The Life News Aus March 1, 2021

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News from World, Worldwide readership.

Vol. 04 Issue 49 March. 01, 2021

Protests in Armenia storm the gov’t building in amid political crisis

Anti-government demonstrators have stormed the Government building in Yerevan to demand current PM Nikol Pashinyan to resign

TL Bureau and Sources, Yerevan

Dissenters have raged an administration working in the Armenian capital in the midst of a developing political emergency started by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s treatment of a year ago’s Nagorno-Karabakh struggle.

The demonstrators constrained their way into the structure in Yerevan on Monday to request the abdication of Pashinyan, Russian state news office RIA Novosti revealed.

Web-based media film, which Al Jazeera is endeavoring to check, showed a couple of dissenters in the structure, one with an amplifier, as police watched on.

Pashinyan a week ago

denounced what he said was an endeavored upset after the military requested he quit in the wake of what pundits say

Aung San Suu Kyi appears in court virtually to face additional charges TL Bureau, Naypyitaw

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been seen by her attorneys interestingly since she was kept during a military upset a month prior. Ms Suu Kyi, who showed up in court through video connect, seemed, by all accounts, to be “healthy” and requested to see her legitimate group, her attorneys said.

She has been held in an undisclosed area since the overthrow on 1 February.

Dissenters rioted again on Monday, notwithstanding Sunday seeing the deadliest day yet with 18 killed. The passings came as the military and police sloped up its reaction to showings across the

was the public authority’s unfortunate treatment of the grisly six-week strife with Azerbaijan over the locale of

Nagorno-Karabakh.

The war murdered thousands on the two sides and saw wraps of an area in and around

the territory surrendered to Azerbaijan. It was finished in November when the two sides marked a Russian-expedited harmony bargain.

Because of the military’s interest, Pashinyan excused Chief of General Staff Onik Gasparyan on Thursday.

Be that as it may, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian declined to officially favor Gasparyan’s firing. Sarkissian said the move was illegal and that the military ought to be kept out of governmental issues.

Pashinyan scrutinized the president’s turn, saying in a proclamation on Facebook that “this choice doesn’t add to the arrangement of the current circumstance by any stretch of the imagination”.

TL Bureau, Tel Aviv

impact over the waterline that a US official said tore openings in the two sides of its body. The vessel docked at Dubai’s port for fixes on Sunday. It stays indistinct what caused the impact. Guard Minister Benny Gantz said on Saturday that an underlying appraisal discovered Iran was answerable for the blast, while the Israeli envoy to the US and United Nations seemed to reprimand Tehran for the impact, which has restored security worries in the locale.

Israeli protection authorities have traveled to Dubai to examine the occurrence, Haaretz paper

announced.

The hawkish Israeli executive, who is looking for re-appointment in the country’s fourth political race inside two years, evaded an inquiry on whether Israel will fight back.

When inquired as to whether Israel would fight back, Netanyahu, a grating pundit of Tehran’s atomic program, rehashed past proclamations about his assurance to keep Iran from creating atomic weapons.

“Iran is the best foe of Israel, I am resolved to end it. We are hitting it in the whole locale,” the Israeli head administrator said.

Photo Courtesy: Vatican News

South East Asian country over the course of the end of the week, terminating into the groups. In any case, dissenters were indeed out and about in large numbers on Monday, requesting the chosen government be reestablished and Ms Suu Kyi and different heads of her gathering, the National League for Democracy (NLD), be delivered from detainment. The military says it held onto power in light of supposed extortion in November’s overall decisions, which saw the NLD win overwhelmingly.

It has given no confirmation of these claims in spite of the fact that it has supplanted the Election Commission and guaranteed new surveys in a year.

Israeli PM claims Iran behind blast on Israeli-owned ship

PM Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Iran for being behind a week ago’s impact on an Israeli-possessed boat in the Gulf of Oman days after Israeli authorities, including the safeguard serve, pointed fingers of fault at Tehran. Netanyahu made the allegation in a meeting that circulated Monday with Israeli public telecaster Kan – however offered no proof for his case.

The MV Helios Ray, a vehicletransporter transport, was hit for the time being on Friday by an

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ew Zealand and the Palestinian Authority both declared new lockdown approaches Saturday as worldwide COVID-19 cases proceeded with a sluggish decay from January’s pinnacle, and the quantity of passings fell much further.

As of Saturday 113 million instances of the novel Covid have been accounted for around the world, as indicated by the World Health Organization.

The United States actually drives the world in the quantity of the two cases and passings, with 511,077 passings and 28.5 million cases as of Saturday. On Friday the WHO announced 432,193 new cases around the world - an increment of 2,671 cases, or .62%, throughout the other day. There were 10,162 passings, a reduction of 446 - or 4.2% - over the course of the other day.

The quantity of cases and passings have each declined consistently since January, with case includes down 5% over the most recent fourteen days and the quantity of passings down 23% percent in a similar time-frame, per the New York Times’ COVID-19 tracker.New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden reported another seven-day lockdown in Aukland Saturday because of another COVID-19 case with obscure source.

As per Arden, the case was distinguished in Aukland before Saturday and seems random to a little group of cases

New Zealand and Palestinian announced new lockdown

effectively in the south piece of the city.

The individual testing positive created indications Tuesday and is the more seasoned kin of a secondary school understudy who had returned three late negative tests and is asymptomatic. All relatives are being tried and general wellbeing authorities are leading meetings to decide the birthplace of transmission.

The Palestinian Authority declared another arrangement of lockdown limitations in the West Bank Saturday in the midst of a flood of Covid diseases and as Palestinians hang tight for an immunization rollout to start. The West Bank limitations are set to keep going for 12 days.

Colleges will be shut, enormous social occasions will be prohibited and there will be limitations on evening travel and trivial business.

The Palestinian pastor of wellbeing declared Saturday that 910 new cases and five passings had been recorded in the West Bank in the past 24 hours, incorporating one who kicked the bucket in the Gaza Strip and three who kicked the bucket in

East Jerusalem, which is under Israeli control.

Of 206,440 affirmed cases among Palestinians in the previous year, 24,500 passed on in Israeli-attached East Jerusalem, Palestinian authorities said. Israel has outperformed the remainder of the world in immunizations, announcing that the greater part its populace of 9.2 million have gotten a first portion and in excess of a third have gotten two dosages. Common liberties advocates, refering to the Fourth Geneva Convention under which possessing powers are committed to shield the general strength of individuals living under occupation

editorial

- have contended that Israel ought to inoculate the Palestinian populace alongside its own residents. Israel, which opened a station in east Jerusalem this week to impart antibodies to Palestinian laborers, has furnished the Palestinian Authority with 2,000 immunization dosages, and has guaranteed 3,000 more. The Palestinians have gotten in excess of 10,000 portions of Russia’s Sputnik V immunization, 2,000 moved from the West Bank, and another shipment of 20,000 Russian dosages is in transit. Palestinian authorities additionally hope to get countless antibody portions one month from now through the global COVAX immunization sharing system. More than 2.5 Palestinians live in the West Bank and 2,000,000 live in Gaza. As per the New York Times’ COVID-19 tracker, more than 234.1 million antibody portions have been managed around the world - what could be compared to 3.1 dosages for each 100 individuals.

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world

Address by the President of Ukraine on the occasion of the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol

TL Bureau, Kyiv

Fellow citizens!

Exactly seven years ago, on February 26, 2014, the largest rally in support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine took place in Ukrainian Simferopol involving tens of thousands of Crimean residents.

In memory of their civic position and courage, February 26 was declared in Ukraine the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

We will never forget the events that took place seven years ago.

Crimea was the heart of Ukraine.

Sunny, kind, bright.

Seven years ago, our heart was torn out. We will never forget who did it, and we will never forget who allowed it. Some argued that they had torn our heart out lawfully and politely. And now, holding it in their arms, they sincerely wonder why

Ukraine is offended, why it does not want to have good relations, why there is so much hatred, why Ukraine cannot forget and forgive this...

What does it take for Ukraine to be able to smile happily and sincerely again? Everything is simple. Its heart must be returned. The Crimean peninsula must be returned.

Unfortunately, this has not happened yet. But no one will be able to annex our memory. The memory that Crimea remains occupied.

That the boots were brutally wiped on security guarantees and

Address by the President of Ukraine on the occasion of the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol

international law. That the active militarization of the region is taking place. That the rights of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars are regularly violated in Crimea.

Freedom of speech, thinking, religion is persecuted.

Public activists and journalists are being imprisoned. And now the Russian Federation holds captive more than a hundred political prisoners from Crimea. We are now finally taking real steps towards resolving all these issues.

And together with Ukraine’s international partners, the first meeting of the Crimean Platform will take place on the eve of Independence Day in Kyiv. This is an international platform initiated

by Ukraine to search for and further implement a set of measures to deoccupy the peninsula and protect the rights of Crimeans.

Today I signed a decree on certain measures aimed at deoccupation and reintegration of the Crimean peninsula. In particular, the

government is tasked with organizing and launching the Crimean Platform, as well as taking measures to develop and support the Crimean Tatar language, culture and protect the rights of the residents of annexed Crimea.

I sincerely believe that the day will come when I will be able to repeal my own decree - simply because it will lose its relevance and Crimea will return to Ukraine.

We will preserve the memory of all those who were not afraid to say on February 26, 2014: “Crimea is Ukraine”. And we will do everything so that this thesis is never questioned by anyone again.

Dear Crimea! The whole of Ukraine is waiting for you.

“Welcome” is usually said to guests.

And relatives are told: “We look forward to seeing you at home”.

Dear Crimeans! It’s time to go back home.

We are waiting. We believe. We love. The people of Ukraine.

Bahrain Strongly Condemns Terrorist Houthi New Confirmed Covid-19 Cases, 320 Militia’s Ballistic Attack Toward Saudi Arabia Recoveries Reported, in Saudi Arabia

TL Bureau, Washington D.C.

The Kingdom of Bahrain has strongly condemned the launching of a ballistic missile by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh City and a number of bomb-laden UAVs towards Jizan and Khamis Mushait cities. In its statement, the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs has affirmed its solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in all measures it takes against these terrorist attacks that deliberately

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State On behalf of the Government of the United States of America, I send congratulations to the people of the Dominican Republic as you celebrate the 177th anniversary of your independence on February 27, 2021.

The United States and the Dominican Republic are bound together by extraordinary cultural and economic ties that contribute to the strength of both our countries. We will continue to build upon our long-standing relationship, sharing a deep commitment to democratic governance, transparency, and sustainable economic growth.

TL Bureau, Manama

Dominican Republic Independence Day

and systematically target cities, civilian objects and civilians in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.The Bahraini Foreign Ministry praised the efficiency and vigilance of the forces of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen that intercepted and destroyed the ballistic missile and bomb-laden UAVs, stressing the need for the international community to assume its political responsibilities towards these Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s territories

TL Bureau, Riyadh

also announced 15 deaths due to Covid-19 complications, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,213.

The UAE Health Ministry also noted that 2,171 individuals had fully recovered from Covid-19, bringing the total number of recoveries to 379,708.

carbon-inefficient ‘ghost flights’ to retain their slots.

The Ministry of Health announced, in a statement here today, that 338 new confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) have been reported, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 377,061, including 2,562 active cases undergoing treatment.

Of these, there are 475

critical cases, while the health condition of the rest is stable.

It added that 5 new deaths have been reported; putting the tally of fatalities, at 6,488.

Meanwhile, as many as 320 cases have recovered, raising recoveries’ toll to 368,011.

On the other hand, 39,707 new laboratory tests were conducted, in the last 24-hour, across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

UAE Announces 3,434 New Slots waiver extended in boost to UK airlines Move provides aviation sector with much-needed flexibility COVID-19 Cases in Last 24 Hours and protects environment as airlines will not have to operate

TL Bureau, Abu Dhabi

The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced 3,434 new cases of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), bringing the total number of recorded cases in the UAE to 388,594. The MoHAP

Egypt Reports 601 New Cases of Covid-19

TL Bureau, Cairo : Egypt reported, during the past 24 hours, 601 new cases of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) as well as 49 deaths due to Covid-19 complications. In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population stated that the total number of confirmed infections reached 181241, since Covid-19 breakout.

Russia Reports 11,359 New Coronavirus Cases, 379 Deaths

TL Bureau, Moscow

Russia reported 11,359 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the national tally to 4,246,079, according to Reuters.

The coronavirus crisis centre said that 379 more deaths of coronavirus patients had been confirmed in the past 24 hours, which pushed the official Russian death toll to 86,122.

TL Bureau, London

The government has today (26 February 2021) introduced legislation to extend the airports slot allocation waiver, further supporting the aviation industry through the upcoming summer months.

Acting on calls for relief from the aviation sector, the legislation will support the industry through a period where air travel is likely to be lower than other years – protecting future connectivity and preventing airlines from operating high-cost carboninefficient ‘ghost flights’ to retain historic rights to slots.

Due to expire in spring, the legislation to extend the waiver will come into force from 26 March 2021 – 2 days before the start of the summer slot season.

This will provide much needed flexibility, ensuring that airlines do not have to operate flights at least 80% of the time to retain their slots.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: I want to restart international travel as soon as it is safe and the slots waiver is a critical part of making that happen.

With airlines flying a smaller proportion of their usual schedules, the waiver means carriers can reserve their finances, reduce the need for

environmentally damaging ‘ghost flights’ and allow normal services to immediately restart when the pandemic allows.

This is the latest initiative introduced by the government to support the industry and follows last month’s launch of the Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme, offering up to £8 million of support for commercial airports and ground handlers.

It also comes as the Prime Minister this week announced that the relaunched Global Travel Taskforce will deliver a report on 12 April 2021 outlining a framework to restart international travel, as wider restrictions are lifted over the coming months.

Following this, the government will issue further guidance on when international travel should resume.

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world

Vigilant Guitars builds custom guitar based on design features of dystopian science fiction Book JoinWith.Me

Built by Trevor Woodland, the Telecaster-style guitar incorporates the design features of Mike Meier’s book JoinWith.Me, including the symbolic “Creature.”

TL Bureau, Victoria.

Courtesy: EINPresswire.com/ Vigilant Guitars, operated by guitar builder Trevor Woodland in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, has built yet another a special custom guitar, this time based on a published book.

The recently published sci-fi book JoinWith.Me by Mike Meier is based on an awardwinning screenplay of the same name. In brief, the storyline is: In the year 2032, Sam Vanderpool lives a lonely existence with a menial job in an urban dystopia that is impersonal and dominated by technology. Sam is jolted from his routine when an ad appears on his computer screen that takes him to a website called JoinWith.Me. The site offers counseling for the lonely, and Sam decides to log on…

It turns out the author Mike Meier is also an avid guitar player. So Trevor Woodland designed and built a guitar that reflects the book’s design.

The most distinctive feature is the “glow-in-the-dark”

epoxy for the fret markers.

Trevor explains how he created this totally unique design: “I made the fretmarkers with CNC (computer numerical controlled) machinery that cut the design into the fretboard, and then filled it with epoxy resin that contains ‘glow-in-thedark’ pigments.” Trevor adds that, “To charge the epoxy, natural light works but a small UV pen also charges it quite fast.”

The guitar includes the symbol of the story’s antagonist, the “Creature” from the cover of

the book, on the 12th fret. The Creature also appears on the custom-made neck plate on the back.

How did the guitar turn out?

Notes Trevor, “There were quite a few variables to work out but I think it all came together quite well. For example, the pick-ups are the ‘hot’ Fralin Blues pickups, which sound best with 500k pods. Thus, I had to rebuild the control plate so that the pick-ups sound their best.”

Mike Meier concludes that their cooperation has produced

a truly outstanding guitar.

“Trevor’s hands-on experience has turned the guitar into an heirloom. I have never seen a more beautiful and more functional Telecaster guitar.”

About Vigilant Guitars Trevor Woodland completed intensive workshops with the Summit School of Guitar Building and worked under Steve Mason and Mathew Dolmage; two Vancouver Island based guitar technicians and performers. When he established Vigilant Guitars in 2015, his passions and

Construction emissions may now be compared – new emissions database lays foundation for statutory guidance of low-carbon construction

TL Bureau, Helsinki A new service opened today provides impartial data on the climate impacts of construction products used in Finland, such as carbon footprint and handprint, material efficiency and recyclability. This information harmonises the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life cycle of buildings, facilitating lowcarbon building design. The service is free of charge and open to everyone.

Press release of the Ministry of the Environment and the Finnish Environment “The first open emissions database will be an important part of low-carbon construction, making it much easier to calculate emissions from buildings. The database will now be put into trial use, and we shall also continue seeking to enhance data model-based emission calculation,” explains Ministry of the Environment Senior Advisor Matti Kuittinen.

The service is a compilation of average data on the most common and typical construction products, and contains no individual environmental product declarations. Its core comprises information on the harmful and beneficial climate impacts of construction products, end-of-life recycling and recovery options, the waste volumes generated on construction sites, and the theoretical usable life spans of frequently replaced products.

The database also includes emission data for the most common construction processes and services, such as haulage, construction and waste management.

The information is based on open sources, which are mainly environmental product declarations for construction products that have enabled comparison, selection and calculation of averages in partnership with construction product industry specialists.

While catering specifically to construction industry professionals, such as designers, product manufacturers and construction firms, the database information will be useful for researchers and anyone who is interested in the climate impacts of construction. Product emission details have been set out on easy offprint pages, with further opportunities to examine more detailed background studies. The service will initially be available in English, to be supplemented with content in Finnish and Swedish at a later date. Construction industry involved in development work Collaboration with the construction industry has been close, with more than 100 construction professionals contributing to the first release of the database. This co-development will continue, with the next content update scheduled for autumn 2021. “The construction industry has been commendably involved in creating the service. The benefit has been mutual:

we want to ensure that the service is well known and widely used in the industry.

The construction industry will benefit from being able to see and anticipate changes in operating conditions and the direction of statutory guidance. We shall continue open development of the service in partnership with the construction industry,” says Senior Specialist Janne Pesu of the Finnish Environment Institute.

The database lays a foundation for statutory guidance of low-carbon construction. The current government programme envisages legislative control of the whole life-cycle carbon footprint of buildings by the year 2025. A low-carbon assessment method for buildings developed by the Ministry of the Environment has been trialled in construction projects since 2019.

A reform of the Land Use and Building Act is introducing statutes to promote lowcarbon construction, for example concerning the climate assessment of buildings, and design based on digital information models.

The database forms part of work to collate information on the built environment for greater accessibility in a compatible and machine-readable format. The Ryhti project at the Ministry of the Environment and SYKE is constructing a new information system for the built environment that will provide information on such aspects as the climate impact of building.

profession finally merged. He now builds guitars full-time under the name Vigilant Guitars in Victoria, BC. Website: https:// www.vigilantguitars.com/ About Mike Meier, Author of JoinWith.Me Mike Meier grew up in Germany. He holds a master’s degree in political science as well as a J.D. and LL.M. When not writing books and screenplays, he enjoys playing Latin and Flamenco guitar. He currently resides in the greater Washington, D.C area. Website: https://JoinWith.Me

UK Condemns Houthi Militia’s Attacks toward Saudi Arabia TL Bureau, London The United Kingdom (UK) condemned today the attacks with ballistic missiles and bomb-laden UAVs launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militia toward the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab affirmed that the United Kingdom condemns the missile and drone attacks launched by the Houthis on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Marib, Yemen, adding that these attacks put innocent lives at risk, and show that those responsible are not serious about peace and protection of Yemeni people.

Saudi Arabia, US Conduct Dragon Joint Exercise Maneuvers

TL Bureau, Taif

The Royal Saudi Air Force and the US Air Force conducted today Dragon Joint Exercise Maneuvers.

The exercise aims at training on tactical interception, combat training, air counterattack, and suppressing enemy’s air defenses. The exercise also contributes to achieving compatibility and operational integration, as part of the continuing joint cooperation between the two air forces to maintain security and stability in the region.

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300,000 AstraZeneca Vaccine Doses Arrive in Australia

TL Bureau, Canberra

Signalling yet another major milestone in Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, 300,000 doses of the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have arrived in Sydney today.

Australia has secured 53.8 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. The first doses of this vaccine have arrived from overseas ahead of 50 million doses to be manufactured by CSL here in Australia on behalf of AstraZeneca. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) will now batch test the vaccines to ensure they meet Australia’s strict quality standards. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said today was a significant milestone for the vaccine rollout.

“This is the next step as we ramp up the vaccine rollout,” the Prime Minister said.

“The University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will undergo the same rigorous TGA process to batch check the vaccine that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine underwent.

“We will now be able to scale up the vaccination rollout to our priority groups, including our

most vulnerable Australians and to our frontline border and health workers.

“Most Australians will receive the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, with the rollout of these due to commence from 8 March 2021 – provided they clear the TGA’s rigorous batch testing process. “Australia is in a unique position because importantly this vaccine gives us the ability to manufacture onshore. Every Australian who wishes to be vaccinated will be able to receive a vaccine this year.” The approximately 300,000 doses that arrived this morning will be distributed

via logistics partners DHL and Linfox, and made available to priority groups in Phase 1a.

A further 50 million vaccines will be manufactured onshore and 1 million of these doses will be delivered each week from late March. For AstraZeneca the second dose of the vaccine will be administered at 12 weeks after the first dose. On 15 February 2021, the World Health Organization said, “This regimen was shown in clinical trials to be safe and effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the second dose.” On 3 February 2021 the Lancet Journal said, “COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca confirms 100% protection against severe disease, hospitalisation and death in the primary analysis of Phase III trials.” Minister for Health and Aged Care Greg Hunt said this vaccine provides the option for the majority of Australians to get their vaccination through their usual GP, local respiratory centre and eventually community pharmacies. “Importantly the TGA has conducted a full and thorough, and world class assessment process,” Minister Hunt said.

Parrtjima Program Bringing Top Talent to Red Centre

TL Bureau, Perth

The full program for this year’s Parrtjima – A Festival in Light has been revealed, with a slew of world-class artists, musicians and speakers to showcase their talents at the iconic Alice Springs event.

2021 will see a new show for the MacDonnell Ranges, largescale light installations, artworks, performances, interactive workshops, music, films and talks added to the program as part of this year’s theme ‘Future Kultcha’.

Statement on Vaccination

TL Bureau, Canberra

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Women and Acting Defence Minister, Senator the Hon Marise Payne, has become the second member of the Government to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as part of a national programme that will offer jabs to all Australians by October. Minister Payne said she was pleased to be able to demonstrate her belief in the scientific expertise that is producing safe and effective vaccines, which will be critical to the global recovery from the pandemic.

“It was a privilege to be the second of three Coalition representatives to be vaccinated as part of our confidencebuilding measures in the vaccination programme,” Minister Payne said.

“It was also a privilege to join Peta Murphy MP in showing the confidence of women leaders and representatives in the vaccination process this week. “The timing of the vaccination will also help facilitate possible international travel in the near future so we can continue to prosecute vital national interests with our international partners.”

This year’s event will take place across three venues – Alice Springs Desert Park, Araluen Arts Centre and Todd Mall.

Joining previously announced acts Electric Fields and Casey Donovan on the music program this year is an all-star line-up of Australian artists including Miiesha, MusicNT’s Divas, Jimblah, Bow and Arrow, Dobby, OKA, Ziggy Ramo and Shellie Morris. In addition, event attendees will be able to listen to a range of critically-acclaimed speakers as

part of the talks program. They include award-winning writer Bruce Pascoe, artists Jungala Kriss and Raymond Walters Japanangka, and Professor Marcia Langton AM, to name a few.

Other 2021 program highlights include a fabric and textiles workshop hosted by National Indigenous Fashion Awards Director Nina Fitzgerald, bushfood tastings, a wooden carvings masterclass, painting workshops, metal sculpture workshops and more. Children’s activities and live

music provided by local DJs will also feature on the nightly program, and the Araluen Arts Centre will host a film program and Araluen Curator Tours. Films include 1950s classic Jedda, coming-of-age comedy Bran Nue Dae featuring Jessica Mauboy and Aboriginal Rules, a documentary on the role Aussie Rules plays in a remote Territory community.

Parrtjima is the only authentic Aboriginal light festival of its kind, showcasing the oldest continuous culture on earth through the newest technology.

australia

COVID-19 update 28 February 2021 TL Bureau, Adelaide

There have been no new cases of COVID-19 today. There have been a total of 613 cases notified in South Australia.

For more information about the COVID-19 vaccination rollout visit www.covidvaccine.sa.gov.au

Case breakdown

• Total new cases today - 0 • Total number currently in hospital - 0 • Total cases to date - 613 • Recovered cases - 606 • Deaths - 4 • Tests carried out yesterday - 2,542 • Total tests to date - 1,091,410

Active cases • • • •

Active cases - 3 Overseas acquired - 3 Close contact - 0 Locally acquired (contact unknown) - 0 • Interstate acquired - 0

SA Health administered vaccinations update

• Vaccinations administered yesterday - 110 • Total vaccinations administered to date - 1,481 All South Australians who have symptoms of COVID-19 should get tested on the day symptoms appear. Symptoms include: • Fever or chills (in the absence of an alternative illness that explains these symptoms) • An acute respiratory infection e.g. cough, sore throat, runny nose, or shortness of breath • Loss of smell or alteration in the sense of taste • Diarrhoea and vomiting

Expats unwittingly recruited as drug mules for organised crime

TL Bureau, Canberra

The Australian Federal Police is warning the community, particularly members of the Iranian community, over the dangers of unsolicited job offers to receive and store international packages, following a spate of illicit drug imports linked to organised crime.

The AFP has seen an increasing number of Iranian expats living in Australia being targeted by the scheme that recruits innocent people who believe they are working for a legitimate business.

Other innocent community members may also have been approached. “We are aware of a growing pattern where an overseas recruiter will target and contact an Iranian expat living in Australia over social media to offer them employment distributing goods

CASE STUDY:

• In June, 2018, a 52 year old Melbourne man was contacted over Whatsapp by a former Iranian religious leader residing in the Middle-East.

• The man offered the Iranian expat living in Australia a job opportunity to distribute Iranian agricultural products for sale in Australia.

• The man soon informed the expat that he would be sent a consignment of car polish and someone would make contact to collect it from him.

• Several similar shipments arrived over a such as car polish, picture frames and decorative stones from Iran,” he said. “Members of the community targeted by the criminal syndicate are offered lucrative pay for receiving and storing a package at their home, before it is collected by another unknown person, who is allegedly connected to the criminal syndicate

• •

•

•

number of months and were each collected by strangers.

The Iranian expat was paid several hundred dollars on each occasion.

Australian Border Force (ABF) officers intercepted a car polish package sent to the man and confirmed it contained 2.5 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine.

The AFP then executed a search warrant at the man’s property and he was interviewed in relation to the matter before being released without charge after extensive investigations.

The investigation led to arrests in connection to the scheme overseas.

distributing the illicit drugs.”

“We are warning members of the community to be vigilant to these schemes. Receiving a substantial payment for the simple task of receiving goods and passing them along should raise alarm bells – if the job opportunity seems too good to be true, it probably is,” Commander Hunter said.

“Importing and possession of border controlled drugs are Commonwealth offences and can result in criminal prosecution which can lead to penalties of up to life imprisonment. We want to ensure innocent people are not caught up in the work of criminal syndicates through these illicit schemes.”

6

NZ AND OTHER OCEANIA

Deed of Settlement signed with Ngāti Maru (Taranaki)

TL Bureau, Wellington

A Deed of Settlement has been signed between Ngāti Maru and the Crown settling the iwi’s historical Treaty of Waitangi claims, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little announced today.

The Ngāti Maru rohe is centred on the inland Waitara River valley, east to the Whanganui River and its tributaries, and west to Mount Taranaki. They have approximately 2,800 registered members.

The historical grievances of Ngāti Maru include the Crown’s unjust and indiscriminate confiscation (raupatu) of half of the iwi’s land in 1865. This raupatu, and subsequent effects of Compensation Court and Native Land Court decisions, were devastating to the mana, welfare, economy, and sociocultural development of Ngāti Maru.

The Crown’s actions at Parihaka between 1879 and 1881, where military forces imprisoned members of Ngāti Maru for participating in a peaceful resistance campaign, has been a significant burden for Ngāti Maru.

“As a result of the Crown’s acts and

omissions Ngāti Maru have been left virtually landless, and their people displaced and dispersed,” Andrew Little said.

The settlement includes an apology from the Crown and a set of acknowledgements addressing the Crown’s historical breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. Ngāti Maru will receive financial and commercial redress valued at $30 million. Cultural redress includes the vesting of 16 sites of cultural significance, including Pūrangi and Tarata Domains.

The settlement redress will be administered by Te Kāhui Maru Trust: Te iwi o Maruwharanui, a postsettlement governance entity created by iwi members. “While no redress can ever fully compensate for the destructive and demoralising effects of Crown actions, I hope this settlement will allow Ngāti Maru to realise their aspirations for a vibrant economic and cultural future, and restores a relationship based on mutual trust, respect, and cooperation,” Andrew Little said. A copy of the Deed of Settlement is available at https:// www.govt.nz/browse/history-cultureand-heritage/treaty-settlements/find-a-

Main benefits to increase in line with wages

TL Bureau, Wellington

Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced today that main benefits will increase by 3.1 percent on 1 April, in line with the rise in the average wage.

The Government announced changes to the annual adjustment of main benefits in Budget 2019, indexing main benefit increases to the average wage, rather than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

“This is the Government’s second annual adjustment based on increases in the average wage, making it fairer on low income families and helping reduce poverty amongst our most vulnerable,” said Carmel Sepuloni.

“Around 385,000 families and individuals will be better off getting more than double the annual increase they’d have received using the old Consumer Price Index measure. For example, a couple with children could get $13.24 more Jobseeker Support a week from 1 April in line with the average wage increase.

“Under the previous system indexed to the CPI increase of 1.15 percent, they would receive only $4.95. The changes aligned main benefit adjustments more closely with Superannuation which has been linked to average wage increases for decades.

The 830,000 New Zealanders receiving Superannuation will also receive the same 3.1 percent increase on 1 April. ]“Combined with this Government’s 1 April changes to income abatement thresholds,helping incentivise those who are working to remain in work, underlines our promise to help low income New Zealanders. “This is another step towards lifting wages and making our welfare system fairer so that people and families on benefits don’t fall further and further behind other New Zealanders.” Said Carmel Sepuloni.

treaty-settlement/ngati-maru-taranaki/ He Puka Whakatau kua waitohua e Ngāti Maru ki Taranaki I tēnei rā, nā te Minita o ngā Take mō te Tiriti o Waitangi, nā Andrew Little, i pānui te waitohunga o tētahi Puka Whakatau i waenga i a Ngāti Maru me te Karauna e tau ai ā te iwi kokoraho i raro i te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Ko te puku o te rohe o Ngāti Maru kei te tuawhenua, kei te riu o te awa o Waitara, ko te awa o Whanganui me ōna kautawa kei te rāwhiti, ā, kei te uru te maunga o Taranaki. Ko tōna 2,800 te tokomaha o ngā uri kei te rēhita.

Ko ētahi o ngā nawe o mua o Ngāti Maru ko te tūkino me te matapōkere o te raupatu a te Karauna i tētahi haurua o ngā whenua o te iwi i te tau 1865.

Nā tēnei raupatu, nā ngā hua hoki o muri mai i ngā whakatau a te Kōti Utu Paremata me te Kooti Whenua Māori, i ātetehia ai te mana, te oranga, te ōhanga me te whanaketanga o te ahurea-pori o Ngāti Maru. Kātahi te taumaha nui i runga i a Ngāti Maru ko ngā mahi a te Karauna i Parihaka mai i te tau 1879 ki te tau 1881, i mauheretia ai e ngā hōia ngā uri o Ngāti Maru nā tā rātou whai wāhi atu ki te kaupapa o te tohe i runga i te rangimārie.

“Nā ngā mahi a te Karauna, nā ōna hapa hoki e tata whenua-kore nei a Ngāti Maru, ā, kua peia ōna uri kia marara,” tā Andrew Little.

Kei te whakataunga tētahi whakapāha nā te Karauna me ētahi whakaaetanga e aro ana ki ngā takahanga o mua a te Karauna i te Tiriti o Waitangi. E 30 miriona tāra te uara o te puretumu ā-pūtea, ā-arumoni hoki ka whakawhiwhia ki a Ngāti Maru. Kei te puretumu ā-ahurea te whakaūnga o te mana ki ngā wāhi tāpua ā-ahurea 16, tae atu ki te rohe o Pūrangi, o Tarata hoki.

Ka whakahaeretia te whakataunga utu paremata e Te Kāhui Maru Trust: Te iwi o Maruwharanui, e tētahi hinonga hautū take i muri i te whakataunga, i hangaia rā e ngā uri o te iwi.

“Ahakoa e kore e ea katoa i te utu paremata ngā hua orotā, ngā hua whakakiwakiwa mai i ngā mahi a te Karauna, e tūmanako ana au mā te whakataunga ka wātea a Ngāti Maru ki te whakatinana i ō rātou wawata kia ngangahau te anamata ā-ōhanga, ā-ahurea hoki, ā, kia whanake anō hoki tētahi hononga i runga i te whakapono o tētahi ki tētahi, o te whakaaro nui, me te mahi tahi,” tā Andrew Little.

Support in place for people connected to Auckland COVID-19 cases

TL Bureau, Wellington

With a suite of Government income support packages available, Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni is encouraging people, and businesses, connected to the recent Auckland COVID-19 cases to check the Work and Income website if they’ve been impacted by the need to self-isolate.

“If you are required to self-isolate and can’t work from home, I encourage you to check the Work and Income website and talk to your employer about the government support you may be eligible for,” said Carmel Sepuloni.

The Work and Income website provides clear and concise information about what support is available for different contact categories and locations of interest, connected to the recent Auckland COVID-19 cases and can be found here Short Term Absence Payment “The COVID-19 Short-Term Absence Payment is available for businesses, including selfemployed people, to help pay their workers who cannot work from home while they wait for a COVID-19 test result.

“This is a one-off payment of $350.

Businesses can apply for the ShortTerm Absence Payment if they’ve been advised that their worker, or

a self-employed person, is: staying home while waiting for a COVID-19 test result, in accordance with public health guidance, or are; the parent or caregiver of a dependant who is staying home while waiting for their COVID-19 test results, in accordance with public health guidance, and the dependant needs support to do so safely, or are; a household member or secondary contact (as described in public health guidance) of someone who is a close contact of a person with COVID-19, and the worker has been advised to stay at home while waiting for the close contact’s test results.

Leave Support Scheme “Also available is the Leave Support Scheme which is for those who meet certain criteria and have to self-isolate, cannot go to work, and cannot work from home.

“The Leave Support Scheme is paid as a lump sum and covers two weeks for each eligible employee.

The Leave Support Scheme is paid at a flat rate of $1176.60 for people who were working 20 hours or more per week (full-time rate) and $700 for people who were working less than 20 hours per week (part-time rate).

“The employer must pay their employees any amount required

by the employment agreement and employment legislation. The Leave Support Scheme requirements do not remove or reduce this obligation.

Auckland Resurgence Support Line “The Ministry for Social Development have also established an Auckland Resurgence Support Line to offer welfare support to the Papatoetoe community, and has since been widened to include those being asked to self-isolate as a result of the subsequent Kmart and KFC cases.

“We all have a role to play in stamping out COVID from our communities. That is why MSD will continue to work closely with the Papatoetoe High School community, and reach out to employers in the Auckland area to make sure they’re all aware of the support that is available, and how to access it,” says Carmel Sepuloni.

The Ministry’s response to COVID-19 sits alongside other support that the Government is providing, for example, the Resurgence Support Payment to support businesses impacted from the most recent lockdown.

Key COVID-19 information has also been translated in over 20 languages, alongside accessible formats for the disabled community.

7

BUSINESS

Remarks by World Bank Group President David Malpass at Session 1 of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting

TL Bureau, Washington D.C.

Remarks by World Bank Group President David Malpass during Session I – “Global Economy and Policy Actions for a Transformative and Equitable Recovery” Thank you, Minister Franco, and let me join previous colleagues in congratulating you on your appointment and on today’s agenda. Inequality, poverty, and climate change will be the defining issues of our age, and I welcome your and Italy’s focus on these topics. It is time to think big and act big in finding solutions. The voices of developing nations will play a key role in the effectiveness of our response, and I assure you that the World Bank Group will support their success during your G20 Presidency.

One of the key challenges to recovery is addressing the needs of countries facing fragility, conflict and violence (FCV). On Sunday, Sudan announced the unification and stabilization of its exchange rate.

Their goal is to stop the smuggling crisis, incentivize exports, and unlock donor resources, remittances, and new investment flows that were blocked by the dual exchange rate.

The World Bank and IMF have worked closely with the Sudanese authorities on the exchange rate stabilization and other key reforms, and I’m optimistic these will lead to broad-based growth and poverty reduction. G20 communiques and Leaders’ declarations have correctly linked growth and investment to the stability of exchange rates over the last years, and I think

that Ethiopia and Nigeria would both benefit by ending their costly dual exchange rate systems. In Sudan, we have already been able to provide IDA pre-arrears clearance grant financing for the Sudan Family Support Program.

We’re working with several of you to further increase the funding and I welcome our joint efforts. We expect rapid clearance of Sudan’s arrears to the World Bank and hope for speedy progress toward Sudan’s HIPC decision point. If achieved, the HIPC decision points of two fragile states, Sudan and Somalia, in a space of little over a year, is a landmark achievement for which the world has waited for a quarter of a century. I’d like to update you on our actions in three other areas—vaccines, climate, and debt sustainability.

On vaccines, our goal is to achieve fair, broad, and fast access to effective and safe vaccines for developing countries. Our vaccination programs are expanding rapidly, with operations that will reach over 40 countries in the near term. This is expected to use over $3 billion of the $12 billion we have available. World Bank financing is helping countries make co-payments to COVAX and purchase the necessary additional doses beyond the basic 20%.

I want to mention two particular problems. First, we need more transparency in the contracts of manufacturers, buyers and intermediaries. We want to create additionality of both supply and demand, but that is undercut by uncertainty in the market about

A step closer to new jobs and higher wages

TL Bureau, Canberra

Australians are one step away from having a modern workplace relations system that will deliver more jobs and higher wages, Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said.

“The Senate now has the opportunity to pass practical and workable changes that go to the heart of fixing problems in the workplace relations system following the passage of reforms in the House of Representatives last night.

“This is a chance to support a package of changes which will create jobs, make it easier to grow the economy and recover.

“Crucially, these changes will stop the decline of enterprise bargaining and put Australians in a position to earn more again.

“Importantly, they reduce the complexity of the Better Off Overall Test which has pushed the Hawke and Keating designed enterprise bargaining system to

the brink of collapse.

“Workers on enterprise agreements earn more than those on awards – on average they are $100 better off at the end of every full day of work. But the number of new enterprise agreements has fallen 63 per cent since 2008.

“Everyone knows the current system doesn’t work for modern workers and it doesn’t work for modern businesses.

“Just as Hawke and Keating envisaged, employers, unions and workers must be able to sit down and work together to give Australians the opportunities they want for themselves and their families. “By failing to make these important changes to the system, the Senate would risk condemning Australia to the slow lane and missing out on opportunities. “The stakes are too high to miss out on this chance for reform. Australia needs a workplace relations system that encourages new investment and jobs to fuel our economic recovery.”

options to purchase, national control of exports, MOUs that are not contracts, and surplus doses in some countries. IFC, our private sector development arm, has $4 billion available to help manufacturers expand production for developing countries, but to get this done, there needs to be transparency.

Second, it’s urgent for countries to enter contracts now so they can get delivery schedules. We expect the vaccination process to be slow because of limited capacity in health care systems, so it’s vital to get started in more countries and to work through multiple channels. I want to point out the importance of indemnifications, liability shields, and sound contracting standards to monitor purchases and distribution for fairness and safety. We can help countries with contracting issues, but time is of the essence.

On climate, we’re looking forward to supporting Italy and the G20 on this year’s very active climate agenda, including at the Venice Climate Summit in July. The WBG is the biggest provider of climate finance to the developing world. My first year as President saw our biggest climate investments in our history – and my second year is on track to be bigger still as we implement the new targets that I announced at the Climate Ambition Summit in December.

To help maximize the benefit of our greatly scaled up financing for mitigation and adaptation, we have a major effort underway now to support countries with their NDCs. Updated NDCs can help increase impact, integrate development

policies and climate policies, and better align policies with the Paris Agreement. To further operationalize the climate effort, we are launching new Country Climate and Development Reviews to integrate climate into all our country diagnostics and country strategies.

We’ll focus on the developing countries with the largest carbon emissions and with the largest climate-vulnerable populations.

We’ll invite partnership from the IMF and others on these reviews, and plan to complete up to 25 over the next year. A key focus will be to help countries achieve a just transition from coal to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. We are also developing a framework for fiscal policy and sustainable growth, including carbon taxation and its redistributive impact.

Lastly on debt, transparency and sustainability remain major challenges for vulnerable countries.

With Kristalina, I support the prompt and effective implementation of the Common Framework. We need to identify unsustainable debt and help restructure it to moderate levels.

For countries with sustainable debt, there are benefits to reprofiling it. For both groups, an important goal is to free resources for health, education, and climate. With both the Common Framework and DSSI, I note the importance of allowing developing countries to benefit from the big decline in interest rates in recent years. Each of these priorities – vaccines, climate, and debt – is plagued with inequality, which is causing a reversal of progress on development. Most

of the fiscal and monetary support is benefitting the upper end. While the recovery is strengthening in some of the major economies, data continues to show the weakness in commercial lending, especially if the government-directed lending is discounted. This leaves young workers, new entrants, and small businesses at a severe disadvantage.

To fill some of this gap for the developing countries, IFC has doubled its activity in short-term finance for working capital and trade finance, and we’re working to find substitutes for the breakdown in correspondent and cross-border payment systems. I’ll discuss this in the next session. Against these concerns, the WBG is providing a record surge in the delivery on our programs. The 2020 commitments by IDA and IBRD reached $71 billion, up 65% over 2019. We’ve set up 112 COVID response programs, including in Iran, Yemen, Gaza and many other fragile states, and are topping up some of those programs now.

We are committed to using scarce funding as efficiently, urgently, and impactfully as possible, but I expect years of elevated needs for deeply concessional resources, especially given the challenges of COVID-19, climate change, and heavy debt burdens. We’re in the process of advancing the IDA replenishment cycle to 2021. I welcomed the IDA Deputies’ consensus on this, and I hope we can count on G20 support for this IDA replenishment effort during the Italian Presidency. Thank you again to Italy for its focus on supporting vulnerable economies as part of its G20 Presidency.

TL Bureau​, Washington D.C

homes per year.

As EDGE Champions, the companies have committed to continuing to build green and to certify most of their portfolio with EDGE. An innovation of IFC, EDGE is an online platform, a green building standard, and a global certification system.

“We are very honored to have the support and commitment of these Latin American companies,” said Corinne Figueredo, Global Manager for IFC’s Green Building Program. “In fulfilling their roles as EDGE Champions, the companies have assumed a position of leadership in the region and have joined us in steering the real estate sector in Latin America onto a more low-carbon path.”

EDGE Champions will help accelerate the adoption of green buildings by demonstrating their value. In addition to the environmental benefits, resourceefficient buildings also offer operational savings, higher commercial rates, and quicker sales cycles.

“We are building green because

we not only want to offer a product that will provide operational savings [utilities] for our clients, but because we also believe that our success and example will inspire other companies to build green as well”, said Sergio Leal, Executive President of Vinte, an EDGE Champion and the only homebuilder company to have been included in the Global Fortune Change the World list in 2019.

Latin America is the second most urbanized region in the world, with 81 percent of the population living in cities. The expansion of the construction sector in the region has responded to this urbanization with millions of new buildings constructed every year. IFC estimates that this urbanization presents a $4.1 trillion investment opportunity for green buildings in Latin America.

Bancolombia, Banco Pichincha, Constructora Bolivar, Inmobiliaria Vinte, Davivienda, LatAm Logistic Properties, Madrid Ingenieros, and Paladin Realty were recognized as EDGE Champions at a virtual event on February 25, 2021.

IFC Recognizes Latin American Companies as EDGE Champions for their Commitment to Green Buildings

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has recognized Bancolombia, Banco Pichincha, Constructora Bolivar, Inmobiliaria Vinte, Davivienda, LatAm Logistic Properties, Madrid Ingenieros, and Paladin Realty as EDGE Champions for their commitment to promoting green building construction in Latin America.

To date, the companies’ have supported the certification of 4.8 million square meters of construction with EDGE, resulting in significant carbon and energy savings.

EDGE certification is awarded to buildings that demonstrate resource efficiency of at least 20 percent in energy, water, and embodied energy in materials.

The resource-efficient design of the companies’ projects saves 53,097 tons of carbon annually, which is equivalent to removing 11,471 cars off the road. Energy usage has also been reduced by 90,231MWh annually, which is the energy required to power 8,846

8

FEATURE

Stanford researchers identify four causes for ‘Zoom fatigue’ and their simple fixes

It’s not just Zoom. Popular video chat platforms have design flaws that exhaust the human mind and body. But there are easy ways to mitigate their effects.

TL Bureau, California

BY Vignesh Ramachandran Even as more people are logging onto popular video chat platforms to connect with colleagues, family and friends during the COVID-19 pandemic, Stanford researchers have a warning for you: Those video calls are likely tiring you out. Prompted by the recent boom in videoconferencing, communication Professor Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab (VHIL), examined the psychological consequences of spending hours per day on these platforms. Just as “Googling” is something akin to any web search, the term “Zooming” has become ubiquitous and a generic verb to replace videoconferencing. Virtual meetings have skyrocketed, with hundreds of millions happening daily, as social distancing protocols have kept people apart physically.

In the first peer-reviewed article that systematically deconstructs Zoom fatigue from a psychological perspective, published in the journal Technology, Mind and Behavior on Feb. 23, Bailenson has taken the medium apart and assessed Zoom on its individual technical aspects. He has identified four consequences of prolonged video chats that he says contribute to the feeling commonly known as “Zoom fatigue.” Bailenson stressed that his goal is not to vilify any particular videoconferencing platform – he appreciates and uses tools like Zoom regularly – but to highlight how current implementations of videoconferencing technologies are exhausting and to suggest interface changes, many of which are simple to implement.

Moreover, he provides suggestions for consumers and organizations on how to leverage the current features on videoconferences to decrease fatigue.

“Videoconferencing is a good thing for remote communication, but just think about the medium – just because you can use video doesn’t mean you have to,” Bailenson said.

Below are four primary reasons why video chats fatigue humans, according to the study. Readers can also complete a questionnaire to see where they land on a Zoom Exhaustion & Fatigue Scale (ZEF) Scale.

Four reasons why

1) Excessive amounts of close-up eye contact is highly intense.

Both the amount of eye contact we engage in on video chats, as well as the size of faces on screens is unnatural.

when people are moving, they’re performing better cognitively,” Bailenson said. Solution: Bailenson recommends people think more about the room they’re videoconferencing in, where the camera is positioned and whether things like an external keyboard can help create distance or flexibility.

For example, an external camera farther away from the screen will allow you to pace and doodle in virtual meetings just like we do in real ones. And of course, turning one’s video off periodically during meetings is a good ground rule to set for groups, just to give oneself a brief nonverbal rest.

4) The cognitive load is much higher in video chats.

Professor Jeremy Bailenson examined the psychological consequences of spending hours per day on Zoom and other popular video chat platforms.

In a normal meeting, people will variously be looking at the speaker, taking notes or looking elsewhere.

But on Zoom calls, everyone is looking at everyone, all the time.

A listener is treated nonverbally like a speaker, so even if you don’t speak once in a meeting, you are still looking at faces staring at you. The amount of eye contact is dramatically increased. “Social anxiety of public speaking is one of the biggest phobias that exists in our population,” Bailenson said.

“When you’re standing up there and everybody’s staring at you, that’s a stressful experience.”

Another source of stress is that, depending on your monitor size and whether you’re using an external monitor, faces on videoconferencing calls can appear too large for comfort.

“In general, for most setups, if it’s a one-on-one conversation when you’re with coworkers or even strangers on video, you’re seeing their face at a size which simulates a personal space that you normally experience when you’re with somebody intimately,” Bailenson said. When someone’s face is that close to ours in real life, our brains interpret it as an intense situation that is either going to lead to mating or to conflict. “What’s happening, in effect, when you’re using Zoom for many, many hours is you’re in this hyper-aroused state,” Bailenson said.

Solution: Until the platforms change their interface, Bailenson recommends taking Zoom out of the full-screen option and reducing the size of the Zoom window relative to the monitor to minimize face size, and to use an external keyboard to allow an increase in the personal space bubble between

oneself and the grid.

2) Seeing yourself during video chats constantly in real-time is fatiguing.

Most video platforms show a square of what you look like on camera during a chat. But that’s unnatural, Bailenson said. “In the real world, if somebody was following you around with a mirror constantly – so that while you were talking to people, making decisions, giving feedback, getting feedback – you were seeing yourself in a mirror, that would just be crazy. No one would ever consider that,” he added. Bailenson cited studies showing that when you see a reflection of yourself, you are more critical of yourself. Many of us are now seeing ourselves on video chats for many hours every day. “It’s taxing on us.

It’s stressful. And there’s lots of research showing that there are negative emotional consequences to seeing yourself in a mirror.”

Solution: Bailenson recommends that platforms change the default practice of beaming the video to both self and others, when it only needs to be sent to others. In the meantime, users should use the “hide self-view” button, which one can access by right-clicking their own photo, once they see their face is framed properly in the video.

3) Video chats dramatically reduce our usual mobility.

In-person and audio phone conversations allow humans to walk around and move. But with videoconferencing, most cameras have a set field of view, meaning a person has to generally stay in the same spot. Movement is limited in ways that are not natural. “There’s a growing research now that says

Bailenson notes that in regular face-to-face interaction, nonverbal communication is quite natural and each of us naturally makes and interprets gestures and nonverbal cues subconsciously. But in video chats, we have to work harder to send and receive signals. In effect, Bailenson said, humans have taken one of the most natural things in the world – an in-person conversation – and transformed it into something that involves a lot of thought: “You’ve got to make sure that your head is framed within the center of the video. If you want to show someone that you are agreeing with them, you have to do an exaggerated nod or put your thumbs up. That adds cognitive load as you’re using mental calories in order to communicate.”

Gestures could also mean different things in a video meeting context.

A sidelong glance to someone during an in-person meeting means something very different than a person on a video chat grid looking off-screen to their child who just walked into their home office. Solution: During long stretches of meetings, give yourself an “audio only” break.

“This is not simply you turning off your camera to take a break from having to be nonverbally active, but also turning your body away from the screen,” Bailenson said, “so that for a few minutes you are not smothered with gestures that are perceptually realistic but socially meaningless.”

ZEF Scale Many organizations – including schools, large companies and government entities – have reached out to Stanford communication researchers to better understand how to create best practices for their particular videoconferencing setup and how to come up with institutional guidelines. Bailenson – along with Jeff Hancock, founding director of the Stanford

Social Media Lab; Géraldine Fauville, former postdoctoral researcher at the VHIL; Mufan Luo; graduate student at Stanford; and Anna Queiroz, postdoc at VHIL – responded by devising the Zoom Exhaustion & Fatigue Scale, or ZEF Scale, to help measure how much fatigue people are experiencing in the workplace from videoconferencing.

The scale, detailed in a recent, not yet peer-reviewed paper published on the preprint website SSRN, advances research on how to measure fatigue from interpersonal technology, as well as what causes the fatigue. The scale is a 15-item questionnaire, which is freely available, and has been tested now across five separate studies over the past year with over 500 participants. It asks questions about a person’s general fatigue, physical fatigue, social fatigue, emotional fatigue and motivational fatigue.

Some sample questions include: • How exhausted do you feel after videoconferencing?

• How irritated do your eyes feel after videoconferencing?

• How much do you tend to avoid social situations after videoconferencing?

• How emotionally drained do you feel after videoconferencing?

• How often do you feel too tired to do other things after videoconferencing?

Hancock said results from the scale can help change the technology so the stressors are reduced.

He notes that humans have been here before. “When we first had elevators, we didn’t know whether we should stare at each other or not in that space. More recently, ridesharing has brought up questions about whether you talk to the driver or not, or whether to get in the back seat or the passenger seat,” Hancock explained. “We had to evolve ways to make it work for us. We’re in that era now with videoconferencing, and understanding the mechanisms will help us understand the optimal way to do things for different settings, different organizations and different kinds of meetings.”

“Hopefully, our work will contribute to uncovering the roots of this problem and help people adapt their videoconference practices to alleviate ‘Zoom fatigue,’” added Fauville, who is now an assistant professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. “This could also inform videoconference platform designers to challenge and rethink some of the paradigm videoconferences have been built on.”

9

life and real estate

CEO of Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty Reveals 5-Star Reviews is Secret to Agency’s Billion Dollar Success

TL Bureau, Courtesy: EINPresswire. com/ ROSEMEAD, CA

The award-winning CEO of Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty, Rudy Lira Kusuma, revealed today that the driving force behind the company’s success, including closing 1 billion dollars in deals during the pandemic and selling homes three time faster on average, is a laser focus on getting 5-star reviews, repeat clients and referrals.

Kusuma discussed the topic in a series of social media posts, noting that, “My approach to leadership at Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty is to encourage our agents to act as if their reviews were currency. Imagine if, rather than commission checks, reviews were what we relied on to pay the bills.

Would this make a difference in how you interact with your clients?” “This way of thinking is actually the basis for our training system which is set up to teach a method of striving for 5-star reviews from every client.” he continued. “This is what has made the difference for us as an awardwinning brokerage and is the real secret to why we were able to close 1 billion dollars in real estate deals even during a global pandemic.”

In addition to receiving multiple fivestar reviews on Google and Zillow, the broker and his team regularly receive praise through video testimonials from their clients. Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty operates with a

system that allows for a different kind of second-mile service baked into deals from the moment agents meet face to face with clients.

“Our agents are held to a very high standard.” Continued Kusuma. “I always instill in them that if they were to set up deals up to get a 5 Star Review from every client as opposed to stopping short of that at the commission check, they would get MORE commission checks. Every time we meet a client, we are doing a deal to get a lifetime customer.

Everything in our process is built to do that. It’s all part of the system that makes it possible for us to repeat success with every client.” Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty is always actively looking for agents of a high caliber to join their award-winning

team. Since their start in 2007, Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty has operated with a strict no cold calling, no door knocking, and no prospecting policy. Instead, they use a proven system to generate leads and ensure a culture of providing 5-star service to continually bring in 5-star reviews from clients.

Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty recently held an online event to celebrate their best agents’ achievements, including agents who made lifechanging gains in their income since joining the Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty team.

“What we offer our agents is truly different.” Said Rudy Lira Kusuma.

“We are a high energy team that brings our best to every client interaction and every listing and sale. Our team is constantly growing and we welcome agents who are looking for a brokerage where they can be successful, take pride in their quality of service and be a part of an award-winning and high earning team.”

To become a Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty agent, applicants should be driven, coachable and possess an excellent work ethic. If you are interested in becoming a part of YHSGR’s high performing team and participating in company advantages such as their proven systems for lead generation, visit their website to learn more and enlist as an agent today. Learn more about Rudy Lira Kusuma and the Your Home Sold

Guaranteed Realty team by visiting www.yourhomesoldguaranteed.com.

About the Company: Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty was founded with this vision: To Be the Best Place to Work, Buy, and Sell Real Estate! If you have the desire to buy or sell a home, or to build a multimillion-dollar real estate team, Rudy L. Kusuma will share his secrets. He offers cutting-edge lead generation technology, pro-business growth systems, exclusive listing marketing, and millionaire agent training.

About CEO Rudy Lira Kusuma: In business since 2007, Rudy L. Kusuma and the Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty team have sold more than 5,000 homes totaling over $1 billion in real estate transactions.

A No. 1 best-selling author who has been featured on Brian Tracy’s TV Show “The Real Estate Office of The Future,” Kusuma is CEO of Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty in California and has led the organization to success due to his cutting-edge lead generation technology, pro-business growth systems, exclusive listing marketing, and millionaire agent training. His company “Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty” was the recipient of the 2019 Best of Small Business Awards and has been recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal TOP 100 Fastest Growing Private Company 2017, 2018, 2019 and INC 5000 Fastest Growing Private Company in America 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Jason Black joins Hong Kong’s Coronavirus-Related Air 3 Data Pulse.

Crew Quarantines are Inconsistent for US Pilots and Crew Poses an Ongoing Risk to US Air Carrier Pilots and

TL Bureau, Courtesy: EINPresswire.com Lake Mary, Florida

Jason Black, a veteran Real Estate executive and consultant, joins 3 Data Pulse as a Broker Success Coach who is responsible for helping new clients learn the 3 Data Pulse system, a software designed to assist Real Estate Brokers and Managers with Retention, Recruitment, and Agent Productivity. Jason’s knowledge of the system and his industry experience will enable him to guide clients to maximize their results. “Jason will be a key component to our growing team at 3DP. Jason isn’t just another technical expert, he’s also an expert in Real Estate and has walked in the shoes of our clientele as a successful broker. With this unique combination, he’ll be able to not only help our clients to learn the software, but also work with them to develop strategies to leverage it for their continued success,” says Phillip Gagnon, CEO/Founder of 3 Data Pulse. Previously,

Crew by Forcing “Close Contact” Crews to Quarantine Upon Arrival at a Government Quarantine Camp

Jason has worked in numerous sales and leadership positions with independent brokers and global real estate brands, most recently as a franchise business consultant with Century 21.

He is also a founding partner of Upside Real Estate, launched in 2019. In this newly created role, Jason will be working closely with clients to develop an onboarding and coaching process that will allow them to access professional assistance, not just technically, but strategically too.

“Having followed the evolution of 3DP from inception,” says Jason, “I am excited to join the team and help our broker clients grow and thrive in a highly competitive environment.”

TL Bureau, Hong Kong/ Washington D.C.

Courtesy: EINPresswire.com/ ALPA pilots have worked stoically throughout the pandemic to ensure the vital flow of goods and people, including, recently, global distribution of the vaccine itself. It is important that all governments cooperate to the maximum extent possible to ensure the safety of flight crews, and minimize intrusion on the liberty of personnel operating international flights.

Unfortunately, Hong Kong’s actions with respect to coronavirus-related air crew quarantines are inconsistent with an understanding with the US and pose an ongoing risk to US air carrier pilots and crew by forcing “close

contact” crews to quarantine upon arrival at a government quarantine camp. Nonstop flights from the US involve crew layovers, but Hong Kong’s actions render nonstops untenable, putting US carriers at an arbitrary, unfair disadvantage.

These actions violate the US-Hong Kong Air Service Agreement. The implementation of new quarantine rules may worsen Hong Kong’s treatment of US air crew relative to other countries’ air crews. For the reasons discussed herein, we respectfully request that the Department limit to a period of 179 days American’s exemption request to continue codesharing with Cathay, Hong Kong’s major airline, until the Hong Kong government rectifies its

treatment of US pilots and crew. By granting short term approval, the Department will have the opportunity to regularly revisit Hong Kong’s progress and compliance.

Alternatively, on behalf of all of ALPA’s pilot members, we request that DOT exercise its Part 213 authority to achieve the same result.

In another arbitrary blow to U.S. carriers, the rules also include a troubling and curious carve-out for Hong Kong-based all-cargo operations to and from Anchorage, Alaska, if the crew remain in a sterile “closed-loop.” It appears that no U.S. carrier can make practical use of this exception, even those with Anchorage bases, because U.S. crews are exposed to the local Anchorage population.

10

SPORTS

Flying Finn Rovanperä claims the championship lead in the Toyota Yaris WRC

TL Bureau, Helsinki Twenty-year-old Rovanperä and his co-driver Jonne Halttunen were among the pacesetters from the beginning of the rally, and were holding onto second overall by just 1.8 seconds at the beginning of the final day – a margin they extended by 0.1s in the first of the two passes of the Aittajärvi stage.

In the repeat pass on the Power Stage, Rovanperä achieved the best time by 0.3s, securing second overall by 2.3s – the best result of his FIA World Rally Championship career to-date. With the Power Stage win he also claimed the maximum of five bonus points on offer towards both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings, and now leads the championship for the first time in his career by four points over his nearest rival.

With Elfyn Evans finishing in fifth position, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team continues to lead the manufacturers’ championship with an 11-point advantage. Evans had been fastest in the first stage of the day as he kept the pressure on in the battle for fourth overall, but ultimately missed out by 8.9s.

He is now joint third in the championship together with team-mate Sébastien Ogier, who restarted on Sunday and claimed one additional point for fifth in the Power Stage despite a disadvantageous road position. TGR WRC Challenge Program driver Takamoto Katsuta gained sixth place on the very last stage in his Yaris WRC, matching the career-best result he achieved on the opening round of the season in Monte Carlo.

Quotes: Jari-Matti Latvala (Team Principal) “Kalle has produced a very very good performance on this rally, managing to maintain second position on the final day and also winning the Power Stage, scoring good points for the team and for himself. Elfyn tried hard to gain fourth but it wasn’t to be. We are still leading both championships so

we can be satisfied, but of course we wanted more. This was a home rally for the team and we were hoping to be able to win here. We seemed to be struggling a little bit with the setup so the drivers were not completely happy with the car all of the time.

We were fast on some of the stages but then there were some stages where we were not so competitive and we need to analyse why.”

Sébastien Ogier (Driver car 1) “Overall it’s been a tough weekend.

We tried everything we can but we knew coming here as leaders of the championship it would be a tough rally. Still we fought hard but this small mistake yesterday in the final stage of the day was obviously very costly too and took us out of the

Kalle Rovanperä has become the youngest ever driver to lead the FIA World Rally Championship standings after finishing in a strong second place on home ground at Arctic Rally Finland, securing the position with the fastest time on the rally-ending Power Stage in his Toyota Yaris WRC.

fight. With our starting position we had not so much hope for the Power Stage. I couldn’t do more, I was on the limit and there was still too much snow, but it was good to score one point at least.”

Elfyn Evans (Driver car 33) “I had a good start to the final day.

The grip was higher than I expected but after the first few corners we seemed to find a better rhythm and it was a good time. But then it was not the best run for us in the Power Stage. It felt OK but the time was quite a bit off where we would have liked to be. It has not been the best event for us to be honest, I’m quite disappointed with the overall result.

There were some flashes of good

speed but nowhere near consistent enough to challenge for the top positions.” Kalle Rovanperä (Driver car 69) “I’m really pleased with the second place. It was quite a difficult weekend, I was pushing really hard and we couldn’t always be on the optimal pace, but we were fighting back all the time. In the Power Stage I gave everything that I had and it was enough, so we got really good points from here. It’s really nice to be in this position now, leading the championship for the first time. It’s going to be a new situation for me going to the next event, and we just have to keep up the pace and be consistent like we have been here.”

PROVISIONAL FINAL CLASSIFICATION, ARCTIC

RALLY FINLAND 1 Ott Tänak/Martin Järveoja (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) 2h03m49.6s 2 Kalle Rovanperä/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris WRC) +17.5s 3 Thierry Neuville/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +19.8s 4 Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +52.6s 5 Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1m01.5s 6 Takamoto Katsuta/Dan Barritt (Toyota Yaris WRC) +1m37.8s 7 Oliver Solberg/Seb Marshall (Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC) +1m39.0s 8 Teemu Suninen/Mikko Markkula

(Ford Fiesta WRC) +2m09.0s 9 Gus Greensmith/ Elliott Edmondson (Ford Fiesta WRC) +3m39.4s 10 Esapekka Lappi/Janne Ferm (Volkswagen Polo GTI R5) +6m07.0s 20 Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Toyota Yaris WRC) +11m06.2s (Results as of 16:00 on Sunday, for the latest results please visit c.com) What’s next?

The third round of the 2021 season will be another all-new event for the WRC with the first ever visit to the Croatia Rally (22-25 April), to be held on asphalt roads around the capital city Zagreb.

11

tech/auto

Three-country tour in northern Europe: On the road with the MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4 at the Arctic Circle.

After a journey of discovery through deep snow-covered forests, it is precisely the silence of the vast landscape that makes a tour at the Arctic Circle so appealing. One of the most beautiful routes leads from Kemi in Finland to the Lofoten archipelago - from the Gulf of Bothnia over snow-blown roads across Swedish Lapland to the Norwegian Arctic Sea. TL Bureau, Munich.

The distance from sea to sea is around 1,500 kilometers. Ideal conditions for learning to appreciate the qualities of a four-wheel-drive all-rounder.

Mother nature builds the most beautiful roads in the Arctic Circle region of Finland. Every year in November, she starts building them, and at the end of April, the spring sun takes them away again. These roads are made of gravel, snow and ice, run over frozen waters and through snow-covered forests.

They lead through wilderness and untouched nature between large and heart-straight grown firs.

For locals, these thousands of kilometers of winter trails are an important part of the daily road network – for outdoor adventurers, discovering the Arctic Circle on these trails is an intense nature experience. Resting somewhere in the winter white, watching passing herds of reindeer and listening to the soft sounds of the forest. With a little luck, the night sky above all this even burns off a spectacular fireworks display of auroras. The MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4 (fuel consumption combined: 7.5 – 6.9 l/100 km according to WLTP, 6.5 – 6.2 l/100 km according to NEDC; CO2 emissions combined: 170 – 158 g/km according to WLTP, 149 – 142 g/km according to NEDC) has just the right characteristics for an extensive round trip through the winter landscape in northern Europe.

The versatile all-rounder from the British premium brand not only impresses with its sporty and safe handling on the road, but thanks to its electronically controlled allwheel drive and a ground clearance of 16.5 centimeters, it is also in its element on excursions on deep snow-covered dirt roads. And with a luggage compartment volume that can be expanded from 450

to up to 1,390 liters by folding down the rear seat backrest, as well as with its optional roof rails and the railing rack including roof box available in the Genuine MINI Accessories range, the MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4 is a perfect choice for the Arctic Circle.

Those who set out on the threecountry tour in Kemi, Finland, have the opportunity to admire the largest castle in the world built of snow and ice: SnowCastle. Every year local architects build the castle new and always different. Sometimes a snow tower is over 20 meters high, sometimes the castle wall is over a kilometer long. Inside, tourists can spend the night on ice benches and dine on reindeer skins in the igloo restaurant. Room temperature: minus three degrees.

Heading west, the road follows the rugged coastline of the Gulf of Bothnia with its fjords cut deep into the forests for about 160 kilometers. In winter, the archipelago with its countless islands becomes a coherent landscape. Ice roads connect the islands with each other and with the mainland. In the northern Swedish coastal town of Luleå, a detour to Gammelstad is worthwhile. A tranquil church village with redpainted wooden houses, just as known from travel guides. All of them carry a good meter of snow on the roof. Gammelstad is the largest preserved church town in Sweden

and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 408 houses and the stone building of the Nederluleå church from 1492 are still preserved.

Enough culture and history? About 120 kilometers to the northwest a spectacular natural phenomenon can be seen. Signposts lead to it over snow-covered gravel roads.

No problem for the robust MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4.

Directly and perfectly, the allwheel drive system distributes the power of its 131 kW/178 hp four-cylinder engine to all four wheels as needed. After a short, rapid drive, the roar of the mighty waters of the Storforsen can be heard. Gigantic rapids that plunge up to 82 meters into the depths.

With a length of five kilometers, the Storforsen is one of the longest rapids in Scandinavia and forms the center of the nature reserve of the same name, which includes untouched river landscapes, lush spruce forest and countless small waterfalls. For a longer stay, vacation cabins with a view of the rapids are available on the premises.

After a stopover in Arjeplog, Sweden, the Arctic Circle is soon crossed. Far from prying eyes, BMW Group vehicle developers complete many test drives with prototypes of new BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce models in this sparsely populated region of northern Sweden. Turn in, accelerate,

countersteer, stabilize: The snowy tracks and icy surfaces, on which suspension technology and driving stability systems can be so perfectly fine-tuned, make it tempting to hone the art of drifting with the MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4, which is also ideally equipped for such maneuvers.

From Arjeplog, the so-called Silvervägen climbs up into the wintry Fjell. The Silver Trail fulfills every Scandinavian cliché on this passage – from moss-green plains and bubbling streams to grazing reindeer. Its name recalls the time when the Silver Trail was more dirt road than road, and mined silver was transported there on reindeer backs and sleds.

After 150 kilometers, the Silver Trail crosses the Swedish-Norwegian border at an altitude of 750 meters.

A little later, the snow-covered peak of Solvågtind comes into view.

The 1,559-meter-high mountain is part of Junkerdal National Park, one of Norway’s largest and most unspoiled areas with an area of 682,000 square kilometers. The Silver Trail leads here through almost deserted territory to Bodø. With four driven wheels and supported by the lightningfast DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) including Performance Control and Electronic Differential Lock Control (EDLC), the MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4 pulls away on snow-covered roads amid

wild birch forests and on narrow, winding mountain roads.

From Bodø, a ferry departs twice a day for Lofoten, a group of islands off the coast of northern Norway.

It takes just under three and a half breathtaking hours to sail past vast numbers of tiny islands and in great Nordic silence toward Moskenes.

Red fishermen’s houses on wooden piles cling to the narrow sea bay like birds’ nests to rock faces. Moskenes is located on the westernmost Lofoten island of Moskenesøya – framed by the jagged cliffs of the Lofoten Wall towering more than 800 meters high. This is the name of the mighty mountain range in the south of the archipelago, whose age is estimated by geologists at 3.5 billion years.

From Moskenes, the main traffic artery, the European Road 10, leads over bridges and through tunnels to the neighboring islands, which have such wondrous names as Flakstadøya, Vestvagøya, Litlemolla and Skrova. The aurora season begins there in early February. Lofoten lies just below the so-called auroral oval – a belt where the probability of observing the mystical celestial phenomenon is particularly high. After almost 1,500 kilometers of driving pleasure in the MINI Cooper S Countryman ALL4, the colorful spectacle in the night sky is just the right end to a great tour to the northernmost edge of Europe.

12

world

Arab Ministers of Interior Council Supports Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry Statement, Regarding Report Submitted to Congress About Killing of Saudi Citizen Jamal Khashoggi

TL Bureau, Tunis

The Secretariat General of the Arab Ministers of Interior Council expressed support to the statement issued by the Foreign Ministry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding the report that was submitted to the US Congress about the murder of Saudi citizen Jamal Khashoggi, as the report was lacking any data or proofs.

The Council Secretariat General lauded the Foreign Ministry

statement as it included facts, proving without any doubt, the recognized role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its wise leadership in enhancing the values of right and justice, appreciating the total independence of the judiciary in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and how it dealt with that crime, in full integrity and impartiality.

It also expressed its appreciation of the constructive role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in

realizing security and peace in the region as well as in the world and standing in the vanguard of all countries to combat terrorism, fight the crime and enhance human rights, hailing the efforts of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, in realization of development and prosperity, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and supporting international security and peace.

The DBS Conference for 2021 has been announced!

Join us virtually to explore how we can all work together to make recruitment safer.

Decorative image that reads ‘DBS Conference 2021, save the date’

Actors Abeer Sabry and Munther Rayahneh celebrate “Aal Haroun” shooting start

TL Bureau, London

TL Bureau, Giza, Dokki Courtesy: EINPresswire.com/ Producer Hosni Mahmoud was keen to celebrate the shooting start of his new film “Al Haroun”, in the presence of a large number of filmmakers, on the first day of filming.

The scenes of the first day gathered the artists Munther Rayahneh, Abeer Sabry, Muhammad Ezz, Ahmed Abdullah Mahmoud and Hamdi Heikal. The shooting continued from ten in the morning until midnight.

During the break, producer Hosni Mahmoud brought together the protagonists and those in charge of production, including Mahmoud Shazly, Edward Nabil and Baher El Shafei, and General Supervisor of Production Muhammad Kamal, General Manager of Moment Production, to cut a “cake” and celebrate the shooting of the first scenes of “Al Haroun”. The ceremony took nearly an hour, after which the movie stars resumed filming.

The film revolves around suspense, excitement and action

rising from the emergence of gangs and a dispute between a group of antiquities dealers that results in bloody conflicts.

“Al Haroun” is written by Ahmed Anwar and Mahmoud Jamaica, directed by Moataz Hussam and produced by Hosni Mahmoud’s Moment Production Company. The work will be co-starred by the artist Munther Rayhana, Abeer Sabry, Ahmed Wafiq, Ihab Fahmy, Mohamed Ezz, Ahmed Abdullah Mahmoud, Amir Salah El-Din, Hajir AlSharnoubi and Hamdi Heikal

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) is pleased to announce its second conference! The event, which will be held virtually, will take place on 24th and 25th March 2021, and the theme of this year’s conference is Making Recruitment Safer – Looking to the Future.

Registration is now open. Find out how to register below. The conference will bring together a broad mix of knowledge, experience and expertise to look to the future, and explore how we can all play our

part in making recruitment safer.

The event will be an opportunity to: Learn about the ways in which DBS is developing its services to meet your needs, and how you can contribute to this Hear from experts who have lived experience of abuse and harm Connect with colleagues from across the safeguarding community Share experiences and best practices Collaborate with others to develop and build successful practices To register for the conference, or find out more about the programme and speakers, visit the DBS Conference website.

UAE Announces 2,930 new COVID-19 Cases, 1,517 Recoveries, 8 Deaths in Last 24 Hours TL Bureau, Abu Dhabi The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) announced that it conducted 226,139 additional COVID-19 tests over the past 24 hours,

using state-of-the-art medical testing equipment.

According to WAM, the MoHAP announced 2,930 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the UAE to 391,524.

Remarks by President Charles Michel at the press conference with President Maia Sandu in Chisinau

TL Bureau, Brussels

Madam President, I would like to thank you for your invitation to Moldova, so soon after your visit to Brussels, in January. It’s a pleasure for me to be here.

This was a short first visit, but in my opinion an important one. I send a clear message of EU support to President Sandu’s strong focus on reforms, strengthening the rule of law and tackling corruption.

Today, I would like to send two messages to you and the people of Moldova.

First, the EU is a reliable partner for Moldova. We are the biggest trading partner and market for Moldovan exports. During the last ten years, we have provided over one billion euros in grants.

And more than one thousand projects have been implemented in the entire country.

And the European Investment Bank offers to finance important projects in the energy sector and for SMEs, and I’m pleased that Werner Hoyer is here with us today.

I also reiterated the EU’s unwavering solidarity to help Moldova fight the COVID-19 crisis and deal with its socioeconomic impact. The EU has mobilised 108 million euros to deliver protective equipment, to strengthen the healthcare system, and to support socio-economic recovery. Moldova has already benefitted from 50 million euros of EU emergency macro-financial assistance and another 50 million will come as the second tranche

once mutually agreed conditions have been fulfilled.

We are now focused on speeding up vaccinations. Yesterday the first vaccines arrived from Romania with support from the EU. Moldova also benefits from vaccine distribution under the COVAX Facility, which Team Europe has strongly supported.

We expect more vaccines to arrive in the next few days.

Our partners’ preparedness to distribute vaccines is also key.

To boost this, we are stepping up our support for the deployment of vaccines, with two WHO programmes. And indeed, I’ve just met with medical workers who are in the front lines of the fight against the pandemic, and I felt touched by their messages

and experiences.

This brings me to my second point: our strong support goes hand in hand with the implementation of reforms.

Madam President, your election reflected people’s expectations for a better life - without corruption and based on the rule of law and democratic norms. And it has opened a window of opportunity for enhanced EU-Moldova relations.

But how wide this window will open depends on the political will of our Moldovan partners. We are committed to strengthening Moldova’s political association and economic integration. And as you know, our support is linked to strict conditionality on the rule of law and democratic standards.

Your efforts, your patient efforts, to

address the lack of independence of the judiciary and prosecution and to move forward on investigating banking fraud and fighting corruption are crucial to avoid a spiral of stagnation. That’s why those who have been implicated in activities outside the rule of law should have no say in Moldova’s future.

We also discussed the prospects for early elections, as the best chance to deliver a Parliament ready to support the President’s reforms.

We expect all political actors to act in the best interests of the people of Moldova.

Madam President, Europe is on your side. Prosperity, stability and freedoms are our common goals, and we are ready to strengthen our partnership. You can count on us.