The Life News South Africa. Nov 1, 2020

Contact us for advertisement at thelife.advertisement@outlook.com.au

News from World, Worldwide readership.

Vol. 01 Issue 09 Nov. 01, 2020

Austria and Portugal announced restrictions & UK as following

Man stabbed in a Canadian city of Quebec leave 2 dead and 5 injured TL Bureau, Quebec

In any event two individuals have been cut to death in the Canadian city of Quebec by a man equipped with a blade and wearing middle age dress, police say.

Five others were injured. A man in his mid-20s was captured presently before 01:00 nearby time (05:00 GMT), officials said.

Police have encouraged occupants to remain inside with entryways bolted as an examination is in progress. The assault occurred in the noteworthy Old Quebec area.

First reports of the occurrence close to Parliament Hill came through in the blink of an eye before 22:30 neighborhood time.

After his capture close to the Espace 400e business park, the man was taken to emergency clinic. The five injured are additionally being treated in emergency clinic.

Journalists at the scene have tweeted photographs of a police base external Quebec’s Parliament Building.

Halloween Blue Moon lasts throughout Sunday TL Bureau, Washington D.C.

France presented measures on Friday and on Saturday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared a four-week lockdown for England.

On Friday, Austria recorded a record 5,627 diseases, barely shy of the 6,000 level that the administration cases

will extend clinics past limit.

Figures were marginally lower on Saturday with 5,349 diseases.

On opposite side some different countries like Germany and some others additionally made limitations so as to check this pandemic.

October will have its subsequent full moon - an uncommon Blue Moon - starting Saturday and enduring through Sunday.

The moon shows up at its fullest, inverse the sun in earth-based longitude, at 10:49 a.m. EDT on Saturday, as per NASA. It ought to show up full through Sunday night.

The principal full moon after the Harvest Moon - which showed up Oct. 1 this year - is additionally called the Hunter’s Moon, as indicated by the Farmer’s Almanac, a moniker that shows up in the Oxford English Dictionary going back to 1710.

This full moon will seem more modest Saturday night since it happens closest to when the moon is farthest in its circle from the Earth, at its apogee,

TL Bureau, Ankara

and three kids, who were found following 23 hours inside a fell structure. One of the kids kicked the bucket.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday he would visit the area to see the harm.

The heads of both Greece and Turkey, long-lasting foes, said they connected with one another Friday.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he called Erdogan “to give my sympathies for the grievous death toll from the seismic tremor that struck both our nations.” Ergodan likewise gave sympathies to Greece.

“That two neighbors show solidarity in troublesome occasions is more important than numerous things throughout everyday life,”

Ergodan tweeted.

The Aegean Sea is the site of noteworthy seismic movement because of an organization of submerged structural plates and

TL Bureau, Worldwide

Austria and Portugal have declared new limitations trying to check the spread of Covid.

In Austria, the limitations incorporate a check in time from 20:00 to 06:00. Bistros and eateries will be takeaway as it were.

Portugal’s estimates spread 70% of the nation. Individuals will be needed to remain at home aside from work, school or basic tasks.

Various European nations have authorized new measures as the landmass wrestles with a subsequent wave.

thelifenews.com.au, thelifenews.co

so NASA considers it a “Miniature Moon” rather than a Supermoon. In cosmic terms, Blue Moons happen with a standard example about once every over two years. After October 2020, the following Blue Moon will occur in August 2023. A full moon will happen on Halloween once like clockwork in the 21st century.

The Native American name for the subsequent full moon of pre-winter is the Beaver Moon, likewise called the Frost or Frosty Moon, or the Snow Moon, NASA says.

In North America, the deer trench mating season is going all out and snow geese show up at the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and southern Delaware. The Old Farmer’s Almanac says all that needs to be said to plant garlic and uncover yams during the Hunter’s Moon.

blames. The USGS considered the tremor an “intraplate function,” where the Africa plate grinds against the Eurasia structural plate.

Death toll increased to 39 in Turkey earthquake

Turkish authorities said Saturday that the loss of life of a size 7.0 tremor has ascended to at any rate 39 individuals with in excess of 800 harmed in the seaside city of Izmir The U.S. Geographical Survey tremor said the shake struck seaward of the Greek city of Neon Karlovasion, north of the Island of Simos in the eastern Aegean Sea, around 1:50 p.m.

Friday.

Around 20 structures imploded in Izmir, a city on the western edge of Anatolia with a populace of 3 million individuals.

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 243 individuals were hospitalized, with eight in escalated care.

Those incorporated a mother

2

E

nglish Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday declared another COVID-19 lockdown to produce results Thursday whenever passed by Parliament.

Johnson said the lockdown would shut down bars, bars and eateries aside from takeout and conveyance administration through Dec. 2.

Shops for food and other fundamental things and schools will stay open all through the lockdown.

The executive said this implies everybody should remain at home with the exception of fundamental exercises, for example, clinical reasons, giving consideration to weak individuals, work, work out, amusement, getting basic things, getting away from mischief and school.

Johnson additionally said that “selective help bubbles,” incorporating connections with one other family unit outside the primary family, could proceed.

“I’m under no figments how troublesome this will be for organizations, and I’m really upset for that,” Johnson said.

Johnson recently opposed lockdown measures, however said it’s “totally essential to act currently to spare lives.”

Before his declaration, Johnson’s COVID-19 logical guides checked on models indicating hospitalizations and passings could deteriorate than the top in the primary wave in the spring without activity.

England announced 24,405 new Covid cases and 274 passings for Friday. The nation has had more than 1 million cases and 46,000 passings since the beginning of the pandemic, as indicated

by The New York Times’ worldwide Covid tracker.

Then, Brazilian Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello has been hospitalized for drying out subsequent to testing positive for COVID-19 a week ago.

Pazuello was admitted to the emergency clinic in the capital of Brasilia on Friday for clinical tests and specialists said the priest was dried out, CNN Brazil announced.

The Health Ministry rejected that a COVID-19 intricacy caused the hospitalization.

Pazuello is the third wellbeing pastor President Jair Bolsonaro has delegated after the initial two conflicted with Bolsonaro over how to deal with the pandemic. Pazuello has upheld the president.

Bolsonaro and many Cabinet individuals and chose authorities have tried positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic started.

Brazil has detailed over 5.5 million instances of COVID-19 and more than 159,000 passings, which is the second-most noteworthy loss of life around the world, as indicated by the Johns Hopkins University’s worldwide tracker.

The United States is the current focal point of he pandemic, with more than 9 million cases and more than 229,000 passings, as per Johns Hopkins information.

Germany on Saturday declared another day by day record of 19,059 COVID-19 cases in the midst of a second influx of the infection across Europe.

The nation’s past record for new day by day cases was 18,681, as indicated by the Robert Koch Institute, Germany’s general wellbeing office.

Lockdown again in Britain followed by some other nations..

German Chancellor Angela Merkel cautioned Friday of a long, hard winter as she talked about new limitations to check the spread.

The new limitations will happen Monday, including shutting cafés, bars, rec centers and theaters, Merkel said.

Germany has revealed 527,916 cases and 10,469 passings since the pandemic started, Johns Hopkins information shows.

Ukraine additionally revealed an every day record of 8,752 new cases for Friday, the public security committee stated, up from 8,312 new cases detailed for Thursday.

“As I would see it, in view of different elements in our nation, including monetary ones, a total lockdown we ought to evade it however much as could reasonably be expected” Maksym Stepanov said in a Kyiv instructions on Friday, UNIAN revealed.

Rather than a closure, the legislature has forced certain limitations on business, as indicated by UNIAN. Ukraine has announced 399,330 cases and 7,399 passings to date, as per the Johns Hopkins information.

Different nations across Europe are fixing limitations as COVID-19 cases flood over the mainland.

Austria declared Saturday it would force an evening check in time and close everything except remove administration at bistros, bars and cafés as COVID-19 levels approach an impractical level in clinics, as per the legislature.

The nation comparatively had a lockdown during the primary rush of contamination in March.

“We didn’t mess with this choice yet it is fundamental,” Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told correspondents at a news meeting declaring the new COVID-19 limitations.

The new limitations will produce results from Tuesday through the finish of November and will incorporate a check in time from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Auxiliary schools and colleges will move to far off learning, and inns will near everything except business explorers, Kurz added, yet limitations will miss the mark regarding a complete lockdown as shops, industry, kindergarten and grade schools stay open.

Austria has announced more than 104,000 COVID-19 cases and 1,109 passings from the Covid.

In France, the administration reestablished a lockdown Friday,

which requested individuals to remain at home aside from fundamental work or clinical reasons.

The lockdown was required on the grounds that the nation gambled being “overpowered by a second wave that no uncertainty will be more enthusiastically than the principal,” President Emmanuel Macron said.

In the course of recent hours, France has announced 49,215 new COVID-19 cases, contrasted and 47,637 new cases on Thursday and 36,437 new cases on Wednesday.

France has detailed over 1.3 million cases and 36,605 passings since the pandemic started, as indicated by the worldwide tracker.

Belgium likewise reestablished a lockdown on Friday.

The lockdown came after researchers and authorities heading up endeavors to control COVID-19 said that the administration’s now close limitations were coming up short as passings multiplied like clockwork.

“Our nation is in a wellbeing crisis,” said Alexander De Croo, Belgium’s leader. “The tension on emergency clinics is gigantic, our consideration suppliers are putting forth brutal attempts. In the previous week, 100,000 of our individual compatriots were contaminated, we don’t perceive any change ... We are moving to a stricter lockdown.”

From Monday, the administration

editorial

in Belgium has requested all trivial organizations shut for about a month and a half, including stylists. General stores will be the main organizations permitted to sell fundamental things.

Belgium has revealed 412,314 cases and 11,452 passings to date, as indicated

by Johns Hopkins information.

Prior this week, the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Belgium had the most noteworthy number of COVID-19 contaminations for every 100,000 individuals in Europe.

German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the nation would open its emergency clinics to neighboring nations for as long at it could with serious consideration units under strain in numerous nations, remembering for Belgium.

Belgium moved a portion of its first patients to Germany on Thursday.

Italy announced a record 26,831 COVID-19 new day by day diseases Thursday, the most elevated day by day complete since the start of the pandemic.

All things considered, nonconformists have rioted in the previous week in different urban communities across Italy to fight new lockdown measures, including the end of theaters, rec centers and pools and the end or cafés and bars at 6 p.m.

Head administrator Giuseppe Conte said he needs to give the new estimates a little while to produce results prior to concluding whether to arrange a full closure like France.

Specialists captured around 20 individuals in Florence, Italy, in the midst of fights against lockdown measures.

The limitations started fights in Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin prior this week, including brutality and defacement, and mob police terminating teargas at gatherings of youngsters heaving containers and rocks.

Italy has detailed 647,674 COVID-19 cases and 38,321 COVID-19 passings since the beginning of the pandemic, Johns Hopkins information shows.

Different nations across Europe, including Scotland, Slovakia, and Greece, have likewise forced new Covid limitations as cases flood.

Around the world, COVID-19 has contaminated more than 45 million individuals and slaughtered more than 1 million individuals.

Correspondents & Bureaus contacts worldwide Contact us if you have any story worldwide

aus@thelifenews.com.au : Aus nz@thelifenews.com.au : NZ, Fiji & Oceania sg@thelifenews.com.au : Thai, Malaysia, Singapore india@thelifenews.com.au : India SriLanka Nepal usa@thelifenews.com.au : US, Canada & Mexico uk@thelifenews.com.au : UK & Ireland russia@thelifenews.com.au : Russia, Ukraine, Belarus & CIS estonia@thelifenews.com.au : Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania swiss@thelifenews.com.au : Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherland finland@thelifenews.com.au : Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark

FOR LETTER TO EDITOR AND SUGGESTIONS PLEASE REACH US AT thelife.editorial@outlook.com.au Address of Publisher :( Australia & Singapore editions)

The Life (Digital & Print), Dr. M. Parveen, 127 Aberdeen Parade, Boondall 4034, Australia+61 (7)31913325, Email : thelife.editorial@outlook.com.au (For UK edition) , 27 Old Gloucester Street, London, WC1N 3AX. United Kingdom (For South Africa Edition) N5 Sturdee Avenue Suite 301 RoseBank. Johannesburg, Gauteng 2196 South Africa for advertisement contact manager at thelife.advertisement@outlook.com.au (For US Edition) The life News LLC- (IDAHO) US 784 S Clearwater Loop STE B, Post Falls, ID 83854, USA

3

world

Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee: the Council adopts a recommendation for more inclusive measures to boost youth employment

TL Bureau, Brussels

Today, the Council adopted by unanimity a Recommendation on ‘A Bridge to Jobs – Reinforcing the Youth Guarantee’. The main aim is to better support youth employment across the EU, in particular during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is bringing back high youth unemployment rates and increasing the number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs).

The new Youth Guarantee reaffirms the commitment of the EU member states to set up national schemes through which young people can receive an offer of employment, education, traineeship or apprenticeship within a period of four months of becoming unemployed or leaving formal education. At the same time, the recommendation extends the age limit for targeted young people from 25 to up to 29 years and provides for better inclusion of persons from vulnerable groups, such as NEETs, young women and people with disabilities.

The Youth Guarantee will be implemented through supportive measures at national, regional and local level, taking into account the following guidelines: mapping - identifying target groups, available services, skills needs and young people at risk of becoming a NEET outreach - targeted information campaigns among young people and reaching out to NEETs preparation - better profiling to match needs and responses, counselling and guidance, and improving digital and other important skills offer - employment incentives, quality and equity, and postplacement support The measures provided in the recommendation will be financed

by EU funds, such as the European Social Fund Plus (‘ESF+’), and investments by member states.

The Recovery and Resilience Facility and REACT-EU will provide additional Union funding for youth employment measures.

The recommendation was adopted by written procedure.

COVID Tests Should Play Bigger Role in International Travel -WHO Expert

TL Bureau, Geneva

COVID tests should be more widely used in international travel than quarantines, Reuters cited the chair of the World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee as saying today, on Friday.

Didier Houssin, chair of the independent panel of experts advising WHO on the COVID-19 pandemic, said it was important for the U.N. agency to provide fresh guidance on safe international air travel. “And clearly the use of the tests is

certainly now supposed to have a much larger place compared to quarantine, for example, which would certainly facilitate things considering all the efforts which have been made by airlines and by airports,” Houssin told a news conference.

WHO’s top emergency expert Mike Ryan said that travelling was now “relatively safe” and posed a “relatively low” health risk, but that “there is no zero risk”. “Therefore it is trade-off that countries have to make, the risk of a traveller arriving and potentially starting another

S. Korea Bans Poultry Imports from Netherlands After Bird Flu Outbreak

TL Bureau, Seoul

South Korea today banned imports of poultry from the Netherlands after a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu was found in the country, Yonhap reported.

The Dutch government announced on Thursday that chickens on a farm in the central

province of Gelderland were infected with a highly contagious variant of avian influenza (AI).

South Korea’s agriculture ministry said it imposed an import ban on all poultry and poultry products from the country.

South Korea also confirmed two infections of highly pathogenic H5N8 avian flu among wild birds in provincial towns this week.

Japans Sept. Job Availability Lowest in Nearly 7 Yrs Amid Pandemic

TL Bureau, Tokyo

Japan’s job availability fell to its lowest level in almost seven years in September, with many returning to the labor market following a gradual resumption of economic activity that had been slowed by the coronavirus pandemic, Kyodo cited government data as showing today, on Friday. The job-to-applicant ratio worsened to 1.03 from 1.04 in August, falling for the ninth month in a row to its lowest level since December 2013, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. The ratio means there were 103 job openings for every 100 job seekers.

But the level of deterioration was less severe than a 0.04 point fall in August and a 0.12 point plunge in May, the sharpest monthly drop in over 46 years logged in the wake of the government’s state of emergency declaration over the virus in early April.

Separate data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed the jobless rate in September stood at 3.0 percent, unchanged from August, when it increased for the second consecutive month.

The results showed the pandemic’s initial heavy blow to the country’s labor market has been gradually easing, although it remained in a

severe condition even after the complete lifting of a state of emergency declaration over the virus in late May. The number of furloughed employees stood at 5.97 million in April but it decreased to 1.97 million in September, falling below the 2 million mark for the first time in seven months.

In September, the number of jobless people, before seasonal adjustment, increased 420,000 from a year earlier to 2.10 million, up for the eighth straight month. That of people in work fell 790,000 to 66.89 million, down for the sixth consecutive month.

“The (employment) situation remains severe

(amid the pandemic) but the unemployment rate is holding,” a government official said.

Of those with jobs, 35.29 million were regular workers, rising 480,000 from a year earlier and up for the fourth month in a row, while 20.79 million were nonregular employees, falling 1.23 million and down for the seventh consecutive month.

By industry, the accommodation and restaurant services sector, one of the industries hit hardest by the pandemic, saw a larger fall in the number of workers than any other industry, losing 480,000 from the previous year to 4.03 million.

In manufacturing, the number fell 390,000 to 10.29 million.

Exceptional law-drafting under normal circumstances

TL Bureau, Helsinki

Law-drafting is a multi-stage process, which requires a wide range of professional competences and cooperation between multiple instances.

In the Covid-19 situation, this work has been performed across ministries and in cooperation with agencies and research institution experts as well as practical actors.

The coronavirus has brought a new dimension to the haste typical for law-drafting when the objective has

been to secure human lives and health within a tight schedule, preferably proactively. At the same time, the requirements for the legislative drafting are extremely demanding due to the nature of the regulation. The preparers of regulations and other experts have worked. The constitutional issues have been highlighted in the Covid-19related legislation while we are forced to weigh the importance of different fundamental rights and seek for the balance between them. The constitutional justifications for legislative proposals

and the requirement level set for their extent have appropriately increased over the years. Currently, higher-level consideration nearly corresponding to legal research is required from the constitutional discussions concerning legislative proposals. While the proposal has been prepared in ministries within the known constitutional law framework and this framework has been constantly developed in the Constitutional Law Committee, the justifications for the proposal may no longer be sufficient on the basis of the new standpoint.

chain of transmission, against the obvious benefit of allowing travel from a social and an economic point of view,” he said.

“You can add testing and different measures into that. We are looking at that right now. We will be coming out very soon with more advice for countries in terms of the risk management process.”

Ryan said that a WHO-led international team of scientists had held their first virtual meeting with Chinese counterparts regarding joint investigations into the origin of the novel coronavirus that emerged in China last December.

Convening of ERGI Meeting TL Bureau, Washington D.C.

The Bureau of Energy Resources and the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining (IGF) co-hosted a convening meeting of the Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI) in a virtual format on October 28 to highlight resources committed to the initiative, as well as to create a dialogue around current and future objectives. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Francis Fannon was joined by representatives of the Founding Partners of ERGI: Australia, Botswana, Canada and Peru; senior representatives from fifteen additional countries also joined, including Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, Sweden, and Zambia; and the European Commission.

The discussion reinforced the importance of resilient, diverse, and soundly-governed critical energy mineral supply chains.

ERGI focuses on the minerals and metals that make advanced batteries and renewable energy technologies possible and promotes mining that adheres to labor laws, respects the environment, and benefits host countries and their citizens. The ERGI Toolkit (www.ERGI.tools) has been expanded and is a resource for countries that want to move toward better mining practices, providing excellent case studies of how mining is done well in diverse contexts.

Technical assistance to support ERGI has also been expanded and the United States has allocated approximately $10.5 million since October 2019 to advance ERGI’s goals and help countries manage their mining sectors more soundly.

This Fall Convening Meeting of ERGI is an example of the growing call for secure supply chains, and underscores the meaningful impact of a diverse coalition of nations to embrace best practices and the promise of ERGI’s continuing efforts.

4

world

SPAIN TAKES DOWN TERRORIST CELL RECRUITING ONLINE FOR THE SO-CALLED ISLAMIC STATE

TL Bureau, London

On 28 October, Europol supported the CGI of the Spanish National Police (Comisaría General de Información de la Policía Nacional) in arresting three suspects linked to a terrorist cell actively recruiting and indoctrinating young people.

The individuals, among which feature the alleged leaders of the cell, were arrested as a result of house searches carried out in San Sebastian and Pasaia in northern Spain. They are believed to have created the terrorist structure to carry out jihadist terrorism in support of the so-called Islamic State.

10 000 FOLLOWERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKS This terrorist cell was very active online, disseminating a large amount of jihadist propaganda with the purpose of recruiting and indoctrinating young people.

The content included a variety of violent visuals displaying minors involved in Islamic State jihadist combats and promoting them as role models. The suspects used social media accounts to disseminate propaganda. They created multiple profiles on social media networks, which counted numerous followers. Two of the accounts created accumulated over 10 000 followers.

PHYSICAL TRAINING AND MENTAL CONDITIONING OF MINORS During planned meetings, the

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between EFTA and Ecuador to enter into force on 1 November 2020

TL Bureau, Bern

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement concluded between the states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Ecuador enters into force on 1 November. To that end, on 18 September, the Federal Council adopted the necessary amendments to the ordinances implementing the customs duty concessions set out in the agreement. This modern agreement will help to boost trade relations between the EFTA states and Ecuador.

Lebanon President Meets with US Official TL Bureau, Beirut

The Lebanese President, General Michel Aoun, met in Beirut today with the Ambassador of the United States of America to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea.

During the meeting, they discussed the current political developments on the Lebanese and regional arenas as well as issues of common interest.

Nagorno-Karabakh: UK to provide food and medicine to people affected by the conflict

UK announces £1million funding to provide relief to those affected by Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

TL Bureau, London

The alleged leaders of this cell feature among those arrested youngest members received physical training and mental conditioning to carry out jihadist terrorism. The terrorist cell enabled the regular practice of contact sports and provided handbooks on the use and handling of weapons such as knives and firearms.

Investigators identified the existence of a hierarchy within the organisation structuring the relationship between its members. The suspects used various measures to conceal from the police the criminal activities taking place online and in physical environments.

TWO-YEAR INVESTIGATION The arrests of the primary suspects of this terrorist cell was a result of a two–year-long investigation and an exhaustive analysis of information gathered throughout

multiple operations conducted in the Spanish province of Guipuzcoa.

Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC) supported the investigation by providing long-term analytical and operational support. During the action day, ECTC experts enabled real-time information exchange and analysis.

To ensure an effective response to the challenges posed by the terrorist threat, Europol created in 2016 the European Counter Terrorism Centre, an operations centre and hub of expertise that reflects the growing need for the EU to strengthen its response to terror. Designed as a central hub in the EU in the fight against terrorism, the ECTC focuses on operational support to Member States in terrorist investigations.

Thousands of people affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will receive urgent medical supplies, food and safer shelters from a new UK aid package, announced today by the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

The conflict escalated on 27 September. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, with growing numbers of civilian casualties and damage to homes and vital infrastructure.

Now much-needed medical supplies, including dressing kits and bandages, will be provided for civilians caught up in the crisis through a new £1 million UK aid package, in response to an appeal by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

People injured in the fighting, including children caught in the crossfire, will receive life-saving treatment at health facilities or from emergency responders supported by the ICRC. Many of those affected have limited access to food and other essentials, and UK support will provide blankets, food parcels and basic hygiene items to vulnerable communities near to the fighting.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: Today’s UK aid package will help deliver vital food, medicine and urgent healthcare to those affected by

Prime Minister announces new supports for Indigenous peoples and communities

TL Bureau, Ottawa, Ontario

The health, safety, and wellbeing of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples is a priority during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The Government of Canada will continue to support Indigenous peoples and communities during this time to help contain the spread of the virus and keep people safe.

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced over $200 million in new funding to provide support to Indigenous peoples and communities. The funding includes: $120.7 million to help Indigenous early learning and child care facilities safely operate during the pandemic.

The investment is expected to support over 35,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Nation children who access culturally relevant Indigenous early learning and child care programs. This funding will be co-managed through existing

early learning and child care partnerships. It will assist Indigenous communities in addressing their most critical needs, including implementing enhanced cleaning protocols, hiring additional staff, and offering training. $59 million for First Nations to adapt their on reserve community infrastructure. First Nations can use the funds to implement public health and safety measures in community buildings by adding hand washing stations, buying hand sanitizers, personal protective equipment for staff, and cleaning supplies, installing signage and barriers to promote physical distancing, and doing safety checks and upgrades to existing ventilation systems. $25.9 million to provide immediate support to Indigenous post-secondary institutions in 2020-21. The investment will help these institutions address increased costs and financial uncertainty resulting from the

pandemic, including putting in place supports to retain staff, automating services to process student applications and registrations, adapting courses for online learning, and implementing public health and safety measures for in-person services.

The Government of Canada continues to take a distinctionsbased approach to address the needs of Indigenous peoples and communities. Today’s investment builds on the work already being done through the Indigenous Community Support Fund, as well as additional funding provided for communities and organizations working with Indigenous peoples living in urban areas and off-reserve.

We will continue to work with Indigenous peoples and communities to help them prevent the spread of COVID-19, keep people safe, and address the ongoing impacts of the pandemic.

the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. We continue to urge both sides to engage with the OSCE Minsk group and seek a peaceful, negotiated, political solution which the people of the region so desperately need.

ICRC Regional Director for EURASIA, Martin Schuepp said: The ICRC is most grateful to the UK for its contribution to the ICRC’s response in the region. The highquality funding the ICRC receives from its donors, including the UK, enables the ICRC to deliver neutral, impartial and independent action to those affected by armed conflict and other situations of violence. UK support will also help to improve the quality of often overcrowded shelters by installing or improving water tanks and toilets. It will also ensure the shelters are suitably equipped to keep warm as the region’s bitter winter approaches.

The UK, along with Canada, has repeatedly called for both sides to work towards a peaceful, political resolution to the conflict through the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk process and has expressed its full support for the work of the Minsk Group.

EU urges quick WHO reform, asks for more transparency in pandemics TL Bureau, Brussels The World Health Organization (WHO) should be quickly overhauled, get more powers to handle pandemics and expose its member states’ shortfalls in health emergencies, European Union officials said on Friday.

The comments were made at a video conference of EU health ministers that endorsed an EU document on the reform of the U.N. agency which for the first time outlines a series of sweeping changes needed to boost WHO’s powers and resources, as exclusively reported by Reuters in September.

“The current pandemic challenges us very acutely ... but it is very important that the (WHO) reform debate is held in parallel,” German Health Minister Jens Spahn told a news conference.

He did not say when the reform process should begin, but stressed that as a result of the overhaul the WHO should become faster in its reaction to health crises, while its member states should share more information in emergencies.

5

SA COVID-19 cases top 720 000 TL Bureau, Cape Town

Coronavirus continues to spread in South Africa with 2 056 new cases identified on Thursday, while 53 more people succumbed to the deadly virus.

Of the latest deaths, 37 are from the Eastern Cape, five from Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, four from Gauteng and two from Mpumalanga.

According to Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, of these new fatalities, 15 occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours.

This brings the death toll to 19 164, while the total number of cases are sitting at 721 770 since the outbreak. Also, 649 935 patients have recuperated which translates to a recovery rate of 90%, said Mkhize.

“The cumulative number of tests conducted to date is 4 777 609 with 25 013 new tests conducted since the last report,” the Minister added. Meanwhile, Western Cape

Premier Alan Winde said they are seeing several trends developing when zooming in on the cases in the province.

“The increase in the numbers of new cases are primarily driven by young people between the ages of 15 to 25,” he said, adding that there is a rise in the number of positive tests and hospitalisation in the private sector.

According to Winde, the province has also noted a spike in the infection rate in Athlone and in Scottsdene, which they believe is connected to the wastewater systems linked to the Southern and the Western sub-districts.

“This data gives us another level of surveillance which allows us to detect trends and to follow up with targeted testing should it be required. These tools are part of our arsenal, which will help us to detect signs of resurgence or a second wave.”

He said the province continues to use the surveillance systems

IEC holds by-election voter registration weekend TL Bureau, Cape Town

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has called on affected voters to come out in their numbers to register to vote for the upcoming 24 municipal ward by-elections scheduled to take place across the country on 9 December.

In total, 118 voting stations will open this weekend between 8am and 5pm.

In a statement, the IEC said the registration weekend will allow all eligible voters to register while already registered voters will get an opportunity to check their registration details and provide updates where applicable.

“Voters should take their identity documents (IDs) with them – either a green barcoded ID book, a smartcard ID, or a valid Temporary ID Certificate.

They will also need to complete their physical home address on registration or provide sufficient particularities of their place of residence. Documented proof of address (e.g. a municipal account) is not required,” reads the statement.

Voters may also check and update their details at their local (municipal) Electoral Commission (IEC) office weekdays during office hours.

The IEC reminded voters that it is a criminal offence to register and vote in a ward in which they are not ordinarily resident.

Special voting will take place at voting stations as well as through home visits on 8 December between 8am and 5pm. Voters wishing to apply to cast a special vote can apply at their local IEC office during office hours between 23 and 27 November 2020.

Applications for special votes can also be made online via the IEC’s website, www.elections.org.za.

Once voters have applied online they will receive an SMS notifying them of the outcome when their application has been processed.

They can also check the status of their special vote application online at www.elections.org.za.

Voters can also apply for special votes via cellphone by SMSing their identity number to 32249 (Charged at R1). The SMS application facility is only available for those applying to cast a special vote at their voting station and NOT for home visits.

For more information on these by-elections contact your local (municipal) IEC office weekdays during office hours. Contact details for all IEC offices are available on the IEC website at www.elections.org.za under Contact Us

to identify “infection bushfires”.

“This has allowed us to pinpoint spikes in infections in recent weeks – first in the Southern and Western sub-districts, and now in George on the Garden Route.”

Winde thinks the peak is associated with a “general relaxation” of safety and infection prevention protocols.

However, according to Winde, the strongest defence against a resurgence is behavioural change.

The Western Cape has 4 298 active COVID-19 infections, 4 353 deaths, with 116 852 confirmed cases and 108 201 recoveries.

“I, therefore, call on all our residents to commit to becoming an active part of our recovery deal so that we can move forward safely in the Western Cape,” he pleaded.

Globally, the World Health Organisation has reported 44 351 506 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 1 171 255 deaths to date

SOUTH AFRICA

Minister Mchunu chairs APRM meeting

TL Bureau, Cape Town

Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu in his capacity as the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Focal Point for South Africa has launched the First Edition of the Africa Sovereign Credit Review Report.

The meeting, which was on Thursday, was held virtually and consisted of a number of panelists from the African continent.

In pursuing its mandate in Decision Assembly/AU/Dec.631 (XXVIII) at its 28th AU Ordinary Session to support countries in the area of credit rating agencies, the APRM authored an Africa sovereign credit rating review report in collaboration with the African Development Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

The report is the first edition of a bi-annual publication on developments and trends in the area of sovereign credit rating services by international rating agencies among African countries.

The purpose of the launch was to amongst others, promote public awareness and buy-in of the publication from relevant stakeholders. In his opening remarks, the Minister made mention

of the impact of COVID-19 on the African continent, but further mentioned that Africa had remained resilient.

“Despite gloomy COVID-19 predictions for the continent in terms of infections and deaths, the specter of famine and hunger hovering over our shores, floods washing over cities and villages, and desert locusts gobbling up crops, Africa has remained indomitable.

“In this crucible of a year that 2020 has been, we have proven once more that we are still able to triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds,” Mchunu said. The launch was crucial to increase knowledge of pertinent credit rating challenges in Africa and proposed mechanisms to address these challenges. “At a time when our countries’ fiscal space is squeezed and credit worthiness scrutinized for international loans, it is important to reflect, at a continental level, on ways to inform AU member-states’ attempts to engage with International Credit Rating Agencies so as to bring about a fair assessment of their credit profile and investment climate,” Mchunu said. “Today’s launch will help us appreciate the challenges we face but also the opportunities we enjoy as a fast growing, young and educated continent.

line during the extended lockdown due to COVID-19, while 900 000 households had severely inadequate access to food.

This is in the country where progress had been decelerating since 2008 and 55% of the population (30.9 million) are already living in poverty.

“The country will need to prepare for the long haul,” the report cautioned.

The Minister has since welcomed the report, saying that strategic targeting intervention in required.

“We must be in the forefront to ensure that this report doesn’t end up in the shelves gathering dust,” she added.

She said the key takeaway is that strategic targeting of intervention is required to address the needs and is pleased that the study has costings that government would consider.

“Government, communities and individuals in society also need to take responsibility,” she told the media.

Zulu said the world might face another pandemic and government needs to prepare for such shocks in the future. “COVID-19 just landed on us. We had to step up, and there were steps taken by our government as led by President Cyril Ramaphosa to make sure that we respond adequately in the best way that we can.” She acknowledged

that there were weaknesses in the process in terms of the government and budget challenges.

However, Zulu said the country is resilient and believes that more people benefited by the financial support package.

“The study comes at an opportune time when our economy opens up and it will help inform our thinking and contribute to evidence- needed for our decisions.” The Minister has also pledged her support to women who suffer gender-based violence and femicide. R500 billion social and economic support package The UNDP has praised government for its “impressive” R500 billion social and economic support package. The key recommendation includes raising the COVID-19 Relief Grant, which has been extended to January, from R350 to at least R560 per month. “Considering the cost of the food basket, even at the food inflation rate of 4%, access to food by households affected by unemployment and income loss will be significantly constrained, including those who receive R350,” the report explained.

According to the UNDP, the R350 is below the country’s food poverty line of R561, while the household food basket increased by 7.8% (R250) between March and May 2020.

Vulnerable bear brunt of COVID-19: UN report

TL Bureau, Cape Town

Despite significant strides made by government to soften the blow of the COVID-19 pandemic, more still needs to be done to assist the vulnerable as the country faces a risk of resurgence.

Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, and the United Nations resident coordinator Nardos Bekele-Thomas officially launched the COVID-19 Rapid Needs Assessment report on Friday.

The department commissioned the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to conduct a rapid assessment of the COVID-19 situation, with a specific focus on vulnerable groups.

The results have further revealed the deeply ingrained socio-economic challenges such as poverty, unemployment and inequality.

The human impact of the pandemic has been devastating with income loss estimated at between R41 and R53 million for 9.5 million affected formal sector employees, and 2.5 million informal workers and owners of small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs), the report found.

The document also suggests that 740 616 informal workers are at risk of falling below the upper poverty

6

7

OPEC Basket Price Stood, at $39.53 TL Bureau, Vienna

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at US$39.53 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with $39.22 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations, WAM News Agency reported.

The thirteen crudes, from separate OPEC member countries, include a mix of light and heavy crudes.

BUSINESS

Wall Street Closing TL Bureau, New York

U.S. stocks fell Friday, led by big technology shares, as Wall Street concluded a difficult week in which coronavirus cases surged, U.S. fiscal stimulus talks broke down again, and traders prepared for next week’s U.S. presidential election.

For the week, the Dow industrials dropped 7.4 percent, the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 6.5 percent, and the technologyheavy Nasdaq declined more than 6 percent and recorded is worst weekly performance since March.

The weekly losses came as the seven-day average of new U.S. coronavirus cases hit a record high this week.

Gold rose over the same worries about the U.S. election and rising Covid-19 cases. Futures climbed 0.6 percent to $1,879.90 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil fell, extending losses and on track for a second monthly decline, on growing concerns that the surge in virus cases in Europe and the United States will hurt fuel consumption. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures lost 38 cents, or 1.1 percent, to a five-month low of $35.79 a barrel.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 157.51, or 0.6 percent, to 26,501.60. Seventeen of the index’s 30 components declined, led by Apple, which plunged 5.6 percent after reporting a 20

percent decline in iPhone sales.

Boeing lost 2.6 percent, Nike was 2.3 percent lower, and Salesforce. com retreated 2 percent. IBM led gainers, advancing 2.5 percent.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 40.15, or 1.2 percent, to 3,269.96.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 274 to 10,911.59. Twitter tumbled 21 percent after reporting user growth that fell short of expectations.

Facebook plunged 6.3 percent on a surprise decline in North American users, Netflix dropped 5.6 percent, Amazon lost 5.4 percent despite posting strong quarterly results, and Googleparent Alphabet declined 3.8 percent.

CBA ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF COLONIAL FIRST STATE

TL Bureau, Parramatta

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) today announced that the Chairman of Colonial First State Investments Limited (CFSIL) and Avanteos Investments Limited (AIL), Ms Anne Ward, will retire from the Board at the end of December 2020, having served eight full years as a Non-Executive Director and Chairman.

Today’s announcement allows for an orderly transition and the appointment of a new Chairman in due course.

CBA Deputy Chief Executive Officer, David Cohen, said: “Anne’s decision to retire after eight full years comes at a time when the business

and its management team are well placed for future success.

“Preparations are well underway for CFS’s establishment as a focused, standalone business with a separate management team and Board under its new ownership arrangements. I

would like to acknowledge Anne’s strong leadership of the Board and thank Anne for her significant contribution to CFS and commitment to improving member outcomes.”

Ms Ward said: “It has been a privilege to serve on the Board

ACCC appeals court’s decision on Employsure Google Ads TL Bureau, Canberra

The ACCC has lodged an appeal against the Federal Court’s decision to dismiss its case against Employsure, in which the ACCC alleged that Employsure’s Google Ads misrepresented that Employsure was, or was affiliated with, a government agency.

Employsure is a commercial business that offers employment relations advice to businesses, and earns fees from customers signed up to contracts for advice.

The Google Ads which appeared in response to search terms used by small businesses, such as ‘fair work ombudsman’, featured headlines including ‘Fair Work Ombudsman Help – Free 24/7 Employer Advice’ and ‘Fair Work Commission Advice – Free Employer

Advice’.

On 1 October 2020, the Federal Court found that the Google Ads were not misleading. The trial judge concluded it would be clear to a reasonable business owner that the search results were ads and not affiliated with the government, because they were marked with the word ‘Ad’ and linked to a ‘.com’, not ‘.gov’, URL. The Court also found that the words ‘fair work’ had a broad descriptive meaning and were not limited to government agencies.

“We have appealed this decision because we believe the judge made an error in finding that reasonable business consumers, including smaller and less sophisticated business owners, would not have been misled by the Google Ads,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.

“Employsure’s ads appeared when business consumers searched for ‘fair work ombudsman’ and ‘fair work australia helpline’.

The ACCC considers that many businesses were likely to have conducted their searches when they were seeking urgent workplace advice from a government agency and, we will argue, many reasonable business consumers, including small businesses and less sophisticated business owners, were unlikely to have noted the small differences within the ads which were relied on by the judge to make his findings.”

Employsure is a private company that offers employment relations and workplace health and safety advisory services to business owners. It has no affiliation with any government agency.

of Colonial First State as its independent Chairman for the past eight years. CFS is one of the leading superannuation and investment businesses in Australia and I am proud to have played a part in its many achievements during my tenure.

“I look forward to watching as CBA and KKR deliver on their commitment to establish CFS as a focused, standalone business and as CFS continues to deliver improved outcomes for members and investors in the coming years.”

Subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, CBA is aiming for the sale of 55% of CFS to KKR to complete in the first half of calendar year 2021.

Small business complaints against telcos unacceptably high: Ombudsman TL Bureau, Canberra

The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell says too many small businesses are getting a raw deal from their phone and internet service providers, following a spike in the number of small business customer complaints in Q1.

Fresh data from the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman’s (TIO) office reveals a 28% hike in small business complaints against their telecommunications provider in the latest quarter.

“The number of small business complaints to the TIO are unacceptably high and telcos need to improve the small business customer experience as a matter of urgency,” Ms Carnell says.

“Clearly our telcos have a major problem when more than 5,500 small business customers have made complaints against their providers in the space of a few months. “Phone and internet are essential services to small businesses, particularly during the COVID crisis when so many Australian small businesses are working remotely and struggling to stay afloat. “The highest volume and proportion of small business complaints for the quarter were recorded against ‘multiple services’. These are bundled packages including services such as phone, landlines and internet that are essential to small business operations.

Exports Decline Again in Oct. on Virus Resurgence

TL Bureau, Seoul

South Korea’s outbound shipments dipped 3.6 percent in October from a year earlier, snapping the previous month’s brief rebound, data showed Sunday, due to the resurgence of new coronavirus cases around the globe and fewer working days, Yonhap reported.

Outbound shipments came to US$44.9 billion last month, compared to $46.6 billion a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Imports moved down 5.8 percent to $39 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $5.9 billion.

The latest figure roughly falls in line with market expectations. According to a poll by Yonhap Infomax, the financial arm of Yonhap News Agency, the country’s October exports were expected to have decreased 3.12 percent

on-year.

The country enjoyed a 4.5 percent rise in its outbound shipments in February, the first on-year rebound in 14 months, before it suffered full-fledged economic fallout from the pandemic.

Exports fell again in March as the number of COVID-19 cases around the globe escalated and the pace of decline further accelerated, plunging 25.5 percent in April and 23.6 percent in May. Asia’s fourth-largest economy had extended its slump in exports to a sixth month in August, as the new coronavirus around the globe continued to strain business activities, before rebounding 7.7 percent in September.

The pace of recovery may be moderate for the trade-driven economy because new waves of coronavirus infections recently gripped the United States and European nations, it added.

8

As COVID-19 spread accelerates, IHR Emergency Committee urges focus on measures that work TL Bureau, Geneva

The Emergency Committee on COVID-19 met on 29 October to review the situation and progress made on the temporary recommendations. They advised that the pandemic still constituted a public health emergency of international concern, and urged a focus on response efforts based on lessons learned and strong science.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accepted the advice of the committee, stating that “WHO will continue to work in partnership across the world to drive science, solutions and solidarity.”

The committee expressed appreciation for WHO’s leadership and activities throughout the global response, including its critical role in developing evidencebased guidance, providing countries with technical assistance and critical supplies and equipment, communicating clear information and addressing misinformation, and convening the Solidarity Trials and the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.

The committee provided concrete and targeted advice for WHO and countries to focus on in the coming months.

It emphasized the importance of evidenceinformed, risk-based and coherent measures in relation to international traffic, surveillance and contract tracing efforts, maintaining essential health services including mental health services, and preparing plans for future COVID-19 vaccines. The committee urged countries to avoid politicization of the pandemic response, seen as a major detriment to global efforts.

FEATURE

Stanford path-planning algorithm enables autonomous multi-drone aerial surveys of Antarctic penguin colonies

TL Bureau,

By Taylor Kubota

Stanford University researcher Mac Schwager entered the world of penguin counting through a chance meeting at his sister-in-law’s wedding in June 2016. There, he learned that Annie Schmidt, a biologist at Point Blue Conservation Science, was seeking a better way to image a large penguin colony in Antarctica.

Schwager, who is an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics, saw an opportunity to collaborate, given his work on controlling swarms of autonomous flying robots.

Colorful virtual lines on overlaying an image of snowy Antarctic coastline Visualization of autonomous drone routes determined by the Stanford Univeristy path planning algorithm over the Adélie penguin colony at Cape Crozier in Antarctica, which covers roughly 2 square kilometers.(Image credit: Kunal Shah) That’s how, three-and-ahalf years later, Schwager’s graduate student, Kunal Shah, found himself at the famous McMurdo Station, ready for the first Antarctic test flight of their new multi-drone imaging system, which coordinates the flight of multiple high-end autonomous drones – but can also work with hobby drones.

The project did not have an auspicious start. “My hands were freezing. The drone batteries were too cold to work. The drone remote control was too cold. My phone was too cold and was flashing warnings,” recalled Shah. “I just thought, ‘I’m down here for two-and-a-half months and this is day one.’ ” Undeterred, Shah and his colleagues quickly adapted and their system, which is the subject of a paper published Oct. 28 in Science Robotics, repeatedly produced detailed visual surveys of approximately 300,000 nesting pairs of Adélie penguins over a 2-square-kilometer area at Cape Crozier – roughly equivalent to the size of the country of Monaco – and another smaller colony of about 3,000 nesting pairs at

A new multi-drone imaging system was put to the test in Antarctica. The task?

Documenting a colony of roughly 1 million Adélie penguins.

Watch the video here.

Cape Royds. Whereas previous human-piloted drone surveys of the Cape Crozier colony took two days, each round of the new survey, completed in collaboration with National Science Foundation (NSF) and U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), was completed in about two-and-a-half hours, thanks to a route planning algorithm that coordinated two to four autonomous drones and prioritized efficient coverage of the colony.

“Just moving all of that equipment down to a remote site and being able to prepare it, field it and deploy it with nothing other than tents and a small warming hut at your disposal, that’s really phenomenal,” said Schwager, who is senior author of the paper but, to his disappointment, was not able to join the field team.

“It really goes to show how practical autonomous robotic systems can be in remote environments.”

Speed is essential Aerial surveys of penguin colonies have been conducted before, usually with helicopters or a single drone. The helicopter method produces great image quality but is expensive, fuel-inefficient and risks disturbing the birds. The single drone survey is timeconsuming and – because

the drones must be launched from a safe distance, about five kilometers (three miles) from the colony – difficult to navigate. Another shortcoming of drones is that they must fly to, over and back from the colony with only 12-15 minutes of battery life. The continuous threat of sudden changes in flying conditions further adds to the importance of a fast survey.

The use of multiple drones circumvents these challenges, and it was made possible by a unique route planning algorithm developed by the Stanford researchers. Given a survey space, the algorithm partitioned the space, assigned destination points to each drone and figured out how to move the drones through those points in the most efficient way, limiting backtracking and redundant travel. One crucial additional requirement was that each drone exit the space at the same place where it entered, which saves precious flight time. The algorithm also maintained a safe, constant, distance from the ground despite the changes in elevation, and had a tunable image overlap percentage to assure a complete survey.

Unlike the back-and-forth action of a robotic vacuum, Schwager described the algorithm’s paths as “organic

and spidery.” “The process was quick. What had been just the algorithm’s squiggles on a screen the day before turned into a massive image of all the penguins in the colonies,” said Shah, who is lead author of the paper. “We could see people walking around the colonies and all the individual birds that were nesting and coming to and from the ocean. It was incredible.”

Eyes in the sky The researchers envision other uses for their multidrone system, such as traffic monitoring and tracking wildfires. They’ve already performed tests in some varied settings. They have flown over a large ranch in Marin, California, to assess the vegetation available for livestock grazing. They also took their drones out to Mono Lake near the CaliforniaNevada border to survey the California gull population that lives near Paoha Island in the lake’s center. Like Antarctica, the Mono Lake test had its own challenges – the birds were smaller, the researchers had to boat out to the site before releasing the drones and there was a risk of losing drones in the water (which, fortunately, did not happen).

For their part, the penguin biologists remain focused on measuring population size, birth rates and nesting density and will conduct a second round of penguin observation this year. Due to the pandemic, however, the Point Blue Conservation Science team will be on their own this time. Thinking about the big picture – in the figurative sense – the researchers hope their system stands as evidence for the positive potential of autonomous robots and systems. “Humans could never leap into the sky and count 300,000 penguins or track a forest fire,” said Schwager. “I think that teams of autonomous robots can really be powerful in helping us manage our changing world, our changing environment, at a scale that we never could before.”

The researchers from Point Blue Conservation Science are also co-authors of the paper.

This work was funded by the National Science Foundation.

9

life and real estate

Timely COVID-19 Testing of Mombasa Port Truckers Helps Reinvigorate Economies

TL Bureau, Nairobi

Thousands of truck drivers across Kenya have been tested for COVID-19 by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) since July, as part of a broader effort to reinvigorate regional economies impacted by COVID-19.

Billions of dollars’ worth of goods begin the final leg of their in-land journey to Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo aboard transport trucks originating at the sprawling port of Mombasa in southeast Kenya. The drivers were identified early on as a high-risk group for the spread and transmission of COVID-19. This, combined with border closures and other mobility restrictions, brought much of the trade in the region to a grinding halt. IOM sees the integration of COVID-19 testing and other health measures into border management systems as critical to reanimating national and local economies and blunting the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. In July 2020, IOM conducted 2,570 tests at the Malaba and Busia One Stop Border Points with Uganda in an effort to clear a line-up of trucks stretching up to 90 km back from the border. With the

support of the Danish International Development Agency, IOM has, as of 23 October, tested over 14,200 drivers moving freight out of East Africa’s largest port, bound for nations across East and Central Africa and the Horn of Africa.

“While the pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to mobility and cross-border trade, we must ensure that there is a continuous flow of economic activities while putting first the

safety of people involved in the process,” said IOM Kenya Chief of Mission Dimanche Sharon.

IOM deployed medical staff, lab technicians, data officers and a semi-automated Thermo Fisher testing system to the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital, enabling the testing of up to 400 samples within a day, significantly reduced the turn-around time for test results to between 24 and 36 hours.

This is an important consideration

for drivers under pressure to deliver their goods as quickly as possible while negotiating a myriad of health-related border mobility restrictions enacted since March in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the region.

“Previously, I have had to wait up to two weeks for my turn to cross the Kenya-Uganda border,” said a Mombasa-based Kenyan truck driver named Rashid. “My certificate expired in the process, since the validity period is 14 days, and the experience was not pleasant as I had to be tested again spending more money and time at the border. I am hopeful that the testing for COVID-19 in Mombasa will help me obtain the clearance and transport the goods faster.”

IOM Kenya has also conducted infection, prevention and control training for COVID-19 benefiting more than 200 frontline workers at various Points of Entry (PoEs) and provided personal protection equipment for 27 POEs, including Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

“With the support of our international partners, we will continue to fight against COVID-19 alongside the Government of Kenya until it’s fully eradicated,” said IOM’s Sharon.

ROLLIE JORDAN REPRESENTS SALE OF $2.76 MILLION COLORADO ESTATE TL Bureau, Evergreen

Rollie Jordan just sold Fox Ridge Lodge for $2,760,000. Colorado Mountain Living at its finest…

Secluded at the top of Fox Ridge at Soda Creek in Evergreen, this 10-plus-acre spectacular custom estate boasts privacy, open space with panoramic mountain views and room for extended family.

This 8261 finished sq. ft. “lodge” style home can sleep 10 comfortably on three levels. The massive log portecochere welcomes guests into open two-story great room with floor to ceiling see Fox Ridge Lodge through moss rock and stone fireplace, with 25-ft. lodge pole and pine timber beams, wood plank flooring, 8-ft.

Alder doors and custom hammered iron railings.

Open kitchen, with center island slab granite breakfast bar that is accentuated by stone hearth over the gas cook top and formal, yet open dining room with wood floors and ceiling, and sliding doors with views of the front water feature. Handsome library with connected private office is complete with fireplace and custom wood built-ins. Main floor offers the expansive master retreat with huge walk in closet, luxurious five-piece bath and two laundry rooms.

IOM Maternal and Child Health Clinic for Internally Displaced Persons Opens in Somalia

TLBureau, TL Bureau

Doolow - A new maternal and child health care clinic for internally displaced expectant and nursing mothers and children has been opened in Doolow, Somalia, by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the Ministry of Health.

The new health centre, funded by the Government of Japan, was set up to assist with free health care over 5,800 families living in Kabasa, one of the most impoverished communities of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country.

The clinic, coordinated by IOM and implemented by the local partner Human Development Concern, will provide multiple services. This includes antenatal care, delivery and postnatal care, outpatient consultations, emergency services and immunization for childhood diseases, such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis and polio –a disease eradicated in many parts of the world but still a problem in Somalia–. Child nutrition and treating malnutrition services will also be offered.

Prior to the opening of the clinic, many expectant mothers in Doolow

had a higher risk of death because of antenatal and postnatal complications, and particularly during childbirths and stillbirths. This was due to a lack of access to maternity services caused in part by security-related restrictions of movement between IDP camps, which left many expectant mothers unable to reach the nearest maternity unit –located four kilometres away–, to which they often had to walk. As a result, many of them had to rely on unskilled traditional birth attendants.

Hawa, a mother of five, is one of the women will who benefit from the new clinic: “Today, people in Kabasa are enthusiastic, and a sigh of relief is observed as services are available day and night and mothers will be attended to by skilled midwives.” she said. This health facility will be the first to provide delivery services in the Kabasa IDP site in over 10 years.

It replaces an old health post that used to treat only emergency cases.

“Now we have five permanent rooms, well ventilated with 24/7 running water and electricity to attend patients, qualified midwives and complete delivery equipment to increase the quality of services received by mothers and their new-borns,” said Fatuma Aden, IOM’s Health Officer in Doolow.

IOM is supporting 39 other similar health facilities across Somalia. This support is crucial to the health and livelihoods of over 361,165 people.

Access to health care across Somalia’s IDP population of 2.6 million is extremely limited due to years of conflict that have destroyed the already fragile health infrastructure of the country.

Somalia has the fourth-largest population of IDPs in the world.

Almost three decades of conflict, recurrent and more intense climate shocks such as droughts and floods, as well as the worst locust invasion in 25 years, have forced many individuals to flee their towns

and settle in displacement sites in search of safety and better access to basic services. Moreover, the poor sanitation and hygiene conditions of the often overcrowded IDP sites and the impact that COVID-19 is having on livelihood opportunities is putting at risk the well-being of many displaced persons.

“IOM is committed to strengthening and promoting better quality and inclusive health systems that benefit migrants and the communities in which they live. Migrants contribute actively to the development of society and ensuring their access to health services not only protects public health and human rights, but

it also prevents long-term health and social costs, and contributes to social and economic development,” said Kerry Kyaa, IOM’s Health Programme Manager. IOM Somalia is supporting the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) to bring health care services closer to migrants, displaced families, and communities in hardto-reach areas while improving their living conditions to minimize preventable diseases and death.

Since the beginning of the year, IOM has provided 361,165 health consultations and reached 378,482 individuals with health education and promotion activities at IOM supported health clinics and through mobile health teams. Learn more about IOM’s health activities in Somalia funded by the Government of Japan on this video. This new health clinic and others funded by the Government of Japan have been critical in ensuring that IOM, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, can bring health services to everyone, everywhere in Somalia. IOM’s health programmes in Somalia are possible thanks to the generous funding from Japan, USAID, Germany, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), the Somali Humanitarian Fund, KSRelief and the European Union.

10

New WBSC Academy opens first online courses in push to further globalise baseball, softball

TL Bureau, Pully

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced that the WBSC Academy, a global development initiative, will officially begin courses on 2 November.

The WBSC Academy will help facilitate athletes, coaches, officials and National Federations to conduct efficient self-learning of the various topics related to Baseball, Softball and Baseball5.

Courses initially will be open to WBSC registered affiliates, who will have access to all content, learning courses and sessions available on the WBSC Academy platform. WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari said: “This new online learning platform adds another powerful tool to further develop our sport globally, particularly in new and emerging baseball/softball territories.

“Whilst the pandemic has accelerated our need to create online e-learning tools for our Member Federations, the WBSC Academy is also part of our goal to reduce our carbon footprint across all of our activities.

“It is also important that we continue adapting to the new norm and that we find new ways to support our community at a time when COVID-19 continues to restrict peoples’ movements.”

The WBSC Academy courses will be instructed by specialists in each particular subject and will serve as a platform for the transfer of knowledge with expert training and sharing of technical advice. It is hoped the WBSC Academy will help to provide the development tools necessary to further expand the sports’ popularity and practice in both traditional as well as new and emerging baseball/softball countries and territories.

The first online courses in November will be open to National Federations personnel and will cover three areas: Baseball5, Coaches and Baseball for the Blind.

Dates for webinars on additional subjects, such as baseball and softball courses for technical commissioners, baseball umpiring, softball umpiring and scoring, will be announced at a later stage. As well as other topics such as anti-doping, safeguarding, communications and administration support for National Federations.

“I want to thank all the WBSC Commissions and staff involved in developing this useful tool for their continuous efforts to add value for our Member Federations, so together we can continue to evolve and globalise our sport, even under challenging circumstances,” Fraccari concluded.

SPORTS

Ziyech shines as Chelsea enjoy 3-0 win at Burnley TL Bureau, Burnley

Hakim Ziyech shined and Kurt Zouma and Timo Werner were also on target as Chelsea enjoyed an easy 3-0 win at struggling Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The win moves the London club up to fourth place in the table and just a point behind leaders Everton and Liverpool before Juergen Klopp’s side play West Ham United later on Saturday.

Chelsea, who had a long trip to Krasnodar in Russia in midweek, made five changes from Wednesday’s Champions League starting line-up and made a bright start at Turf Moor.

The impressive Ziyech drilled the ball home in the 26th minute from the edge of the box, after a smart passing move from Frank Lampard’s team, to claim his first league goal for the club.

Burnley, who are without a win and have just a single point from their opening six games, struggled to cause any real problems for the Chelsea defense and manager Sean Dyche threw on an extra striker at the break with Jay Rodriguez coming on.While that gave Burnley more of an attacking presence, Chelsea comfortably dealt with early second-half pressure from the Clarets and then extended their lead in the 63rd minute when Zouma thundered in a header from a Mason Mount corner.

The outcome was put beyond any doubt when Burnley midfielder Ashley Westwood’s pass was intercepted by Reece James and Ziyech did well to feed Werner, the German confidently beating Nick Pope from inside the area.

Chelsea substitute Olivier Giroud had an effort ruled out for offside as the visitors looked to add to their tally.

Dancing takes centre stage for kids with sports on pause during early stages of pandemic

TL Bureau, Bruce

With organised sport on hold due to COVID-19, Australians turned to running, riding, and yoga to stay active and socially connected according to Sport Australia’s latest AusPlay survey results that identify sport and physical activity habits across the country.

The results, which focus on the early impact of COVID-19 on sport and physical activity participation and includes data from Sport Australia’s other survey tool, the Community Perceptions Monitor, also found children bore the brunt of the sport shutdown.

Sport Australia Acting CEO Rob Dalton said AusPlay was an important way to track how Australians engage with sport and physical activity, while the Community Perceptions Monitor captured public attitudes towards various aspects of sport.

“We know COVID-19 has had a huge impact on our ability to be active and participate in organised sport,” Mr Dalton said. “Not only did Australians change how and how often they were physically active, but their reasons for doing so changed as well, with more participants moving for mental health and social reasons.”

Mr Dalton said the research also highlights the important role sport can play in bringing communities together and lifting the nation’s energy and spirits.

“Almost half (44 per cent) of

Australians said they missed sport being in their life and 57 per cent of adult participants were looking forward to being able to play their chosen sport again,” Mr Dalton said.

“Those who found it easier during the sports shutdown to remain active and engaged in physical activity reported feeling a greater sense of wellbeing, optimism and connection, which serves to demonstrate the crucial role that sports can play in the national recovery from the pandemic.”

The lockdown also affected children more than adults. Some 73 per cent of Australian adults continued to be active during lockdown compared with just 17 per cent of children still able to take part in organised physical activities outside of school, according to AusPlay. Dancing, some of which could be done online, was the children’s activity with highest continuation during this time, followed by tennis and football/soccer.

It’s a big leap from the previous

year, where pre-COVID, more than three-quarters (76.1 per cent) of Australian children participated in organised outside-of-school sport or physical activity.

“With organised sport on hold these figures make sense and that’s why successfully rebooting children’s organised sport is crucial. We need to get kids moving again and meeting the recommended one hour of physical activity a day,” Mr Dalton added.

When it came to getting back on the field the most common concerns were health-related, including being around people who may not follow health rules, whether clubs could operate and the impact of the shutdown on fitness and skill levels. Those adults expressed similar sentiment towards their children returning to sport in the Community Perceptions research.

By August, roughly one-third of adults (38 per cent) and children (39 per cent) who expected to play at least one organised sport between April and December had returned to all their sports including a very small number who were actually playing more.

“Sports are now facing another big challenge – getting participants and volunteers back, but you can help. Join a local team or volunteer your time. We can all play a role to help sport not just survive but thrive again,” said Dalton.

Minister for Youth and Sport, Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck said it was a priority of the Australian

Government to continue supporting sport as the nation navigates the ongoing challenges of COVID-19.

“The report clearly illustrates the impact the pandemic has had on the nation’s sports participation and physical activity, and there is no doubt sport will play a prominent role in leading our recovery.

“This is an unprecedented challenge, but we are getting on with the job of supporting sport. With over 13 million participating in organised sport each year, it is an essential part of Australian life.

“The Australian Government, through Sport Australia, is committed to ensuring sport comes through this period in the best position it can. Our sports have been engaged regularly to understand and support their needs as much as possible, and for some it will be a long recovery process. Outside of funding there are a range of services and initiatives available and under development at Sport Australia that will provide invaluable assistance in this process,” said Minister Colbeck.

AusPlay provides the sport sector with vital insights into the physical activity behaviours of adults and children and critical evidence to inform strategies to grow participation.

AusPlay recently passed the milestone of 100,000 telephone interviews conducted with Australian adults across all states and territories since its launch in October 2015.

11

tech/auto

Automobili Lamborghini and Yohji Yamamoto celebrate the grand opening of the Lamborghini Lounge Tokyo and the Ad Personam Studio

TL Bureau , Sant’Agata Bolognese/Tokyo

Automobili Lamborghini opens THE LOUNGE TOKYO in the exclusive residential area of Roppongi, and the second venue of its kind after New York in the United States. Featuring a permanent Ad Personam studio where clients ordering cars can fully personalize every aspect of their new Lamborghini’s exterior and interior color and trim, THE LOUNGE TOKYO provides not only a gateway into the world of Lamborghini for owners and VIPs, but provides a meeting and venue space for events and exhibitions.

The inaugural exhibition sees a collaboration between Lamborghini and the eponymous brand of the world-renowned fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto: the lounge offers the perfect setting to present an Aventador S “dressed” by Yohji Yamamoto, alongside a co-branded capsule collection comprised of three unique pieces: mod coat, bomber jacket and hoodie sweatshirt.

When Mitja Borkert, Head of Design for Automobili Lamborghini, met Yohji Yamamoto at Paris Fashion Week in January 2020, he was impressed by the style resulting from the contrasting red and black in the collection presented, as well as by the outstanding craftsmanship embodied in each item of clothing. The correlation in brand values between Lamborghini and Yohji Yamamoto was clear and the collaboration was born. Taking inspiration from the Paris collection, the Lamborghini Centro Stile imagined the iconic Aventador S as a canvas to paint. The distinctive Gandini line characterizing each Lamborghini is still clearly visible in the Aventador, but dressed with selected patterns from the clothing collection: the same designs enhance the Aventador S’s interior.

Mitja Borkert comments: “It has been exciting to have the chance to work with Yohji Yamamoto, the world-renowned fashion icon, who innately understood our significant Lamborghini design DNA. Our collaboration inspired this outstanding artwork and design for the Aventador S, which was unveiled today, and celebrates Italian craftsmanship connecting with Japanese culture.”

Yohji Yamamoto says: “With their inimitable design,

Lamborghini super sports cars are more instantly recognizable than any other car manufacturer - just one glance is enough.

I am delighted to see the realization of this collaboration, highlighting the uniqueness, the timelessness, and the abundant passion, which are characteristic of both our brands.”

THE LOUNGE TOKYO’s ground floor provides the first entrée into Lamborghini lifestyle, as well as being the venue for personalized handovers to owners of their new Lamborghini. The second and third floors offer exceptional event and meeting locations for both business and private occasions: assuring a unique experience for all attending and embodying the unique style and design characteristics of

the legendary Lamborghini brand, the venue will also open to the public for special activities such as exhibitions or art shows.

Katia Bassi, Chief Marketing & Communication Officer of Automobili Lamborghini says: “We created this lounge because we are designers of experience, and we want guests to enjoy the real Italian Lamborghini feeling in this space: a little of Sant’Agata Bolognese soul in the heart of Tokyo. It reflects our attitude to innovating, while maintaining our brand DNA and our Italian cultural identity; the Lounge’s core concept of informal luxury expresses the Lamborghini worldview while welcoming guests to this intimate and exclusive environment that evokes the

Lamborghini brand at every turn. Lamborghini always strives to break new ground, both within the automotive sector in terms of design, technology and performance, but within the greater realm around us. We are proud to present two important projects at the same time: together with the Lounge’s opening, a second project comes alive today, and we are honored to present Lamborghini’s collaboration with Yohji Yamamoto.”

Giovanni Perosino, Chief Commercial Officer of Automobili Lamborghini concludes: “More than half of the cars delivered globally

by Lamborghini have one or more details customized via our Ad Personam program, either through visiting our

headquarters’ studio or accessing the customization opportunities through our dealer network. Our Japanese clients embrace the almost limitless opportunities presented by Ad Personam: I was excited to see over 200 Lamborghinis, customized through the program, join us last year for our Lamborghini Day in Osaka. It is our pleasure to announce the opening of the Ad Personam Studio right here at the LAMBORGHINI LOUNGE TOKYO, facilitating our Japanese owners in personalizing their vehicles without going overseas. It is our honor to have so many customers and fans in Japan, and our privilege to open the doors to the world of Lamborghini through this Lamborghini Lounge.”

12 U.S. Reports 38,764 New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases, 774 Deaths TL Bureau, Washington D.C.

The United States of America reported today 38,764 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 774 death cases. According to statistics issued

by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of confirmed cases in United States reached 7,168,077 and 205,372 deaths.

Health Ministry: 418 New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Detected, in Saudi Arabia TL Bureau, Riyadh

The Ministry of Health announced in a statement here today that 418 new confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 334,605 cases, including 10,683 active cases undergoing treatment.

Of these, there are 993 critical cases, while the health condition of the rest is stable.

It added that 29 new deaths have been reported; putting the tally of fatalities, at 4,768.

Meanwhile, as many as 612 cases have recovered, raising recoveries’ toll to 319,154.

On the other hand, 47,320 new laboratory tests were conducted, in the last 24 hours, across the Kingdom.

world

12 arrested for smuggling migrants in small boats across the English Channel

10 rubber boats and 158 life jackets among the seizures TL Bureau, Europe

A major operation involving law enforcement authorities from Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, supported

by Europol and Eurojust, led to the dismantling of a large network of criminals smuggling migrants in lifethreatening conditions through the English Channel.

The action spanned over two days, 28 and 29 September. Law enforcement officers from the Belgian Federal Police (Federale Politie, Police Fédérale), British Immigration Enforcement, the Dutch Royal Marechaussée (Koninklijke Marechaussee) and the French Border Police (OCRIEST/BMR62, Police Aux Frontières) within the French National Police (Police Nationale) worked together and 12 suspects were arrested (seven in France, two in the Netherlands and three in the UK).

The overall seizures during the two action days included 12 vehicles, 10 rubber boats and engines, 158 life jackets, a caravan, a boat trailer, jewellery, about €48 000 in cash, documents and mobile devices. This investigation targeted a developing trend of migrant smuggling involving small boats across the English Channel, a criminal activity which has escalated exponentially in recent months with increased interceptions in France and the UK. Overloaded boats and rough weather

This organised crime group consists mainly of Iranian nationals living in France, the Netherlands and the UK. The network was smuggling migrants with small boats from the north coasts of France to the UK. The suspects had connections in different countries to organise their criminal activity. Members of the criminal group purchased inflatable boats and engines from Germany and the Netherlands and transported them to the departure points. There, they taught the migrants how to operate the boats while charging an average of €3 000 per person for the crossings.

The various elements gathered during the investigations confirmed that this criminal organisation would have facilitated the illegal sea crossing of a large number of migrants.

This transportation in overloaded boats, and often in very difficult weather conditions on one of the busiest commercial shipping lanes in the world, endangered both the lives of the migrants and the law enforcement officers involved in rescue operations at sea.

Europol supported the operation by facilitating the information exchange, organising operational meetings and providing analytical

support with two intelligence analysts dedicated to this high-priority case.

On the action day, Europol set-up a virtual command post to facilitate the operational coordination and exchange of information between law enforcement officers on the ground in real time.

To support national authorities in this high priority investigation, Eurojust set up in June 2020 a Joint Investigation Team with Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Europol. Eurojust further facilitated the successful cooperation of the judicial authorities of the countries involved.

Main messages from the Tripartite Statement by the Prime Minister Social Summit, 14 October 2020 on the death of the Emir of Kuwait

TL Bureau, Brussels

The topic of the Tripartite Social Summit was “Implementing together an inclusive economic and social recovery in Europe”.

The discussions were structured around the following questions: How can the Resilience and Recovery Facility best support economic growth, job creation and social resilience necessary for a socially fair recovery?

How can the EU’s recovery funds best contribute to achieving the new EU 2030 climate target?

How can the recovery accelerate a fair digital transition and foster opportunities for workers and SMEs? What role for social dialogue in ensuring the success of NextGenerationEU? The President of the European Council Charles Michel stated: “The historic deal 27 member states reached in July will increase Europe’s capacity to overcome the pandemic’s fallout.

Social partners are playing a central role in articulating an effective response to the crisis

and they will continue to do so in the implementation of the Recovery plan. This Tripartite Social Summit is a necessary opportunity to act together. The Recovery Plan is essentially a transformation plan and workers and companies are at the forefront of this massive transformation.

We are joining forces to promote a green, digital and fair recovery that boosts growth and creates jobs for all Europeans.”

The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said: “We want to recover from this crisis together. We need everyone on board and dialogue between governments and social partners is key to our success. This will make sure that NextGenerationEU will help member states kick-start their economies, support businesses, especially SMEs, and create jobs all over Europe. Investing in the green and digital transition will help us revitalise our economy and bring benefits to every company and every worker across our Union.”

From the side of the rotating presidency, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, underlined: “The European Union is facing the biggest economic and social challenge since the founding Treaties. During our Council Presidency, we will continue to use all the means at our disposal to combat the pandemic and its consequences. The European Recovery Fund is an important instrument in these endeavours.

It sets an example for investment in sectors with significant potential for the future, such as climate change and the digital transformation, which are already changing our working lives. It is precisely during times of crisis such as this that it is vital for the social partners to get involved and play a part in shaping change.

They are crucial to the process of building a social Europe and ensuring social cohesion. To overcome the crisis, we need a fair and social Europe that is economically strong and fit for the future. We can only achieve this by working together.”

TL Bureau, Ottawa, Ontario

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the death of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait: “It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I offer my deepest condolences to the Ruling Family, the Government of the State of Kuwait, and the people of Kuwait. “His Highness Sheikh Sabah dedicated his life to the service of his country.

He was recognized worldwide

as a great humanitarian leader.

Under his leadership, Kuwait has led humanitarian relief efforts and international development work in countries around the world, providing assistance to victims of conflict and those in need. His Highness will be remembered for his commitment to fostering dialogue and the peaceful settlement of disputes, as well as to promoting collaboration between nations to address global challenges. “Canada and Kuwait enjoy a long-standing friendship, which continued under His Highness’ leadership, as demonstrated by our cooperation on regional security and the expansion of our economic ties.

Switzerland completes emergency aid operation on Lesbos

TL Bureau, Bern

Switzerland responded immediately with emergency aid following a fire which devastated the refugee transit camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. Over several weeks, Swiss Humanitarian Aid focused on access to safe drinking water,

medical support in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and disaster risk reduction. It also dispatched five tonnes of relief supplies to the facility. Switzerland is ending its emergency aid activities on Wednesday 30 September, having restored access to clean drinking water for 10,000 people.

13