just a Russian hoax.As President Vladimir Putin of Russia triumphantly declared on Tuesday that his country had produced the world's first coronavirus vaccine, public health experts in the United States worried that Trump would feel compelled to compete in a pharmaceutical manhood contest by hastily rolling out his own vaccine even before it is fully tested."I am sure that this will give him more impetus to push U.S. R&D and FDA to move more quickly," Margaret Hamburg, a Food and Drug Administration commissioner under President Barack Obama, said, referring to research and development. "If he believes that testing causes cases, I suspect he may believe that if you don't test a vaccine or drug, they must be OK."The announcement in Moscow roiled the international quest to stop the pandemic in what had already developed into a geopolitical race among the world's biggest powers. The Russian vaccine, approved without the sort of extensive trials typically required in the West, may work, American scientists said. But if it does not, the rushed process could pose dangers not just for Russians but for many others if Trump seeks to match the supposed achievement prematurely.The search for a vaccine has already been caught in a whirlwind of pressures as the Trump administration scrambles to develop a drug to combat a virus that has killed more than 164,000 Americans. Two pharmaceutical companies have moved to Phase 3 trials in the United States, the final stage of testing before a vaccine can be approved. But scientists have expressed concern that the trials would be short-circuited by Trump's desire for a political win before the general election Nov. 3.The White House has said that data, not politics, will govern the decision to approve a vaccine, although Trump has repeatedly linked his Operation Warp Speed to the campaign calendar. He has suggested that a vaccine could be rolled out by Election Day even though scientists said it would take until early next year to complete the trials."We're doing very well in everything including corona, as you call it," Trump said in an interview Tuesday with radio host Hugh Hewitt. "But let me just tell you, we're getting to an end. We're getting to, and the vaccines are ready to rock. We're going to be very close to a vaccine. We're ready to distribute."At a news briefing later in the day, the president offered no comment on Russia's announcement but made a point of boasting about the "tremendous progress" on an American vaccine and asserted that "we're moving very close to that approval.""Operation Warp Speed is the largest and most advanced operation of its kind anywhere in the world and anywhere in history," he said, his competitive juices on display.Putin saw no need to wait for more expansive testing in Russia, where the medical system is not considered as rigorous as in the United States, despite the prospect that it may not work as advertised or may even prove unsafe. But in doing so, he put Trump in an awkward position given the friendship between the two men."Judging from Trump's history of seeming deference to Putin as well as an ongoing personal desire for a 'win,' Trump may wish to replicate at home what he sees as a Russian vaccine triumph," said Monica Schoch-Spana, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.David Kramer, a Russia scholar at Florida International University and a former assistant secretary of state under President George W. Bush, said Trump should use the moment to put his desire for better relations with Russia to the test."Aside from arms control, fighting the virus would be one issue where we and Russia should work together and not be another source of competition," he said. "The speed with which the Russians have found a vaccine has to raise concerns, however, and risks exacerbating the level of distrust between our two sides if it does not work or even does harm."The vaccine race comes at a time when Washington is already engaging in a new debate over how to recalibrate relations between the two powers after the election. A group of 103 former Cabinet secretaries, ambassadors and other officials from Democratic and Republican administrations published an open letter last week in Politico arguing for an effort to "put the relationship on a more constructive path."Another group of former officials, this one with 33, led by Kramer, published its response Tuesday rejecting a new "reset" and arguing that Putin's regime poses "a threat to American interests and values, requiring strong pushback."The relationship has been dominated by the aftermath of the 2016 election, when Russia intervened in the American campaign to help Trump, according to intelligence agencies and a special counsel investigation. While no charges were brought alleging a criminal conspiracy, Trump has at times rejected even that Russia played a role, calling it a hoax.Just last week, U.S. intelligence agencies reported that Russia was still trying to intervene in American elections to help reelect Trump, a conclusion that the president likewise instantly rejected. "I think that the last person Russia wants to see in office is Donald Trump because nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have, ever," he said at a briefing for reporters.Told that was not what the intelligence agencies were finding, Trump snapped, "Well, I don't care what anybody says."He defended himself further on Tuesday when Hewitt asked who had been tougher on Russia, Trump or Obama. "By a factor of 50, me, OK?" Trump said, arguing that he built up the U.S. military and sent weapons to Ukraine for its continuing conflict with Russia.As he often does, however, Trump laced his answer with factual fallacies. He boasted that he sent Javelin anti-tank weapons to Ukraine when Obama would not, which is true. But what Trump did not say was that his administration barred the Ukrainians from actually using the Javelins and mandated that they be kept locked up far from the battlefront.The president likewise boasted that "I got NATO to pay $400 billion a year more to protect themselves against Russia." That is not true. NATO has projected that the allies will increase military spending by a cumulative $400 billion from 2016 to 2024, meaning over eight years, not each year. Similarly, Trump said he "spent $2.5 trillion" on the U.S. military, but that credits him with every dollar spent on defense over three years and then some, not just the increases he helped push through.It is true that his administration has taken aggressive action to counter Russia at times -- including sanctions, diplomatic expulsions and modest troop deployments to Eastern Europe -- but Trump has left the tough talk to his subordinates and rarely if ever has a word of criticism of Putin, whose leadership and strength he has publicly praised. Indeed, Trump has spoken repeatedly with Putin in recent months without once raising intelligence reports that Russia has paid bounties to Afghan fighters to kill U.S. soldiers. Trump dismissed the reports from his own administration as "fake news."In a separate string of Twitter messages Tuesday, Trump disputed the notion that he trusted Putin more than U.S. intelligence agencies, but he then proceeded to explain why he would doubt his own country's security apparatus, pointing back to his first encounter with veteran intelligence officials that he later came to consider his enemies."John Bolton, one of the dumbest people I've met in government and sadly, I've met plenty, states often that I respected, and even trusted, Vladimir Putin of Russia more than those in our Intelligence Agencies," Trump wrote, referring to his own former national security adviser."While of course that is not true," he continued, "if the first people you met from so called American Intelligence were Dirty Cops who have now proven to be sleazebags at the highest level like James Comey, proven liar James Clapper, & perhaps the lowest of them all, Wacko John Brennan who headed the CIA, you could perhaps understand my reluctance to embrace!"This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| Amid crises, UNICEF USA launches program to help kids in US Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:02 AM PDT  For more than 70 years, the U.S. affiliate of UNICEF has supported the global work of that U.N. agency, most of it focused on aiding children in developing countries. On Wednesday, amid overlapping domestic crises, UNICEF USA announced its first major program supporting children in the United States. Michael Nyenhuis, UNICEF USA's president and CEO, said his agency will be investing $1 million this year on an initiative to help U.S. cities become more child-friendly.
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| A COVID-19 vaccine needs the public's trust – and it's risky to cut corners on clinical trials, as Russia is Posted: 12 Aug 2020 05:00 AM PDT  Russia's announcement that a fast-tracked COVID-19 vaccine is registered there, with plans for quick distribution in the general population this fall, is being condemned by scientists worldwide.Findings from scientific studies of this vaccine, named "Sputnik V," are not available. Large safety and efficacy trials are only now getting underway. But despite only two months of preliminary testing in people, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the vaccine "quite effective" and it's received regulatory approval.In other places, notably the United States, China and the European Union, even as researchers rush to develop vaccines, they continue to publish studies of these vaccines at a more measured pace than is happening in Russia.As an epidemiologist who studies vaccine hesitancy and vaccine-preventable disease, I'm concerned about this news from Russia. After essential workers and high-risk groups are vaccinated, I would want to be among the first in line for an approved COVID-19 vaccine, but the medical research system must make sure any vaccine is safe and effective before distributing it to the population at large. Clinical trials have a valuable roleBefore any drug, vaccine or medical device is licensed for use in the general population, it needs to go through several rounds of large-scale testing. These studies are designed to make sure the intervention is safe and effective, and to understand what the appropriate dosage will be.Under normal conditions, the research required to bring a vaccine to market can take decades. For example, before the HPV vaccine was licensed in the U.S. in 2006, a phase III clinical trial enrolled 18,644 participants in 2004-2005, a phase II clinical trial had enrolled 1,113 participants in 2000, and the laboratory studies that led to a vaccine candidate had been published in the early 1990s.In the face of the coronavirus pandemic, scientists around the globe are focusing their efforts on developing a COVID-19 vaccine. They're working at an unprecedented pace to move through the necessary clinical trials to end up with a safe and effective vaccine. One of the most time-consuming parts of clinical trials is enrolling participants, and pharmaceutical companies have sped up this process by lining up volunteers early, obtaining important baseline data from them even before a vaccine candidate is available. Problems if the vaccine is released too earlyCarefully conducted clinical trials are necessary to identify any problems with the vaccine. For example, studies of a new type of measles vaccine in the early 1990s found that it was detrimental to baby girls, and so it was never licensed to the general population. The existing measles or measles-mumps-rubella vaccine available in the U.S. and other countries is highly safe and effective. It could also be that the vaccine is not effective in some categories of people. Phase I and II clinical trials have small sample sizes and may not include individuals from high-risk groups. For example, a recently published phase II clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine excluded obese people, those with chronic diseases and pregnant women. However, these are all groups that should be able to get the vaccine in the future. More studies, including phase III trials, are necessary to discover if the vaccine works in the general population. Preliminary results should be available by the end of 2020.The concern is that by introducing the vaccine early, without adequate testing of safety, effectiveness and dosing, the population may be presented with a vaccine which is not safe or not effective, and with little information on which vaccine schedule is best.Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn has said the FDA will not "cut corners" in approving a COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. despite an accelerated program, dubbed Operation Warp Speed. Rushing to marketBut is there ever an ethical reason to release a vaccine early, even without going through all phases of clinical trials?Although it would be wonderful to get a vaccine into the population quickly, there could be substantial downsides if researchers and manufacturers cut corners. Imagine a vaccine that often had serious side effects that weren't caught in small trials before it was widely administered.[Research into coronavirus and other news from science Subscribe to The Conversation's new science newsletter.]An untested vaccine wouldn't just harm the people vaccinated. If negative perceptions about the safety or efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine spread throughout the population, it could limit how many people are willing to get the shot and perpetuate disease transmission.Trust in vaccination programs is crucial. Russia, in fact, provides an important historical example. In the 1990s, trust in the country's public health system rapidly decreased, and rates of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination fell as a result. A large outbreak of diphtheria then spread through eastern Europe, leaving over 4,000 people dead.Hasty rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine could prime people not only to not trust the COVID-19 vaccine, but also to doubt vaccination and public health systems as a whole. Vaccinations should be developed by impartial scientists and evaluated by nonpartisan government officials. By cutting red tape, procedures can be prioritized and sped up, but they must not be skipped.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * How effective does a COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine need to be to stop the pandemic? A new study has answers * What needs to go right to get a coronavirus vaccine in 12-18 monthsAbram L. Wagner receives funding from the NIH and NSF.
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| More tribal clashes in Sudanese port city; death toll at 25 Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:28 AM PDT |
| Iran's Rouhani hopeful US arms embargo push will fail Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:15 AM PDT  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani expressed "great hopes" Wednesday that a US bid to extend an arms embargo on his country will fail, warning of consequences if the UN Security Council backs it. Rouhani's remarks came after Iran's ambassador to the United Nations said the US would have to redraft its proposed resolution on the issue after being "rebuffed" by Security Council members. The ban on selling weapons to Iran is set to be progressively eased from October under the terms of Resolution 2231, which blessed the Iran nuclear deal that world powers agreed in July 2015.
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| 3 dead, 6 in hospital after train derails in Scotland Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:10 AM PDT  Three people were killed and six others injured Wednesday when a passenger train derailed in northeast Scotland after heavy rain and flooding hit the area. The train driver was believed to be among the dead, British Transport Police said. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said that the train conductor was also believed killed.
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| Thousands in Belarus decry president's reelection as rigged Posted: 12 Aug 2020 04:07 AM PDT  Thousands of protesters rallied in Belarus' capital and other cities for a fourth straight night Wednesday, decrying an election they say was rigged to extend the 26-year rule of the country's authoritarian leader and the crackdown on subsequent demonstrations. In several parts of Minsk, groups of hundreds of people formed human chains. Motorists blared horns in support and, in some areas, slowed to a crawl to block police vehicles.
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