| Global Cardiopulmonary Stress Testing Systems Industry Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:34 PM PDT |
| Trump targets Iran banks, seeking crippling blow as term ends Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:06 PM PDT  President Donald Trump's administration imposed sweeping sanctions Thursday on Iran's banking sector, taking a major new step to cripple the arch-rival's already struggling economy weeks ahead of US elections.
|
| Global Ceramic Foams Industry Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:54 PM PDT |
| Once unknown Nigerian 'masterpiece' by Ben Enwonwu up for sale Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:15 PM PDT  Experts did not know of Ben Enwonwu's Court of the Oba of Benin until it was offered for sale.
|
| Africa's week in pictures: 2-8 October 2020 Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:11 PM PDT  A selection of the week's best photos from across the continent and beyond.
|
| Why Trump wants Sudan to befriend Israel Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:06 PM PDT  With Sudan desperate for sanctions to be lifted, the US and Israel have spotted an opportunity.
|
| Putin invites Armenia, Azerbaijan foreign ministers for peace talks Posted: 08 Oct 2020 03:18 PM PDT  Russian President Vladimir Putin invited the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to visit Moscow for peace talks Friday and said fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh should be halted for humanitarian reasons.
|
| UN Security Council Back Home in Own Chamber After 7 Months Posted: 08 Oct 2020 03:08 PM PDT |
| Trump, Barr at odds over slow pace of Durham investigation Posted: 08 Oct 2020 02:49 PM PDT  President Donald Trump is increasingly at odds with Attorney General William Barr over the status of the Justice Department's investigation into the origin of the Russia probe, with the president increasingly critical about a lack of arrests and Barr frustrated by Trump's public pronouncements about the case, according to people familiar with the matter. Trump and his allies had high hopes for the investigation led by Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham, betting it would expose what they see as wrongdoing when the FBI opened a case into whether the Trump campaign was coordinating with Russia to sway the 2016 election.
|
| Trump still contagious? Experts say it's impossible to know Posted: 08 Oct 2020 02:46 PM PDT  President Donald Trump said Thursday he doesn't think he's contagious anymore, but medical experts say that's impossible to know a week after his diagnosis with COVID-19. Most people with COVID-19 can stop isolating and be around others about 10 days after they first showed symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "At this point, there's no diagnostic test that tells you whether a person that's infected remains infectious," said Dr. Benjamin Pinsky, who leads Stanford University's virology labs.
|
| Chaïma: Algeria women protest over teen's rape and murder Posted: 08 Oct 2020 12:34 PM PDT  The brutal killing of a 19-year-old draws protests in several cities and on social media.
|
| Some worried Democrats have 2nd thoughts on voting by mail Posted: 08 Oct 2020 12:03 PM PDT  Will a slowdown at the U.S. Postal Service make ballots arrive too late? Will technical mishaps filling out ballots lead to the vote not getting counted? Many voters who decided early in the coronavirus pandemic to cast their votes by mail have been rethinking their options as Election Day approaches.
|
| In 25th Amendment bid, Pelosi mulls Trump's fitness to serve Posted: 08 Oct 2020 11:27 AM PDT  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is questioning President Donald Trump's fitness to serve, announcing legislation Thursday that would create a commission to allow Congress to intervene under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution and remove the president from executive duties. Just weeks before the Nov. 3 election, Pelosi said Trump needs to disclose more about his health after his COVID-19 diagnosis.
|
| Experts: Warming makes Delta, other storms power up faster Posted: 08 Oct 2020 11:06 AM PDT  Hurricane Delta, gaining strength as it bears down on the U.S. Gulf Coast, is the latest and nastiest in a recent flurry of rapidly intensifying Atlantic hurricanes that scientists largely blame on global warming. Earlier, before hitting Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and temporarily losing strength, Delta set a record for going from a 35 mph (56 kph) unnamed tropical depression to a monstrous 140 mph (225 kph) Category 4 storm in just 36 hours, beating a mark set in 2000, according to University of Colorado weather data scientist Sam Lillo. "We've certainly been seeing a lot of that in the last few years," said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate and hurricane scientist Jim Kossin.
|
| Law enforcement preps for potential election-related unrest Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:55 AM PDT  Federal and state law enforcement officials have begun expanded preparations for the possibility of widespread unrest at the polls on Election Day, a response to extraordinarily high tensions among voters and anxieties about safety stoked in part by President Donald Trump. FBI and local officials in several states have been conducting drills, running through worse-case scenarios, setting up command centers to improve coordination on reports of violence and voter intimidation, and issuing public warnings that any crime that threatens the sanctity of a Nov. 3 vote will not be tolerated. Six men were arrested after federal officials said they plotted to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., at her vacation home.
|
| Court blocks extension of Wisconsin absentee ballot deadline Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:52 AM PDT  A federal appeals court on Thursday blocked a decision to extend the deadline for counting absentee ballots by six days in battleground Wisconsin, in a win for Republicans who have fought attempts to expand voting across the country. If the ruling stands, absentee ballots will have to be delivered to Wisconsin election clerks by 8 p.m. on Election Day if they are to be counted. Democrats almost certainly will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
|
| Twitter suspends 1,600 accounts linked to state disinformation networks Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:46 AM PDT  It blocked accounts allegedly run by Iran, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Thailand.
|
| After 46 years, Cypriot ghost town's beach opens to public Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:25 AM PDT  For the first time in 46 years, members of the public were permitted on Thursday to access the beach of Varosha in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of ethnically divided Cyprus. Hundreds filed through a gate manned by Turkish Cypriot police to walk on a freshly paved asphalt road leading to the beach that was the jewel of what was once Cyprus' premier tourist resort. For some, like one woman draped in the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags, it was a moment of joy to witness an "historic" moment.
|
| Brazil strains at quarantine as virus cases pass 5 million Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:23 AM PDT  Dozens of people converged on the cobblestone streets of downtown Rio de Janeiro for its traditional Pedra do Sal samba party — the first since the pandemic began — and it seemed Brazil was returning to normal. Among those dancing Monday were Luana Jatobá and two friends, all of whom overcame COVID-19. As a nurse technician caring for coronavirus patients, she knows better than most that occupancy rates at Rio's intensive-care units have surged as the city's seven-day average number of cases reaches its highest level since June.
|
| U.S. hits Iran's financial sector with fresh round of sanctions Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:12 AM PDT |
| The Asia Pacific bovine pericardial valve market is expected to reach US$ 819.03 million by 2027 from US$ 366.27 million in 2019 Posted: 08 Oct 2020 09:49 AM PDT |
| Tensions rise as virus cases surge in Wisconsin, Dakotas Posted: 08 Oct 2020 09:43 AM PDT  A surge of coronavirus cases in Wisconsin and the Dakotas is forcing a scramble for hospital beds and raising political tensions, as the Upper Midwest and Plains emerge as one of the nation's most troubling hot spots. "It's an emotional roller coaster," said Melissa Resch, a nurse at Wisconsin's Aspirus Wausau Hospital, which is working to add beds and reassign staff to keep up with a rising caseload of virus patients, many gravely ill. The efforts to combat the quickening spread of the virus in the Midwest and Plains states are starting to recall the scenes that played out in other parts of the country over the past several months.
|
| 13 charged in plots against Michigan governor, police Posted: 08 Oct 2020 09:10 AM PDT  Agents foiled a stunning plot to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, authorities said Thursday in announcing charges in an alleged scheme that involved months of planning and even rehearsals to snatch her from her vacation home. Six men were charged in federal court with conspiring to kidnap the governor before the Nov. 3 elections in reaction to what they viewed as her "uncontrolled power," according to a federal complaint. Separately, seven others linked to a paramilitary group called the Wolverine Watchmen were charged in state court for allegedly seeking to storm the Michigan Capitol and seek a "civil war."
|
| US officials: Climate change not a threat to rare wolverine Posted: 08 Oct 2020 09:05 AM PDT  U.S. wildlife officials are withdrawing proposed protections for the snow-loving wolverine after determining the rare and elusive predator is not as threatened by climate change as once thought. A federal judge four years ago had blocked an attempt to withdraw protections that were first proposed in 2010, pointing to evidence from government scientists that wolverines were "squarely in the path of climate change." "Wolverines have come back down from Canada and they are repopulating these areas in the Lower 48 that they historically occupied," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Justin Shoemaker.
|
| Putin Is Facing the Toughest Fight of His Presidency as Former USSR Goes up in Flames Posted: 08 Oct 2020 08:36 AM PDT  Tuesday, October 7, was Russian President Vladimir Putin's 68th birthday, and, in keeping with his Soviet-style personality cult, it would normally have been an occasion for Putin to bask in public fanfare. But this year was different. Putin is holed up at his residence outside Moscow, where he has been since early April, avoiding infection from the coronavirus that is again rampant in Russia, while unrest surges in three countries of the former Soviet Union, and France and Germany are pushing for new EU economic sanctions against Russia because of the poisoning of Russian democrat Alexei Navalny.In honor of Putin's birthday, the Russian news agency Tass released the final episode of a series entitled 20 Questions with Vladimir Putin, a special interview project to commemorate Putin's twenty years as leader. In this episode Putin does not discuss pressing economic issues or international affairs, but rather his hobbies, family and other personal matters. Significantly, while Putin mentions that he enjoys his "sweet" grandchildren, he also confesses to his interviewer that "when you occupy this position, sometimes it feels like you cease to be a human being and become nothing more than a mere function."Funeral for Reporter Who Set Herself on Fire Reawakens Russia's Passion to Stand up to PutinNo wonder Putin has begun feeling like an automaton. Bad things have been happening to Putin in battalions lately. On July 9, just as the number of coronavirus cases in Russia had begun to decline and the virus seemed under control, mass protests erupted in the Siberian district of Khabarovsk over the arrest on unsubstantiated murder charges of the popular governor, Sergei Furgal.The unrest in Khabarovsk, a cause for deep concern in the Kremlin, was soon overshadowed by events in Belarus, where the largest political rally in over a decade took place in Minsk on July 30 in support of the opposition presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. Opposition protests, accompanied by mass arrests, plunged Belarus into turmoil after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, reported a landslide victory in the August 9 presidential elections. Despite a severe crackdown, the protests have continued. On October 4, 100,000 people marched in Minsk demanding Lukashenko's resignation.The events in Belarus, a neighboring country that serves as Russia's strategic buffer to NATO states, pose a huge dilemma for Putin. The overthrow of an authoritarian leader like Lukashenko by a grassroots democratic movement would set a dangerous example that Russians might at some point follow. But if the Kremlin sends paramilitary forces into Belarus to support Lukashenko, as Putin suggested last month might be done, such a move could result in more Western sanctions against Russia, which would further damage Russia's faltering economy.Adding to the Kremlin's troubles, a violent conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27 over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies in Azerbaijan, but is controlled by ethnic Christian Armenians who are backed by the Armenian government. Russia would like to put an end to what is the deadliest fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 25 years, but both countries are ignoring appeals for a cease-fire.Just days later, a political uprising engulfed the Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan, yet another former Soviet republic. As with Belarus, claims of rigged elections ignited the turmoil. On October 5, following parliamentary elections the previous day, masses of demonstrators took to the streets, eventually seizing government buildings and the office of the president, Sooronbai Jeenbekov, who is now in hiding. Kyrgyzstan has seen years of political conflict, characterized more by fighting among elite rival groups and clans than by struggles for democracy, so the situation there is not comparable to that in Belarus, which has much greater implications for the Kremlin. Nonetheless, the Kremlin cannot ignore the chaos in a country that depends economically on Russia and houses a Russian military base.The spread of COVID-19, which has caused significant unemployment and economic disruption in Kyrgyzstan, contributed to the political discontent there, as it has elsewhere, including in Russia. (From January to September 2020, the number of bankruptcies of Russian citizens and individual entrepreneurs increased by 64.9 percent, to 77,000.) According to Russia's Levada-Center, a polling organization, Putin's approval ratings dropped to an all-time low of 59 percent when the coronavirus reached pandemic levels in April and May of this year, only to climb back up as the rates of infection declined. So the recent steep rise in Russia's coronavirus cases, with daily totals approaching the record high of 11,656 on May 11, is further cause for disquiet among Putin and his government.But of all the problems Putin faces as he continues to isolate, communicating with his political and military advisors mainly through video conferences, the most troubling may be that of Navalny, who the Kremlin failed to eliminate as planned on August 20. As with GRU defector Sergei Skripal, Russia's security services botched their job, and Navalny not only survived, but is speaking out publicly about the poisoning, which he attributes to Putin directly. And he is urging tougher western sanctions on members of Putin's inner circle. In a recent interview with Germany's Bild newspaper, cited by Radio Liberty, Navalny stressed that "the most important thing is to impose entry bans against those who profit from the regime and freeze their assets… They embezzle money, steal billions, and at the weekend they fly to Berlin or London, buy expensive apartments, and sit in cafes."Although the fearless Navalny plans to return to Russia once he has recovered from the poisoning to continue his opposition to the Putin regime, he does not pose an immediate political threat to Putin. According to an in-depth analysis last week by Levada-Center Deputy Director Denis Volkov, only one third of the 77 percent of Russians who had heard about Navalny's poisoning believe that it was a deliberate attack. Most think that it was a provocation by western security services or something Navalny did to himself. This is because of long-formed views of older Russians, who get their news on Russian state-controlled television, from which Navalny and other opposition politicians are banned. Navalny's audience comes from younger Russians who regularly consult the internet. Volkov points out that: "Russian television and the Internet do not just differ in interpretation, but present two different pictures of what is happening."But, Volkov says, this situation is changing: "For his supporters, Navalny is important, first of all, because he 'speaks the truth,' 'gives an alternative point of view,' 'fights against the authorities' and 'is not afraid.' Although Navalny gained his fame as the author of high-profile anti-corruption investigations, in his current image this characterization fades into the background. In the context of declining public support for top officials, his image as an alternative to the current government and its policies is becoming increasingly important. And this makes the Kremlin nervous."Volkov goes on to point out that Navalny's positive image is a result of his painstaking work on the internet, his effective team of like-minded colleagues and his network of regional headquarters: "For some of his supporters from the regions, Navalny was the first politician from Moscow whom they saw in person. All this allowed him to slowly but surely build up his authority." Although current Russian political views are dominated by the older generation, which is afraid of change and dislikes Navalny, it is only a matter of time, Volkov says, before the younger generation becomes more politically active.It is worth noting that Putin's birthday also marks the fourteenth anniversary of the as yet unsolved murder of Russian journalist and fierce Putin critic Anna Politkovskaya, who was gunned down in the stairwell of her Moscow apartment building on October 7, 2006. Referring to this "coincidence"—some say the killing was a birthday gift to Putin—St. Petersburg Parliamentary deputy Boris Vishnevsky, a member of the liberal Yabloko party, had this to say:"Today, sitting in his bunker, Putin will receive flattering congratulations from the stalwarts of his 'vertical' power base, who assure him that 'without Putin there will be no Russia.' But the event that happened on a previous October 7 [Politkovskaya's murder] will be remembered for a very long time. As well as Anna Politkovskaya herself. And today's event [Putin's birthday] will be forgotten as soon as the birthday boy loses power."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
|
| Armenia says cathedral shelled in clashes with Azerbaijan Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:58 AM PDT  Armenia accused Azerbaijan on Thursday of shelling a historic cathedral in the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, where nearly two weeks of heavy fighting has killed hundreds of people. The Holy Savior Cathedral, also known as the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral, had its dome pierced by a shell that also damaged the interior. Media reports said some children were inside the cathedral in the town of Shusha at the time of the shelling, and although they were not wounded, they suffered from stress after the attack.
|
| Am I immune to the coronavirus if I’ve already had it? Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:55 AM PDT  It's actually evidence the man's immune system worked like it should. Scientists are studying how the other parts of the immune system kick in with the coronavirus. The AP is answering your questions about the coronavirus in this series.
|
| New highlights announced for Future Cities Canada: #UnexpectedSolutions Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:32 AM PDT |
| 'So frustrating': Doctors and nurses battle virus skeptics Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:31 AM PDT  It's dealing with patients and relatives who don't believe the virus is real, refuse to wear masks and demand treatments like hydroxychloroquine, which President Donald Trump has championed even though experts say it is not effective against the scourge that has killed over 210,000 in the U.S. Montgomery finds herself, like so many other doctors and nurses, in a world where the politics of the crisis are complicating treatment efforts, with some people even resisting getting tested. After one tough shift in the coronavirus unit at Cox South Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, Montgomery went onto Facebook to vent her frustrations about caring for patients who didn't socially distance because they didn't believe the virus was real.
|
| US to apply new sanctions aimed at crushing Iranian economy Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:15 AM PDT  The United States is expected to impose new sanctions on Iran on Thursday aimed at shutting Tehran out of the global financial sector and forcing it to renegotiate a nuclear deal. The sanctions will target the remaining Iranian banks not already subject to secondary sanctions and penalise any foreign, non-Iranian financial institutions doing business with them, officials said, with the aim of denying Tehran legal avenues for earning revenue. The Washington Post first reported on the US plan, which experts say could hinder Iran's ability to buy food and medicine, despite the possibility of exemptions for humanitarian goods. The plan is the latest intensification of the US "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks a foreign policy win ahead of November presidential elections by forcing Iran to renegotiate the nuclear agreement Mr Trump quit in May 2018. Following the unilateral US withdrawal, Iran progressively abandoned many of the restrictions of the 2015 agreement. Last month, the United States declared a "snapback" of United Nations sanctions on Iran, though this was disputed by almost every other UN Security Council member.
|
| The tutu girls: group of young cancer survivors reunites Posted: 08 Oct 2020 07:14 AM PDT  Lauren Glynn is the shy one with the toy husky dog. Smiley McKinley Moore has a doll with blond hair just like hers, and Avalynn Luciano is the squirmer with the pretty white bow on top of her head. Together, they are a brave posse of cancer survivors known as the tutu girls.
|
| Newspaper: Trump official ignored virus rules at wedding Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:38 AM PDT  White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows hosted a large wedding for his daughter that appeared to violate a Georgia order and city of Atlanta guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19, a newspaper reported Thursday. About 70 guests, including U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, wore tuxedos and ball gowns but no masks at the indoor wedding, and photographs show groups of people clustered closely together in the same room throughout the evening, the newspaper said. Novare Events, which plans events at the Biltmore Ballrooms, verified ahead of time that it would be acting within the law and in compliance with details of the governor's order, its president said in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday.
|
| VIRUS DIARY: In age of pandemic, she finds solace in trees Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:19 AM PDT  When the virus was raging in New York City, I found solace on the arm of a flowering tree. Afraid for Brooklyn, the other boroughs, family far away, strangers and neighbors I knew must be suffering. Amid the city's staggering daily hospitalizations, new case counts and deaths, there was another visual I couldn't shake: More than 3,000 New Yorkers hooked to ventilators, most of them in the city.
|
| Biden, Harris aim to tip battleground Arizona for Democrats Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:03 AM PDT  Joe Biden and Kamala Harris pitched an economic message Thursday during their first joint appearance on the campaign trail, hammering President Donald Trump for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and a failure to address the needs of working Americans. "You're facing real challenges right now, and the last thing you need is a president who exacerbates them, who ignores you," Biden told a union crowd in Phoenix, adding that Trump "looks down on you." "We've paid too high a price already for Donald Trump's chaotic, divisive leadership."
|
| Trump 270 path narrows, Wisconsin mirrors swing state plight Posted: 08 Oct 2020 06:00 AM PDT  President Donald Trump's once-comfortable advantage in the pivotal region of Wisconsin around the blue-collar hub of Green Bay has dwindled. In suburban Milwaukee, long a Republican-dominated area, it has thinned as well. Trump's path to victory in Wisconsin, a state he won narrowly in 2016, has become increasingly complicated, and so has his path to the 270 electoral votes needed for his reelection.
|
| Worldwide Polymer Emulsion Industry to 2025 - Featuring BASF, Celanese & Arkema Group Among Others Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:49 AM PDT |
| Military blindsided by Trump's new Afghan troop withdrawal Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:34 AM PDT  The U.S. military was blindsided Thursday by President Donald Trump's assertion that all U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan by the end of the year, with U.S. officials saying they are not aware of such a plan and have gotten no actual order to accelerate the more gradual pullout they've been executing. Trump's comments, laid out in a confusing progression of comments and a tweet, alarmed Pentagon and State officials who fear that putting a definitive date on troop withdrawal could undercut negotiations to finalize a peace deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
|
| Intl court appeals judges uphold detention of Darfur suspect Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:33 AM PDT |
| Kuwait's new crown prince takes oath before parliament Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:28 AM PDT  Kuwait's new crown prince took the oath of office on Thursday, according to Kuwaiti state TV, ascending to the post after the country's parliament unanimously approved the ruling emir's choice of successor. Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmed Al Jaber, the 80-year-old deputy head of Kuwait's National Guard, offered brief remarks to lawmakers and ministers, promising to safeguard the country's "constitution and democratic approach" as well as its "platform of peace and humanitarian work." The royal family has moved swiftly to assure a smooth transition of power in the tiny oil-rich nation following the death last week of ruling emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, a unifying figure in Kuwait who deftly navigated the region's stark political and sectarian divides.
|
| The Latest: Commission won't rethink shift to virtual debate Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:11 AM PDT  The chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates says it is not reconsidering shifting the second debate from virtual back to in-person, despite a request from President Donald Trump's team. Frank Fahrenkopf told The Associated Press late Thursday that the nonpartisan group's decision was not going to be reversed. The commission decided to make the Oct. 15 debate virtual after Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.
|
| UK will leave EU without a deal if it has to - PM Johnson's spokesman Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:10 AM PDT |
| Boris Johnson's Brexit plans put Britain on a 'slippery slope' towards dictatorship, warns former Supreme Court president Posted: 08 Oct 2020 05:02 AM PDT  Boris Johnson's Brexit plan risks pushing the UK down a 'very slippery slope' towards 'dictatorship' or 'tyranny,' Lord Neuberger said.
|
| Next Trump-Biden debates uncertain, though Oct. 22 is likely Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:36 AM PDT  The campaign's final debates between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden were thrown into uncertainty Thursday as the rival camps offered dueling proposals for the remaining faceoffs that have been upended by the president's coronavirus infection. The chair of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates told The Associated Press that the final debate, scheduled for Oct. 22, was still slated to go on with both candidates present as planned. The whipsaw day began with an announcement from the commission that the town hall-style affair set for Oct. 15 in Miami would be held virtually.
|
| Election 2020 Today: Sparring over pandemic, ballot mix-ups Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:26 AM PDT  VP DEBATE: Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic challenger Kamala Harris traded barbs through plexiglass shields in a debate dominated by the coronavirus pandemic. Harris said President Donald Trump's handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 210,000 Americans is "the greatest failure of any presidential administration." Pence said Trump has constantly put the American people first. FACT CHECK: Pence echoed many of Trump's falsehoods from the presidential debate as he muddied the reality on the pandemic and misrepresented Joe Biden's agenda.
|
| Paris Agreement on climate change to be hardwired into Brexit trade deal Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:14 AM PDT  British and EU negotiators have moved closer to enshrining the Paris Agreement on climate change in the new Brexit free trade deal. Either side can cancel the free trade agreement if the other reneges on their 2015 promise to limit global temperatures to 1.5 degrees, under the terms of the potential breakthrough. In March, Britain called for a climate agreement separate from the free trade deal that would affirm support for Paris. The UK is now ready to hardwire respect for the Paris Agreement into the draft trade deal, sources on both sides said as negotiators met in London. There is disagreement over whether the Paris commitment should be enshrined in the "provisions" of the deal, the UK's latest position, or the agreement's "essential elements", where it would sit alongside rules forbidding crimes against humanity. If put in the essential elements, the whole trade deal could be suspended as punishment if either side leaves the UN accord. If the commitment is the provisions, the punishment would be the triggering of dispute resolution procedures. EU sources claimed UK negotiators were preparing to give in to their demands for Paris to be in the essential elements chapter of the deal. "We don't expect this to be a problem to resolve," an EU official said. UK sources said there were still differences over how to reflect the climate commitment. EU diplomats accused the UK of being reluctant to enshrine their UN climate commitments into the trade deal before the details of the mooted compromise emerged. That angered UK sources, who insist Britain's commitment to the deal has never wavered. The UK currently holds the presidency of the COP, the decision-making body for the Paris Agreement, and was the first major economy to pass a law to cut net carbon emissions to zero by 2050.
|
| Westgate: Two found guilty over Kenya shopping mall attack Posted: 08 Oct 2020 04:01 AM PDT  At least 67 people died in the assault by al-Shabab on Nairobi's Westgate shopping complex in 2013.
|
| U.S. dismantles global disinformation campaign tied to Iran - Justice Dept Posted: 08 Oct 2020 02:56 AM PDT |
| Israel extends restrictions on protests amid virus lockdown Posted: 08 Oct 2020 02:43 AM PDT  The Israeli government has extended an emergency provision that bars public gatherings, including widespread protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for an additional week. Meanwhile, the head of the Shin Bet internal security service acknowledged violating lockdown orders by hosting visiting family members at his home, becoming the latest of several senior Israeli officials caught bending the rules. Israel imposed a nationwide lockdown ahead of the Jewish High Holidays last month to rein in the country's surging coronavirus outbreak.
|
| Smart Home Healthcare Market to Grow at Massive 26.2% CAGR by 2030: P&S Intelligence Posted: 08 Oct 2020 02:30 AM PDT  The number of people in the age group of 65 and above was 703 million in 2019, and it will increase to 1.5 billion by 2030, says the United Nations in its World Population Ageing 2019 report. This factor is expected to prove instrumental in driving the global smart home healthcare market from $8.7 billion in 2019 to a massive $96.2 billion in 2030, at a CAGR of 26.2% between 2020 and 2030, according to P&S Intelligence.
|
| Iran frees rights activist after more than 8 years in prison Posted: 08 Oct 2020 01:44 AM PDT |
