The Life News, Newspaper Feb 1, 2019

US VICE-PRESIDENT TO MEET WITH VENEZUELANS

TL Bureau.

Washington DC: Vice President of United States Mike Pence is going to Miami on Friday to meet with Venezuelans people who have fled Venezuela, as the Trump administration continues to challenge Nicolas Maduro’s claim to the presidency.

In a source from White House says Pence will be talking with community peoples, political prisoners and former officials who have fled the South American country due to political instabilities.

The official spokeman on condition of anonymity to discuss the visit ahead of its formal announcement. US President’s administration has recognized Juan Guaido, the head of the opposition-controlled congress, as Venezuela’s rightful president. Trump spoke with Guaido on Wednesday and tweeted that he congratulated Guaido “on his historic assumption of the presidency and reinforced strong United States support for Venezuela’s fight to regain its democracy.”

NEWS

Singapore Edition COMING SOON...

Vol. 02 Issue 02 February 1, 2019 thelifenews.com.au

Hong Kong Customs seizes suspected smuggled frozen meat TL Bureau.

Hong Kong: Hong Kong Customs yesterday (January 30) conducted an antismuggling operation and detected a suspected smuggling case using a fishing vessel in the waters off Waglan Island. About 200 000 kilograms of suspected smuggled frozen meat with an estimated market value of about $5.7 million were seized. Customs officers of the Marine Enforcement Group spotted a suspicious fishing vessel leaving Hong Kong at high speed yesterday afternoon.

Officers then took immediate action and intercepted the fishing vessel for examination. The batch of suspected smuggled frozen meat was seized on board the vessel.

Israeli forces arrest 11 Palestinians in West bank TL Bureau.

Ramallah: Israeli forces, early Thursday, launched a large-scale arrest campaign in various parts of the West Bank, during which they arrested 11 Palestinians.

A statement by the Palestinian Prisoners Society said that occupation army broke into various areas in the cities of Salfit, Hebron, Bethlehem, and Tulkarem, and arrested the Palestinians on the ground they were wanted by authorities.

If you want yourself on this newspaper to be shown in all over the world.

Contact our advertising department at thelife.advertisement@outlook.com.au

Prez Vladimir Putin approves officials to decriminalise corrupt acts

Tom Newman Foreign Correspondent Moscow: President Vladimir Putin approves bill for consultation that would allow officials to get away with corrupt acts. The proposed law suggests that due to a “force majeure” an unforeseeable circumstance or unavoidable accident that a citizen of Russia may not be persecuted for corrupt acts.

This legalistic term is usually used in contracts when events or circumstances beyond the control of the parties in-

volved, for example a war, riot or a natural disaster. It seems very unclear how any of these apply to a normal business situation or corrupt transactions within Russia.

The government have said that it would only occur when there are conflicts of interest and so combating corruption is not possible for “objective” reasons. The Russian news agency TASS gave examples of these so called objective reasons. When relatives of an official work in areas they oversee or in single-

President of India addresses joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament in India.

TL Bureau.

New Delhi: The President of India Mr Ram Nath Kovind addresses the parliament of India he quoted “It gives me immense pleasure to address the Joint Sitting of the Two Houses of Parliament. In the annals of our democracy, 2019 is an important milestone. We the people of India, are celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation this year. 13th April this year will also mark 100 years of the tragic massacre at Jallianwala Bagh. On behalf of the entire nation, I bow to pay tribute to all those martyrs who sacrificed their lives for a bright future for us.”

NZ Govt welcomes vote of confidence in economic management TL Bureau.

Wellington : The Coalition Government’s economic and fiscal management has received another vote of confidence today from ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P), Finance Minister Grant Robertson says.

S&P today revised its outlook on New Zealand’s AA foreign and AA+ local currency credit ratings up to ‘positive’ from ‘stable’. This is the strongest stance S&P has held on New Zealand since September 2011. It comes after Moody’s recently reaffirmed its AAA rating. In a report titled ‘New Zealand Outlook Revised to Positive on Improving Fiscal Position’, S&P referenced our “solid economic growth”. It also said the Government’s “proactive policy-making supports sustainable public finances and economic growth”.

The meals that make a difference ASIA | OCEANIA | MIDDLE EAST | AMERICA | AFRICA | EUROPE

industry towns, closed administrativeterritorial formations, certain districts of the Far North. The simple thing to do in this circumstance would be to declare a conflict of interest and apply a neutral arbiter to act. This is an odd definition of extreme circumstance as there are many single industry towns, many officials relatives working underneath other family members and geographically many districts in the far north. There seems to be nothing exceptional or extreme in any of these circumstances. ... more on pg 12

World Science Festival Brisbane 2019 line up is out of this world TL Bureau.

Brisbane : The World Science Festival Brisbane is returning to Queensland and is set to once again capture minds and venture into the world of the unknown.

Minister for Science and Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch is inviting everyone to venture into science and the universe with world renowned experts as they delve into topics from forensic science, to DNA, space, the stars and moving to Mars, along with the challenges facing our planet. “From international leaders and ground-breakers to home-grown trailblazers, World Science Festival Brisbane 2019 will once again impress with this stellar line-up,” Minister Enoch said. “The Palaszczuk Government is a proud supporter of World Science Festival Brisbane, and through our Advance Queensland Initiative we look to highlight the jobs of tomorrow, and the many exciting opportunities in our rapidly changing world.

Death rises to 12 as Polar Vortex triggers state of Emergency in US TL Bureau : More than fifeen people have died due to the plummeting temperatures that have plunged the country down to minus 40 degrees celsius this week causing mayhem across the nation.

Many parts of the US are facing temperatures colder than Antartica as a polar vortex sweeps over the country and has claimed victims in Detroit, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa and many other areas in US.

In emergencies, going to school can be nearly impossible, especially for girls. Providing a nutritious meal at school helps children stay in class and learn.

That investment in human potential builds economic growth in communities.

Giving everyone a chance for a brighter future.

@thelifenews1

@thelifenews.australia

Join us @WorldFoodProgramme Follow us @WFP

thelifenewsaus

TheLifeNews

OCLC: 1049174218

2

EDITORIAL

Disaster everywhere due to change of Environment

D

isaster is everywhere due to change of climate. Some saints, environmentalists or astrologist from all over the world opined that the world is come to an end. Although it’s not true but Recent Massive floods in Kerala India, Landslides in Philippines, earthquakes in Indonesia, Snowstorms and snowfalls in Europe and America, sea water level rise in oceans affected small islands and countries like Maldives, Mauritius, our nearest island Kiribati which has latest study done by world bank which quotes and proves that, As the sun creeps above the horizon, Kaure Itipo walks from his coastal village to the solar-powered water pump on the other side of Nabeina, a tiny islet in North Tarawa, Kiribati. Kaure inspects the parts and finds nothing out of order, then opens the well to check the water level inside. Satisfied that the system is ready thanks to the series of checks he learned from his elders, Kaure switches on the pump.“I’m very happy to have this daily responsibility,” Kaure says, proudly reflecting on his volunteer role looking after the new pump. “This is the lifeline for my family and my community.”

Part of the World Bank’s Kiribati Adaptation Program, which recently wrapped-up its third phase, the new solar water pump in Nabeina draws from an underground water source to a raised water tank, with gravity then transporting the clean water down to three taps

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

scattered around the Nabeina community, ensuring residents have 24hour access to fresh drinking water close to their homes.Straddling the equator in the middle of the Central Pacific Ocean, Kiribati is made up of 33 coral atolls spread across 3.5 million km² (1.3 square miles) of ocean the size of India. Most of Kiribati’s islands are just a few hundred meters wide and have an average height of 1.8 meters (six feet) above sea level, making the country one of the most vulnerable in the world to effects of climate change and sea level rise.

Climate change related king tides and surges caused by storms in the Pacific Ocean can wash over entire islands, causing flooding for days and contaminating drinking water supplies for weeks and even months.

With the entire population and the majority of infrastruc-

ture located on the coast, damage and coastal erosion from high tides, storm surges and salt water are increasingly becoming major issues for communities. Yet even by Kiribati’s tough standards, the location of Nabeina village makes these challenges particularly difficult. While still part of the main island group of Kiribati, North Tarawa is only accessible by boat and remains largely subsistence-based; with residents gathering most of their food and water from their

surroundings and using groundwater from shallow wells – that are easily contaminated – for all their cooking, drinking and farming needs.

So this is just one example of Kiribati island nation. We have thousands and millions of example which we won’t ignore and shows us the climate is changing and so do effects our environment as well. Our glaciers are melting, our pressure on land and earth causes earthquakes, our deforestation incredibly is increasing the temperature of earth.

What we can do if we’ve done this as we are responsible for this situation on earth. We can do small things worldwide in order to keep our environment safe and clean. We can plant more trees, we can stop overfishing in our oceans in order to balance our sea/marine ecology. We can banned more construction of buildings and houses where there are already overpopulated. We can stop this increasing population. Likewise there are many steps by which we can stop overburdened this earth.

So start now before it’s too late.

(References- the world bank)

For letter to editor and suggestions please reach us at thelife.editorial@outlook.com.au

ADDRESS OF PUBLISHER: The Life (Digital & Print), Dr Parveen Malik, 127 Aberdeen Parade, Boondall 4034, Australia +61 (7) 31913325, Email: thelife.editorial@outlook.com.au For advertisement contact manager at thelife.advertisement@outlook.com.au

3

WORLD Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS TL Bureau Washington, DC: U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo will host a day of meetings with the foreign ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS on February 6 in Washington, D.C. The full 79-member Coalition will meet for indepth discussions on the impending territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, which is the result of four years of Coalition and our partners’ efforts, and a significant milestone towards delivering ISIS an enduring defeat. Ministers will discuss the next phase of the campaign in Iraq and Syria, which will focus on protecting against a resurgence of ISIS through stabilization and security assistance. Ministers will also discuss important next steps in degrading ISIS’s global networks and affiliates outside Iraq and Syria.

These meetings are taking place at a key moment in our coordinated fight. The United States is determined to prevent a resurgence of ISIS in Syria and Iraq after the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria takes place, and remains committed to working with the Global Coalition to continue to destroy ISIS remnants and thwart its global ambitions. As ISIS is defeated on the battlefield, the Coalition will continue its stabilization efforts to facilitate the safe and voluntary return home of those who have been displaced by the violence. The Global Coalition regularly meets to coordinate and enhance combined efforts to counter ISIS. The last Ministerial took place in Brussels on July 12, 2018, with select members of the Coalition. The last meeting at the Political Director level took place in Rabat, Morocco, on June 26, 2018.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry slams Iranian statements

TL Bureau Manama: The Kingdom of Bahrain affirmed that the statements of the Spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the rulings of the independent judiciary in the Kingdom of Bahrain reflect the aggressive nature of the regime in Iran as well as its approach that disrespects the principles of international relations and good neighborliness. “These statements also mirror the Iranian policy which interferes in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain and other Arab states in order to promote chaos, tension and violence in the region”, said the Foreign Ministry, according to Bahrain News Agency. It noted that such statements aim to cover the suffering of the Iranian people which results from the regime’s practices in Iran and its support for terrorism in the region against the interests of the Iranian people who live in poverty, repression and violence caused by the Iranian regime. It stressed that the Iranian regime’s threat to regional and international security and stability requires active action and a firm response by the international community in order to force the Iranian regime to respect international laws and charters, the sovereignty and independence of states and non-interference in its internal affairs.

Prime Minister interacts with Students, Teachers and Parents from India and abroad Karamjit Singh Parwana Foreign Correspondent New Delhi: Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi interacted with Students, Teachers and Parents from India and abroad in this year’s edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha 2.0 held at Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi today. Students were thrilled after receiving valuable tips from the Prime Minister regarding beating stress in every walk of life. The Ministry of Human Resource Development of Government of India organized the Pariksha Pe Charcha 2.0 programme.

While introducing the programme, Union Minister for Human Resource Development Shri Prakash Javadekar said that the Ministry of HRD has taken a number of initiatives to provide holistic education. He said that with a vision of Sabko Shiksha Acchi Shiksha, the Government is committed to provide quality education to the students. He also informed that 1214 crore persons will be watching the programme live.Union Minister for Science & Technology & Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan and Union Minister of State for Human

Resource Development Dr. Satya Pal Singh also graced the occasion.

Smt. Rina Ray, Secretary, DoSE&L and other senior officials from MHRD were also present during the event.

The interaction lasted for over ninety minutes and the Prime Minister took questions from 18 participants including students, teachers and parents.

Arrangements were made for live telecast of the programme in all Government and CBSE Schools and Higher Education Institutions/ Colleges of the Country and abroad.

11cr students in 10.5 lakh government schools watched the programme live. Additionally, 1.97 cr students of 2.65 lakh CBSE affiliated schools in the country; and 6.2 lakh students and teachers in 226 CBSE affiliated schools abroad also witnessed the interaction live.

This year, students from 24 States/ UTs participated in the programme. A total of 2200 students were present at Talkatora Stadium, out of which 1700 school students were outstation while 500 students were from the Delhi-NCR region.

The students from Delhi included

200 students of private schools while 500 college students from across the country also participated in the programme today at Talkatora Stadium.

An online competition was organized from 7th January to 17th January, 2019, for students of classes 9 to 12, graduate and undergraduate college students, their parents and their teachers for selecting all those who will interact with the Prime Minister this year. They participated through www.mygov.in website on the following themes:On the MyGov portal, total 1,02,173 took part in the online contest and the details of the same were forwarded to all the States and UTs where the final selection of 2000 participants was made by a selection committee formed at each State/UT level.

For the first time, Indian students residing abroad from countries like Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Russia, , Japan, Libya, Kenya, Malaysia, Oman, Tanzania, Thailand, UAE, Ghana, Liberia Nigeria, Iran, Nepal, Doha, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore were connected to the programme live.

Nearly $4 billion needed to protect 41 million children from conflict and disaster TL Bureau Geneva: Speaking in Geneva, the agency’s Director of Emergency Operations, Manuel Fontaine, warned that conflict is at a 30-year high: “There’s never been as much conflict in the world in the past 30 years as this year, so it is obviously a particular threat,” he said.

Amid countless reports of deadly attacks on civilians and places of shelter – both of which are prohibited under international law – Mr. Fontaine insisted that the long-held notion that children should be protected above all others is also being undermined.

He said it was “being accepted as a new normal of attacks on schools and hospitals and detention of children,” adding that increasingly, “children are being seen not only as victims, when they’ve been actually recruited by an armed group or used by a particular armed group, but also as a perpetrator and detained once they’ve been released by an armed group.”

A total of 59 countries are to benefit from UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children 2019 ap-

Photo/unicef

peal, as the agency pursues its goal of providing 41 million children with safe water, food, education, health and protection.

Syria still number one concern Child protection funding amounting to $385 million includes more than $120 million for youngsters affected by the Syria crisis, whose needs are estimated at $904 million – the largest part of UNICEF’s overall appeal.

“Nearly eight years after the conflict broke out, we still have 2.5 million Syrian children living as refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey where demand for basic services such as health and

education outstrip the capacity of institutions and infrastructure to actually respond,” Mr. Fontaine explained, noting that aid was needed for Syrian refugees and host communities.

Asked if he expected a significant number of Syrian families to return to the country, the UNICEF official replied that such a development was likely premature.

“There might be cases of some families, some children who decide they want to go back and we accompany them,” he said. “I think it’s a bit early right now to see how that’s going to happen in practice.”

Ignazio Cassis meets Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs Karin Kneissl in Bern TL Bureau Bern : Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis met Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs Karin Kneissl during a working visit to Bern. The two ministers underlined the excellent relationship between Switzerland and Austria and discussed a number of bilateral and multilateral issues, including the Middle East. Switzerland’s European policy was also on the agenda.

4 Foreign Secretary concerned by report on media freedoms in China TL Bureau.

LONDON: UK. Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt said: I am concerned by the findings in the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China report about media freedoms and the deteriorating situation for journalists in China.

Its publication coincides with the sentencing of journalist Liu Feiyue, one of over 60 journalists currently detained in China.

The UK is also concerned about the sentencing of Wang Quanzhang, a lawyer whose case I raised with Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi last July. He has spent the last three and a half years in pretrial detention, much of that time incommunicado. We urge the Chinese government to ensure fundamental civil and political rights are protected, in line with China’s constitution and its international commitments.

Unofficial meeting of EU Ministers of Defence in Bucharest

TL Bureau.

Helsinki : The unofficial meeting of EU ministers of defence will be organised in Bucharest on 30 to 31 January 2019. As Minister Jussi Niinistö is not able to attend the meeting, Ambassador Hanna Lehtinen who is Finland’s representative on the European Union’s Political and Security Committee (PSC) will represent Finland.

The meeting will focus on the next steps in developing defence cooperation in the European Union. The defence ministers will assess, among other things, the implementation of the European Global Strategy in the area of security and defence. They will also discuss interlinkages of the defence initiatives of the EU, and impact of technology innovations on the armed forces.

Over dinner, the ministers will discuss Women, Peace and Security with representatives from NATO and the UN.

HRH Crown Prince Condoles President of the Philippines on Victims of Attacks on Church in Southern Philippines TL Bureau.

Riyadh: Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense, has sent a cable of condolence to President Rodrigo Duterte of the Republic of the Philippines on the news of two attacks on a church in Southern Philippines which resulted in deaths and injuries.

In the cable, HRH the Crown Prince said: “I have learned of the news of two attacks on a church in Southern Philippines, which resulted in a number of deaths and injuries. I condemn this heinous criminal act. I express my utmost and sincere condolences to Your Excellency, the families of victims and the people of The Philippines, wishing a speedy recovery for the injured

WORLD

The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen TL Bureau.

Riyadh: Colonel Turki Al-Malki, the Official Spokesman of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, stated: “at (2145) this evening, the Saudi POW Private 1st class Mousa Bin Shou’i ‘Awaji arrived at King Salman Air Base in Riyadh.”

He added: “As a result of the joint efforts by the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition and SESGY Matin Griffiths, which ensued in the release of the Saudi POW detained by the Houthi militia, suffering from deteriorating health situation, and not receiving proper medical care by the Houthi militia, the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition has agreed to

release (7) Houthi detainees in exchange for the Saudi POW detained by the Houthi militia. This reflects the resolve of the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to retrieve the Saudi POW in accordance with the Third Geneva Convention, related to POWs, and humanitarian values and principles. The efforts to retrieve all POW Coalition forces are ongoing.”

Colonel Al-Malki indicated that the detainee and POW negotiations do not receive due consideration by Houthi militia, and their intransigence has stood against the negotiations. As they attempt to acquire political or military gains with blatant disregard to the humanitarian aspect:

“The Houthi militia is still imprisoning thousands of Yemeni people, including political, social and military leaderships. Foremost among them is Major General Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, former Yemeni Minister of Defense, whose immediate and unconditional release was included in UNSCR 2216 (2015).”

The Official Spokesman concluded his statement by extending the Joint Forces Command’s thanks to SESGY Martin Griffiths and the ICRC for positively responding to its keenness in retrieving the POW, and considering his health condition, that requires medical care, which was not provided by the Houthi militia.

XDEDIC MARKETPLACE SHUT DOWN IN INTERNATIONAL OPERATION

TL Bureau.

Vienna: U.S. Prosecutor’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of Tampa (Florida), the Federal Computer Crime Unit (FCCU), the Federal Prosecutor’s Office and the Investigating Judge of Belgium, as well as the Ukrainian National Cyber Police and Prosecutor General’s office of Ukraine, with the support of the Bundeskriminalamt of Germany and Europol seized the xDedic Marketplace.

The servers and domain names of the xDedic Marketplace were seized, and the website’s criminal activities stopped. The xDedic Marketplace sold access to compromised computers worldwide as well as personal data. It operated in both the clear and dark web.

Users of xDedic could search for compromised computer credentials by criteria, such as price, geographic location, and operating system. The xDedic administrators strategically maintained servers all over the world.

Furthermore they utilised Bitcoin to hide the locations of its underlying servers and the identities of its ad-

Photo Source/Europol

ministrators, buyers, and sellers. The victims came from all around the world and involved all kind of industries. This includes local, state, and federal government infrastructure, hospitals, emergency services, major metropolitan transit authorities, accounting and law firms, pension funds, and universities. Authorities believe the website facilitated more than $68,000,000 in fraud.

At the beginning of 2018, a Joint Investigative Team (JIT) agreement was signed between the Federal Prosecutor and the Investigating Judge of Belgium and the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Europol and Eurojust.

Europol organised operational meetings in its headquarters in The Hague and provided operational analysis, forensic support and on the spot support.

President Petro Poroshenko announced his decision to run for president for the second time TL Bureau Kiev: In the framework of the Forum “From Kruty to Brussels. We are going our way”, President Petro Poroshenko announced his decision to run for president for the second time.

“A sense of profound responsibility to the country, to the contemporaries, to the past and future generations has prompted me to make a decision to be a candidate for the post of President of Ukraine again.

I ask for the mandate of the voters to guarantee the irreversibility of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, to guarantee the irreversibility of our independence,” Petro Poroshenko said.

The Head of State empha-

Photo courtesy/Ukrainian President Office

sizes that he does that “to restore the territorial integrity of the country and bring peace beneficial for Ukraine, to complete the construction of a strong, successful state capable of ensuring the order, prosperity and security of every Ukrai-

nian”. “For the welfare, security and order are no less important than the army, language and faith.

To build strong walls and a reliable roof over the solid foundation we have laid in five years,” he said. He warned against “the threat of proRussian revenge, populism and authoritarianism”. “These are the threats of a different type. But each of them is equally incompatible with the European vector of development of Ukraine, each of them contradicts the European political standards. Hence, if you do not remove these threats, do not stop their carriers - Ukraine itself will fall into the deadly embrace of Russia,” the Head of State stressed.

AUSTRALIA Townsville schools to close tomorrow as disaster declaration TL Bureau.

Brisbane : The Premier of Queensland has ordered all Townsville schools and childcare centres to close tomorrow.

The decision was made after an emergency briefing, giving families as much prior warning as possible.

“We need to ensure everyone’s safety,” the Premier said.

“The Bureau’s advice is, if this monsoonal weather continues, the next few days could see more heavy rainfall.

“It is safer if families are not trying to get to and from school.”

The Government has declared a disaster situation. It gives police wider evacuation powers if needed. The severe weather is a once in 20 year event.

The Premier said people should take care on the roads, stay home if possible and remember if it’s flooded forget it.The Queensland Disaster Management Committee will meet at Kedron at 10 tomorrow morning.

Victoria Stands By Murray Darling Basin Plan TL Bureau.

Melbourne : Victoria stands by the Murray Darling Basin Plan and does not support starting again or renegotiating the water recovery targets.

Minister for Water Lisa Neville said renegotiating the Basin Plan targets would put Victorian communities who rely on the Basin – as well as the environment - at risk.

Victoria is on track to meet its obligations under the Basin Plan, already delivering or contracted to deliver, 800 GL for recovery out of the state’s 1,075 GL target to improve the health of rivers and land in the Basin.

If a much larger recovery target was implemented, many towns in Victoria would be under grave threat.

This includes Cobram, Kerang, Cohuna, Kyabram, Tatura, Rochester, Pyramid Hill, Boort, Shepparton, Swan Hill and Merbein, which have already suffered more than 40 per cent irrigation job losses.

$33 MN TO BUST CONGESTION IN BRISBANE’S EAST TL Bureau.

Canberra: East Brisbane motorists will spend less time on the road, with the Morrison Government investing $33 million in local congestion busting infrastructure projects. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the $1 billion Urban Congestion Fund would be put to work in East Brisbane, upgrading roads and fixing trouble spots in the area. “Better roads get us all home faster. They make it easier to commute, easier to do business and easier to live in our cities,” the Prime Minister said.

“Throughout Queensland and Australia we are building roads and tackling trouble spots so you can get home sooner and safer. “Getting stuck in traffic means you miss dinner with loved ones, or you can’t help the kids with homework, I want to give that time back to hardworking families.” The congestion busting projects form part of a $244 million package of works which is being announced across South East Queensland this week.

5 Victoria To Host Cricket’s Biggest Stars At The T20 World Cup

TL Bureau.

Melbourne : Victoria, Australia’s home of cricket, will be the epicentre of the ICC T20 World Cup 2020, hosting more games than any other state.

Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula joined some of Victoria’s best cricketers today to announce that Victoria will host 19 games across the Men’s and Women’s Tournaments.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the final for the Men’s and Women’s Tournaments, as well as six group stage matches in the Men’s Tournament featuring Aus-

tralia, India, England and New Zealand.

In a massive boost for Geelong, Kardinia Park Stadium will host six group stage matches in the men’s draw, attracting thousands of fans.

There will also be five matches over five days at the newly upgraded Junction Oval, including a blockbuster double header before the Women’s Final at the MCG. For the first time in its history, the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 will feature two stand-alone events. The women’s tournament will be held in February and March, before the men play in October and November.

A sellout crowd for the Women’s Final on International Women’s Day would make history – breaking the world record attendance for any women’s sport fixture.

With the love of cricket continuing to grow across the world, thousands of fans are expected to converge on Victoria to see the world’s best players compete.

Sporting events like ICC T20 World Cup 2020 are a major international drawcard for Victoria, helping to boost our economy, showcase the best of our state to world and inspire our up-and-coming sportsmen and women.

Three charged for importing gun parts in toy motorcycles TL Bureau.

Melbourne/Sydney: Three men have been charged for their alleged roles in attempts to import a large number of firearms parts into Australia through the postal system.

The operation began on 9 January 2019 when Australian Border Force (ABF) officers at the Melbourne International Mail Facility targeted a consignment containing a child’s toy motorcycle.

X-ray analysis identified anomalies in the consignment and further examination by ABF officers revealed multiple firearm parts had been hot-glued to the outside of the motorcycle.

Following further investigation with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the ABF identified another two packages that were found to contain firearms parts in a similar concealment.

Last week (21 - 24 January 2019), a number of search warrants were executed in the Melbourne suburbs of Brunswick and Southbank, as well as locations in New South Wales believed to be associated with the importations.

During the operation, investigators seized: 60 gun receivers 26 30-bullet-magazines 24 drum magazines capable of holding 50 bullets 16 handgun frames

Photo courtesy/AFP

springs, magazine followers, and end caps A 25-year-old man, a 26-year-old man and a 33-year-old man were charged with: possessing a traffickable quantity of unregistered firearms contrary to 7C(1) of the Firearms Act 1996 (Vic); trafficking prohibited firearms or firearm parts into Australia contrary to section 361.2 of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth); intentionally importing prohibited firearm parts, contrary to section 233BAB(5) of the Customs Act 1901 (Cth); cross-border offence of disposal or acquisition of a firearm or firearm part contrary to section 360.2(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).

Increasing and extending the instant asset write-off

TL Bureau.

Canberra : The Liberal National Government is continuing to back small business by increasing the instant asset write-off threshold from $20,000 to $25,000, effective immediately, and extending the initiative for another year beyond its existing June 2019 end-date.

This will enable over three million small businesses across the country with an annual turnover of less than $10 million to access the new $25,000 instant asset write-off from now until 30 June 2020.

Minister for Small and Family Business, Skills and Vocational Education, Senator Michaelia Cash said the increase and extension of this initiative will further improve cash flow for hard working Australian small business owners by bringing forward tax deductions, providing a boost to small business activity and encouraging more small businesses to reinvest in their

operations, and replace or upgrade their assets.

“Our Government first introduced the $20,000 instant asset write-off in the 2015-16 Budget. In the first year alone, more than 300,000 small businesses took advantage of this opportunity – this equates to an average of approximately 800 businesses per day making an investment through this initiative,” Minister Cash said.

The Government will introduce legislation to give effect to this measure when Parliament returns next month.

“The Liberal National Government understands that when business owners are able to keep more of their own money, they are able to invest back into the business, boost productivity, grow the economy and create new and local jobs.”

6 Appointment of Deputy Director-General Data and Digital TL Bureau.

Wellington: The Ministry of Health has announced the appointment of Shayne Hunter to the role of Deputy DirectorGeneral Data and Digital.

Shayne has spent the last 15 years in the health and disability sector where he developed a strong a passion for information and technology enabled improvements for the system and for the health outcomes for individuals and our population.

His most recent role has been the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Capital & Coast, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs where he’s been a member of the ELT for each district health board.

He currently chairs the Central Region DHB’s CIO group and was previously the Chair of the Health Sector National IS Leaders Forum. Prior to his role as CIO, he was based at the Ministry and led a number of national initiatives in the area of medicines management.

Shayne started his career with IBM before leaving to establish a number of start-up business based on emerging technologies. From there he has held delivery and leadership roles in government and the private sector.

Passport fees to increase from March 1 TL Bureau.

Wellington : The fees for New Zealand passports will increase slightly in March, Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin announced today.

“The new fees will ensure that New Zealanders and their families continue to have a high quality passport and cover a funding gap associated with the move from five to 10 year passports,” says Ms Martin.

Under the new fee structure, the adult passport fee will increase from $180 to $191 while the child fee will increase from $105 to $111. The passport price is similar to that of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.

The increase follows the first review of passport and travel document fees since the change of the adult passport validity period from five to ten years in 2015.

“The government has kept the fee increase to a minimum, but needed to cover a significant deficit in the memorandum account that funds the production of passports,” the Minister said.

Sea level rise report strengthens resolve TL Correspondent Wellington : The Minister for Climate Change says Government recognises the challenges facing many on the frontline of coastal impacts from sea level rise.

Responding to Local Government NZ’s release of its report, “Vulnerable: The quantum of local government infrastructure exposed to sea level rise”, James Shaw says the Government is acutely aware of the impacts sea level rise could have on coastal communities.

“This report shows the sheer magnitude of devastation that could be caused by sea level rise.

NZ AND OTHER OCEANIA

New Zealand doubles its support for Nauru’s economic resilience

TL Bureau.

Wellington : Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters announced today that New Zealand is to increase funding for economic resilience, human development and good governance in the island nation of Nauru by $8 million over three years.

“This year marks 50 years of independence for Nauru. As New Zealand is looking to reset relationships in the Pacific, it is an opportune time to reconsider our relationship with Nauru and look to deepen

our long-term relevance and influence,” said Mr Peters.

Mr Peters has announced an increased indicative budget of $18.5 million over three years.

“New Zealand’s development partnership with Nauru is focused on measures that will benefit future generations – for example, education, renewable energy, and support for the electoral system.

“New Zealand remains committed to development cooperation with Nauru that promotes regional

values and aims to support development outcomes that are sustainable and broadly-based. The wellbeing and security of our Pacific neighbourhood is critical to New Zealand’s own wellbeing and future,” said Mr Peters.

New Zealand will be represented at the closing ceremony of Nauru’s 50th independence celebrations

by Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Fletcher Tabuteau. Mr Tabuteau will be in Nauru 30 January – 1 February.

Pacific students encouraged to apply for health scholarships TL Bureau.

Wellington: Pacific students in health or disability-related courses are being encouraged to apply for the Ministry of Health’s Pacific Health Scholarships.

“The scholarships are an important part of growing the health workforce of New Zealand, and also making sure that the health system responds effectively to the needs of Pacific people,” says Associate Minister of Health Jenny Salesa.

“The scholarships contribute to improving access to health services for Pacific people by assisting the development of the Pacific health and disability

workforce.”

Over $1.4 million has been allocated for the 2019 Scholarships.

Since 2002 when the scholarships began, over 1,600 scholarships have been awarded. Medical and Dentistry students can qualify for up to $10,000 and Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health students up to $5,000. The total course fees are paid directly to the tertiary institution where the successful applicants will be studying.

Applications for this year’s Pacific Health Scholarships close on Friday, 8 February 2019 at 5pm.

Bridges already confused about policy costings TL Bureau.

Wellington : Simon Bridges has added to confusion about the costings of National’s tax policy today, and needs to clear up how much New Zealanders would get and how the plan would be paid for, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “National have published two different numbers inside two days for how much someone on the average wage would get under the policy. On Wednesday, it was $430 a year. By Thursday, that had fallen to $400, according to Simon Bridges’ Magic op-ed – a 7% difference.

Fair Pay Agreement Working Group recommendations released TL Bureau.

Wellington : The Government will take time to consider the recommendations of the Fair Pay Agreement Working Group which reported back today, says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Iain Lees-Galloway.

The Fair Pay Agreement Working Group, chaired by former Prime Minister Rt Hon Jim Bolger, comprised experts in economics, collective bargaining and employment law, along with representatives of workers and business.

“The Rt Hon Jim Bolger has reported back to me with detailed and valuable recommendations,” Iain Lees-Galloway said.

“I want to thank the Rt Hon Jim Bolger and his group of experts. It is clear they have developed their report with robust discussion, care and consideration.

“The Government will now take its time to consider their recommendations and comments.

“The next phase of work will require detailed policy consideration and consultation and we’ll take the time to get it right.

“The Coalition Government has committed to improving incomes and working conditions for New Zealanders, focusing first on the wages and conditions of those who earn the least.

Fair Pay Agreements would set minimum standards to lift wages and conditions across an industry or occupation.

“Right now, employers who pay their staff a fair wage are being undercut by competitors paying below a fair rate. It’s a classic race to the bottom that’s damaging people’s prospects and holding many industries back.

National’s numbers just don’t add up

TL Bureau Wellington: National’s tax plans do not match up with the money they are wanting to spend, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says.

“National has got some serious explaining to do about how they’re going to afford their tax promises.

“Taking their estimate of $650 million a year for this policy, on top of that Amy Adams needs to find billions of dollars over the next

five years to reach her debt targets, there is a massive hole in roading expenditure, and we’ve got Nikki Kaye saying she’s going to spend hundreds of millions more on teacher salaries.

“It just doesn’t add up, unless there are massive cuts to core areas like health, housing and education.”

“Simon Bridges seems to have found Steven Joyce’s fiscal hole in his back yard,” Grant Robertson said.

“New Zealanders will also be

wondering if this policy is really worth it. If we take the numbers at face value it is worth $8 per week to the average earner in 2021. For someone on $40,000 a year it would be $1 per week.

“For the cuts to services that would be needed to pay for it, this is small change. “Simon Bridges needs to front up on how he is going to pay for his tax changes, otherwise it is just a reckless, empty promise.”

7

BUSINESS

WORLD BANK GROUP AND GERMANY ANNOUNCE ENHANCED COLLABORATION ON AFRICA DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

World Bank Group and German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) launch joint efforts in six countries WASHINGTON DC: The World Bank Group and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) today announced a deeper partnership for economic development in six countries in Africa. BMZ will provide significant additional financial support through the partnership, which will harness World Bank Group expertise on the ground in order to catalyze investment, job creation and sustainable economic growth.

The partnership flows from a Joint Declaration of Intent between BMZ and the Bank Group signed at an Africa Investment Summit in Berlin on October 30, 2018. It sets out parameters for joint action in Morocco and Tunisia in North Africa, and Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Senegal in Sub-Saharan Africa. The countries will benefit from joint financial support for technical assistance, development policy operations and other reform programs provided by the World Bank Group.

Included in the partnership is a time frame for joint missions to the six coun-

tries and guidance for potential reforms to increase private capital inflows and job creation. The sectors covered include renewable energy, power grid modernization, jobs and skills training, investment policy and land reform, and development of the automotive sector.

“Millions of young people will be

entering the job market in Africa in the years ahead”, said World Bank Chief Executive Officer, Kristalina Georgieva. “Good policy reforms pay off by creating a dynamic business environment that can unleash the potential of the private sector. We are pleased to be working with the Government of Germany to step up our joint engagement

on this important agenda.” “Germany wants to see more investments and jobs in Africa and has identified reform countries under the G20 Compact with Africa Initiative”, said State Secretary in the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Martin Jäger. “To make this happen we will forge a new type of partnership with the World Bank Group. In order to achieve quick and tangible results, we will work with the World Bank Group in a much more integrated way – regularly aligning our engagements with regard to policy reforms and concrete investments as well as technical assistance”.

The six countries have been selected by BMZ are participants in the G20 Compact with Africa, an initiative that was launched in 2017 under the German G20 Presidency. The Compact with Africa brings together G20 members with 12 countries in Africa, with the support of the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, and African Development Bank.

CBA EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PACKAGE FOR BUSHFIRE AFFECTED AREAS IN TASMANIA TL Bureau Sydney: Commonwealth Bank is providing its emergency assistance package for customers and businesses affected by bushfires in southern Tasmania.

As they quoted that, We understand that each customer will have different needs and we encourage our affected customers to discuss their individual circumstances with us by either phoning 1300 720 814 or visiting their nearest Commonwealth Bank branch.

Special arrangements are in place to provide support to our Commonwealth Bank and CommInsure customers should they need it, and our staff are ready to assist them with any financial concerns or enquiries.

As part of our Emergency Assistance Package, we can discuss a range of options, including: Emergency accommodation assistance for CommInsure customers whose homes have been damaged.

Expediting claims for CommInsure customers seeking help through their home, contents and

Photo/ Cba newsroom

motor vehicle insurance.

Assistance for Commonwealth Bank home loan, credit card and personal loan customers who are affected and may experience difficulties because of this.

Considering requests for additional loans including emergency credit limit increases (subject to

credit approval).

Loan restructuring for business customers with existing loans.

Waiving fees for temporary and damaged merchant EFTPOS terminals, as well as merchant fees until trading recommences.

Waiving charges and notice periods for affected customers

wishing to access term deposits ahead of the maturity date.

Waiving other selected fees and charges.

Further information about our emergency assistance package is available online at www.commbank.com.au/emergencyassistance.

8

FEATURE

STANFORD STUDY FINDS WAYS TO HELP KIDS MANAGE SIDE EFFECTS OF TREATMENT FOR FOOD ALLERGIES Stanford psychologists find that a positive mindset can make children less anxious about mild but uncomfortable symptoms that arise during treatment for peanut allergies.

BY MELISSA DE WITTE California: For children undergoing immunotherapy – a promising treatment for peanut allergies – uncomfortable side effects can induce anxiety, perhaps to the point of skipping doses or dropping treatment entirely.

But guiding young patients to the mindset that uncomfortable side effects are a sign that treatment is working can help reduce anxiety, according to new research by Stanford psychologists.

The study, published Jan. 28 in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, found that when children perceived mild reactions to immunotherapy as useful, they were less anxious about symptoms and also less likely to skip doses that would impede treatment. They were also less likely to experience side effects at the end of their treatment when real peanuts are introduced – which for some patients can induce anxiety all over again.

Promising treatments Almost 6 million American children and adolescents have food allergies. Oral immunotherapy is an emerging treatment whereby patients gradually consume tiny doses of the allergen until they build tolerance to it.

During treatment, patients can experience mild but fleeting side effects, like an itchy mouth or congestion. These reactions are evidence that the treatment is working, but for some patients, it can cause anxiety because of its association with a larger, more severe allergic reaction.

“We know from decades of clinical trials that oral immunotherapy is likely effective in protecting from accidental exposure to food allergens,” said Kari Nadeau, the study’s lead physician and co-author. “But I’ve seen firsthand how challenging this treatment can be for patients and their families to complete. Experiencing symptoms during treatment can be a source of anxiety that can lead patients to end treatment early, so we were particularly eager to find a mindset that could help patients come to understand symptoms in a more adaptive way.”

Applying a positive mindset The study builds on ongoing research at the Stanford Mind & Body Lab about how mindsets – thoughts, beliefs and expectations – can influence behavior and health outcomes.

Sometimes uncomfortable symptoms indicate healing, said Lauren Howe, a postdoctoral research fellow in psychology and lead author on the study. For example, a fever means that a body is fighting an infection.

When a cut is inflamed and itches, it is a

sign the wound is healing.

“In these cases as well as others, you could think of symptoms not just as unfortunate side effects, but as signals of healing: what we called a ‘symptoms as positive signals’ mindset,” Howe said. “But we thought that people might often miss this mindset about symptoms, only seeing the negative aspects of symptoms. So we thought an intervention that made this mindset salient could have a lot of potential.”

To test this theory, the researchers recruited 50 patients age 7 to 17 at the Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy & Asthma Research at Stanford. Families were randomly split into two groups: a “symptoms as side effects” mindset and a “symptoms as positive signals” mindset. Both groups received identical treatment instructions and were trained for medication use (e.g., antihistamines) for nonlife-threatening symptoms, as well as access to the same resources.

However, families assigned to the “symptoms as positive signals” group were encouraged to think of mild non-life-threatening side effects (e.g., itchy throat, congestion) as signs that their child was building tolerance to the allergen. This mindset was reinforced through direct communication between providers and families, written information and also activities – for example, children wrote letters to their “future selves” that included a reminder that these symptoms signaled treatment was working.

The “symptoms as side ef-

fects” group were not introduced to this framing during their treatment.

The researchers found that patients who were told that mild symptoms were positive were less anxious when they experienced these reactions during treatment compared with those in the “symptoms as side effects” group.

During the first month of treatment, 21.4 percent of patients who had symptoms reported feeling either kind of worried or extremely worried, compared with 45.5 percent of patients in the side effects group.

The same was true for parents: At the end of treatment, 40 percent of parents in the “symptoms as side effects” group reported still feeling kind of worried or extremely worried when their child had symptoms during treatment, compared with 23.1 percent in the “symptoms as positive signals” group. Families in the “symptoms as positive signals” group were also less likely to skip or reduce doses because of symptom-related anxiety: 4 percent missed a dose compared with 21 percent.

There were physiological benefits to focusing on a positive mindset as well. By the end of their sixmonth immunotherapy treatment when doses increased, children in the “symptoms as positive signals” group experienced fewer non-lifethreatening symptoms: 1.2 percent versus 3.5 percent. This finding is notable because symptom occurrence can prevent or delay patients from completing treatment, the researchers said.

“We have shown that a simple change in the way we frame and discuss side effects of a treatment can have a meaningful impact not only on anxiety and adherence but also on the physiological benefits of that treatment,” said Alia Crum, the principal investigator at the Stanford Mind & Body Lab and senior author of the paper. Crum is an assistant professor of psychology at Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences.

Next steps The results from the study are promising for helping patients cope with symptoms from other medical procedures where uncomfortable side effects indicate treatment effectiveness, such as flu vaccines or possibly chemotherapy.

“My hope is that this study sparks a wave of similar experiments designing and testing psychologically informed changes in the manner in which medical treatments are delivered,” Crum said.

Meanwhile, the researchers hope that medical providers can put this mindset intervention into practice.

“We hope that this intervention can be successfully adapted into clinical practice to help [oral immunotherapy] practitioners reduce anxiety among their patients and to make this very promising treatment even more effective and stress-free for patients and their families,” Howe said. “In the long term, we think that these findings have promise for improving other challenging courses of treatment.”

9

LIFE & REAL ESTATE

Finland’s national risks and their impact on vital functions

Helsinki: Finland’s national risk assessment has been completed. The aim is to anticipate sudden incidents targeted at Finland that call for activities deviating from the norm from the authorities or even requesting help from other countries. The EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism obliges all Member States to carry out a national risk assessment. Finland’s risk assessment was submitted to the European Commission in December 2018.

The national risk assessment aimed to find risks that have a wide national impact and identify their impact on the vital functions of the society. Risks of this kind include information operations, a terrorist attack or disruptions caused by climate change. ”Climate warming, for instance, increases the risks of already known extreme weather phenomena, such as floods, storms and forest fires. At the same time, it creates new, more slowly evolving risks. In recent years, forest damage and long blackouts have been the most visible impact of weather phenomena,” says Taito Vainio, Director, Strategic Steering, who was in charge of preparing the risk assessment.

Threats range from the interference of communication networks to the use of military force The national risk assessment covers 20 threat scenarios or disruptions that are possible in Finland. Disruptions have been divided into threats imposed on the stability of the society, technology and logistics as well as health security and large-scale ac-

cidents. It was also assessed whether the likelihood of disruptions has increased or stayed the same.

Risks affecting the stability of the society include a serious disruption of the public economy, use of military force or large-scale immigration. Examples of technological and logistics

disruptions are large-scale disruptions in electricity supply or serious disruptions in communication networks.

Health security risks include a pandemic influenza or a highly infectious severe animal disease. Large-scale accidents denote a serious nuclear accident in Finland or its adjacent areas, for example.

The national risk assessment and regional assessments make up a whole Regional risk assessments that take better account of the threats or disruptions characteristic of the regions were prepared simultaneously with the national risk assessment. The intention is that the national risk assessment as a whole consists of

the national risk assessment and regional risk assessments.

The national risk assessment is an essential part of national preparedness and the society’s security strategy. The risk assessment was prepared together with all ministries and other key operators under the Ministry of the Interior.

The work was supervised by the Security Committee.

The preparation of risk assessments is developed under the Ministry of the Interior. The aim of the ministry is that both national and regional risk assessments are developed into a continuous process.

SPORTS 10 Australia, China complete 12-nation field for WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2019 in Gijang, Korea TL Bureau Gijang: The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today welcomed Australia and China as the 11th and 12th national teams that will compete in this year’s WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup® in Gijang, Republic of Korea.

The dates for this prestigious youth baseball world championship — a 10-day global tournament — will run from Friday, 30 August to Sunday, 8 September.

Australia’s U-18 National Team was crowned the 2019 champions of Oceania yesterday (27 January), finishing ahead of second-place American Samoa, third-place Guam, fourthplace New Zealand and fifth-place Palau, becoming the 11th team to earn the right to compete For the Title of World Champion at the U-18 Baseball World Cup in Gijang.

The WBSC also awarded a wild card to world No. 20 China — currently the fourth-highest ranked baseball team in Asia — to complete the 12-team field in Gijang, which also includes Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, South Africa, Spain and USA. “Congratulations to Baseball Aus-

Tickets go on sale for FIBA Intercontinental Cup

TL Bureau.

MIES (Switzerland)/RIO DE JANEIRO (Brazil) - Tickets are now available for the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, the much-anticipated four-team competition taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from February 15-17.

There are two types of tickets: A Day Pass, valid for either of the two gamedays (Friday, February 15 or Sunday, February 17); A Tournament Pass, which grants access to all four games played across the two gamedays.

A Day Pass ranges in price from US $9 (35 Brazilian Real) to US $35 (130 Brazilian Real), while a Tournament Pass is on sale from between $15 (60 Brazilian Real) to US $52 (200 Brazilian Real).

The four teams taking the court at Carioca 1 Arena, the iconic venue that hosted the Olympic Basketball Tournament in 2016, are: 2018 NBA G League champions Austin Spurs; Basketball Champions league title holders AEK (Greece); DIRECTV Liga de las Americas title holders San Lorenzo de Almagro (Argentina); tournament hosts Flamengo, who are the last Brazilian team to win both the DIRECTV Liga de las Americas and FIBA Intercontinental Cup in the same year (2014).

The tournament will be played in a Final Four format, with two Semi-Finals on February 15, followed by a 3rdPlace Game and Final two days later.

The Semi-Finals will see San Lorenzo take on AEK and Flamengo face Austin.

tralia, the youth champions of Oceania, and congratulations to the Chinese Baseball Association for being awarded the wild card after demonstrating tremendous growth and promise for our sport in China,” said WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari.

“With the 12 teams now confirmed, these top finishers across the five Olympic continents will now move on to select their best youth baseball players to compete in one of the top youth world championships in sports.”

Official Website Launched in Six

Languages The official tournament website of the XXIV WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup has been launched at https://u18bwc.wbsc.org/en/2019 and across six languages, including English, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.

Gijang-Hyundai Dream Ballpark, the largest baseball-theme park in Korea, will be the site of the XXIX WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup. The Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) will host one of WBSC’s jewel events in collaboration with Gi-

jang County and the nation’s Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The successful staging of the U-18 Baseball World Cup 2017 in Thunder Bay, Canada, helped the Thunder Bay International Airport break its alltime monthly passenger record for the month of August, while generating a CAD$ 6.3 million economic impact on the city of Thunder Bay and multimillions in brand exposure for sponsors and commercial partners.

The U-18 Baseball World Cups, along with its continental qualifiers, have consistently featured players who have gone on to become some of the biggest names in the sport, such as Japan’s Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani; Korea’s Shin-soo Choo; Cuba’s Yasiel Puig and Aroldis Chapman; and Clayton Kershaw, Bryce Harper, Francisco Lindor, Manny Machado and Buster Posey, who all played for USA Baseball’s U-18 National Team.

Final Standings – WBSC Oceania U-18 Baseball Championship 2019 Australia American Samoa Guam New Zealand Palau

NETBALL AUSTRALIA LAUNCHES Suncorp Super Netball pre-season tournament TL Bureau.

Sydney : Netball Australia has launched the inaugural Suncorp Super Netball pre-season tournament to be known as the Suncorp #TeamGirls Cup, announcing it will take place from 8-10 March in Brisbane.

The Suncorp #TeamGirls Cup will bring the world’s best netballers together in the first event to take place at the new Queensland State Netball Centre in Brisbane.

All eight Suncorp Super Netball teams will battle it out across three days of matches.

The tournament will see two pools of four teams play in a round-robin style format before going head-to-head with the opposing pool on the final day of play. Each match will consist of 10-minute quarters and each team will play four matches over the three days.

There are four sessions of match play scheduled - one on Friday evening, two on Saturday (day and night) and one on Sunday. Four matches per session, all teams playing each session.

Netball Australia Executive General Manager of Events Chris Symington said the Suncorp #TeamGirls Cup is an exciting new initiative that will not only pro-

vide all Suncorp Super Netball teams with a league-organised preseason competition, but also give fans another opportunity to witness their teams in action.

“With the Suncorp Super Netball league heading into its third season, we felt it was time to introduce a formalised pre-season element to the competition and we’re really excited to be launching the Suncorp #TeamGirls Cup this year with all eight teams,” he said.

“There was a lot of player movement during the off-season, so this tournament will give fans a chance to see their new-look Suncorp Super Netball teams hit the court 50 days out from the official season kicking off.”

Suncorp Executive General Manager of Brand and Marketing Mim Haysom said the launch of the Suncorp #TeamGirls Cup is another great way to bring families together and showcase the importance of sports participation.

“The Suncorp #TeamGirls Cup is more than netball as it aims to encourage females across the nation to build both confidence and self-esteem, and International Women’s Day is the perfect day for this to launch,” said Ms Haysom.

“Suncorp is excited to be part of this inaugural event which is

another great initiative celebrating women’s sport in Australia.”

Netball Queensland CEO Catherine Clark is thrilled that the Queensland State Netball Centre will play host to the inaugural Suncorp #TeamGirls Cup. “It is an incredible moment for Netball Queensland as we welcome the world’s best netballers to our new world class venue here in Brisbane. What a fantastic way to open the Queensland State Netball Centre.

This arena will become synonymous with the world leading steps that we are taking for female athletes and women’s sport in this country. The access and opportunity that it will provide for our upcoming athletes and spectators is unprecedented,” Clark said.

Queensland’s Acting Tourism Industry Development Minister Di Farmer said Queensland was continuing to demonstrate its position as a world-class sporting event host.

“It is still less than a year since the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and to be playing host to this exciting new pre-season tournament is another feather in Queensland’s cap,” Ms Farmer said.

11

TECH/AUTO

2019 LEXUS DESIGN AWARD FINALISTS NAMED

S

Six Transformative Solutions Harness the Power of Design Innovation to Build a Better Tomorrow

ix finalists were selected from a total of 1,548 entries and will now enter the prototype creation stage with continued support from Lexus. In preparation for prototype creation, a Lexus-sponsored mentoring workshop was held at the newly-opened Intersect by Lexus in New York City, where finalists received hands-on guidance with four globally acclaimed creators: Jessica Rosenkrantz, Shohei Shigematsu, Sebastian Wrong and Jaime Hayon.

Finalists will introduce their prototypes to a global audience for the first time ever this April at Milan Design Week 2019, after which the Grand Prix winner will be selected.

TL Bureau TOKYO: Lexus announced today the names of the six Lexus Design Award finalists for 2019. This year’s finalists employed technology in even more creative ways to spark new ideas and conceptualize transformative solutions that have the power to change lives.

Most of the solution concepts below looked to address the challenges of tomorrow today including biodegradable materials, renewable energy sources and reduction of our carbon footprint.

Lexus Design Award 2019 Finalists Algorithmic Lace, Lisa Marks (USA); A 3D-custom lace bra for breast cancer survivors.

Arenophile, Rezzan Hasoglu (Turkey / Country of Residence: UK); A project exploring desert sand with different binding materials to create products.

Baluto, Jeffrey E. Dela Cruz (Philippines); A modular housing system designed to withstand earthquakes and high floods.

Green Blast Jet Energy, Dmitriy Balashov (Russia); A turbine that collects and converts aircraft jet blast to energy during take-off.

Hydrus, Shuzhan Yuan (China); An emergency treatment equipment offshore oil spills that increase work efficiency.

Solgami, Prevalent (Ben Berwick) (Australia); A window blind that generates electricity and increases internal illumination.

According to technologist and 2019 LDA judge, John Maeda, “This year’s submissions revealed a strong awareness of the connectedness of our world and the need for increased social consciousness.”

Speaking more on the transformation happening in the area of design thinking, he said, “It’s clear that the fusion of classical design and computational design is now happening especially in the minds of designers looking to solve our world’s biggest problems. I’m optimistic that as we continue to nurture and embrace this new generation of designers we’ll see a better tomorrow.”

Earlier this month, the finalists engaged in a 2-day

Photo Source/Toyota Japan

mentoring workshop at the recently opened Intersect

by Lexus brand space in the heart of New York’s Meatpacking District. Here, four globally acclaimed designers: Jessica Rosenkrantz, Shohei Shigematsu,

Sebastian Wrong and Jaime Hayon offered inspiration and their diverse expertise to kick-off and prepare the finalists to start creating their prototypes. Hayon, who served as a judge on the first Lexus Design Award in 2013, returns as a mentor this year, and said: “The finalist’s ideas are very interesting, and some are truly breaking boundaries. Through the mentoring workshop, I myself was also inspired by interacting with a different generation who looks at technology for the 21st century from a fresh angle. Further the varied backgrounds of the mentors made the whole project richer.” He added, “Milan Design Week is a big boom of ideas and a wonderful environment for an international exchange of creativity, a perfect place for the finalists to show courage and challenge this great opportunity.” Following the inspiring and highly valuable workshop, finalists will have ongoing access to each mentor as they develop their prototypes during the months leading up to Milan Design Week in April.

Their prototypes will then be displayed at the Lexus event space in Milan on 8 April. Prototypes will be judge by four world-renown design leaders and select the Lexus Design Award 2019 Grand Prix winner.

Koenigsegg to embark on evolutionary journey for future growth TL Bureau. Ängelholm: Koenigsegg AB is forming a strategic partnership with NEVS AB, enabling the development of parallel vehicle models in slightly higher volumes with emphasis on electrification, as well as strengthening growth opportunities in the hyper car segment. NEVS is making a capital injection of EUR 150 million, thereby taking a 20 percent minority stake in Koenigsegg’s parent company. Additionally, the parties are forming a joint venture to expand into new market segments where NEVS AB is contributing USD 150 million in starting capital for a 65 percent stake and Koenigsegg obtains 35 percent by contributing primarily with intellectual property, technology licenses, and product design.

The partnership will deepen an alPhoto/logo courtesy/Koenigsegg

ready existing collaboration between Koenigsegg and NEVS, creating synergies between their geographical footprints, experiences and competencies.

Koenigsegg already has a distinguished unique market position for hyper cars, and through the additional joint venture NEVS and Koenigsegg are partnering up to develop a product for new and untapped segments, leveraging both of the companies’ strengths.

Through NEVS production facilities in Trollhättan, Koenigsegg will

access additional capabilities as well as benefiting from the extensive automotive knowledge in the region, whilst maintaining their centre of excellence in Ängelholm. Alongside NEVS capacity for production in Trollhättan and China, NEVS through its majority owner Evergrande, has a wide distribution platform and channels through ownership in one of China’s largest car retailers.

“Koenigsegg is breaking new ground, capitalising on our unique technology, performance track record and market position to explore and develop new products. This partnership will create the best conditions for Koenigsegg to accelerate growth in the hyper car market, as well as enabling us to break ground into an untapped

market segment together with NEVS. We very much look forward to working together with NEVS to develop products that ensure a sustainable future”, says Christian von Koenigsegg, Founder and CEO of Koenigsegg.

“Koenigsegg is an enticing company developing advanced cars with unique technology and with a customer base that is one of a kind. To be able to expand our investment in the Swedish automotive industry through a company that we know and have an established relationship with, is an important step for us. We have both competencies and facilities to support Koenigsegg on their journey forward, something we look very much forward to”, says Kai Johan Jiang, Chairman of the Board of Directors at NEVS AB.

12 Finnish and Swedish Prime Ministers wish for even closer cooperation TL Bureau.

Helsinki: Finland and Sweden are both very willing to engage in even closer cooperation in several sectors, including in the bioeconomy and the defence sector. The good relations between the two countries and the will to further enhance them where among the key topics discussed by the Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven and Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä in Helsinki on 29 January. Finland was the first destination visited

by Prime Minister Löfven after his re-election.

“I am very happy that the new Swedish Government places so much emphasis on further developing and deepening our relations in sectors such as defence cooperation and biotechnology”, Prime Minister Sipilä says. The Prime Ministers also talked about the outcome of the Nordic climate meeting held in Helsinki last week and the ways to promote climate change mitigation by Nordic and European action. Also on the agenda in the discussions were Finland’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU and topical EU affairs such as migration, the next Multiannual Financial Framework of the EU, defence and Brexit. “With regard to Brexit the ball is still in the British court. It is for the country to decide what it wants. As long as the situation is unclear, the EU will prepare for all options”, Prime Minister Sipilä says.

The Economic Development Committee supports investing additional finances in research and development TL Bureau.

Stenbock House: At today’s meeting, the Economic Development Committee of the government expressed their support for the societal agreement to enhance research and development as well as innovation and invest additional finances in research and development in 2020–2022. A significant proportion of the funding would be used to advance measures for encouraging enterprises to improve their research, development and innovation. “Investing additional funds to encourage enterprises to enhance research and development will help to improve certain areas that are currently disadvantaged.

We must also bear in mind the needs of research institutions, because high-level research is the basis for high-quality higher education. This will also directly affect the future progress of our enterprises,” said Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, head of the Economic Development Committee.

President and Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy TL Bureau.

Helsinki : On Tuesday 29 January, the President of the Republic and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed topical affairs concerning China and the United States. Finland stresses the importance of a multilateral rule-based system and the active role of the EU, both in the transatlantic relations and in the China policy.

The President of the Republic and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy also received an update on the current situation in the Middle East, especially the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.

WORLD

Prez Vladimir Putin approves officials to decriminalise corrupt acts

Continued from page 1...

TASS’ second example is when a former member of the family of a public servant does not agree to provide information on the income and expenses of common children due to prolonged illness. In that case it is still the duty of the public servant or his/her family to notify and if not, they should be charged with the offences and the court if their claim is valid should give deference to ill health and to any other mitigating circumstance for not providing the information. The government seems to be willingly protect its employees from charges

of corruption.

However what really makes it obvious of the strangeness of this law is to whom it will only apply and how it will apply. It applies to a public servant but not their spouses or minor children. It seems to provide almost a list of where to hide their gains. It sites “ for objective reasons it is impossible to submit information on income, property of their spouses and children.

Although they do prohibit these officials from holding wealth in foreign bank accounts. It seems the state is happy for them to hide their funds but as long as it is in Russian

banks. Where it could be returned back to the state if it so wanted.

Ilya Shumanov deputy head of Transparency International Russia pointed out these are obvious loopholes for officials to avoid responsibility and there is not one single rational explanation for this. I agree on the first point but it seems on the second there is a clear aim to protect the Russian establishment. The bill has not been passed yet but the strange definitions, bizarre examples and lack of clarity point to a Russian state that is deliberately protecting those of its own officials known to be in the wrong.

‘World’s deadliest sea crossing’ claimed six lives a day in 2018: UN refugee agency

Photo/UNHCR

A

TL Bureau ccording to a new report from the agency, an estimated 2,275 individuals drowned or went missing in the Mediterranean in 2018.

This is despite the fact that Europe saw the lowest number of refugees and migrants arriving for five years, at 139,300, principally Spain (65,400), Greece (50,500) and Italy (23,400).

“Saving lives at sea is not a choice, nor a matter of politics, but an age-old obligation,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “We can put an end to these tragedies by having the courage and vision to look beyond the next boat, and adopt a long-term approach based on regional cooperation, that places human life and dignity at its core.”

Traumatised people kept at sea for days In the last year, shifts in policy by some southern European States have led to numerous incidents where people have been left stranded at sea for days on end, because the boats carrying them have been

denied permission to dock. “Large numbers of often traumatised and sick people were kept at sea for days before permission to disembark was granted,” the report states, “sometimes only after other States had pledged to relocate the majority of those who had been rescued”.

Singapore launches first-in-Asia integrated TV viewership data More than 8 in 10 consuming media content on smartphones; capturing of cross-screen viewing behaviour grows in importance

TL Bureau Singapore : The launch of the Singapore TV Audience Measurement (SG-TAM)1 integrated viewership data will enable broadcasters and advertisers to better tailor their offerings to meet evolving audiences’ needs. The first in Asia to offer such integrated data, the enhanced SG-TAM system is now able to understand cross-screen viewing behaviour, to capture unduplicated TV viewership figures across digital devices such as smartphones, tablets and PCs. Launched in 2016, SG-TAM tracked viewership on TV and other digital devices separately. Today, the integrated TV viewership data will enable broadcasters to make better programming decisions across different viewing screens to develop more quality content for their audiences. For advertisers, the insights into the demographics of viewers will help inform decisions on targeted advertising spend. The data will be accessible to subscribers of SG-TAM within three working days of a programme’s scheduled telecast on a linear platform.

Warning on Fraudulent Websites Soliciting “Cryptocurrency” Investments

TL Bureau.

Singapore: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) warns members of the public not to be misled by fraudulent websites that solicit investments in cryptocurrencies using fabricated information attributed to the Singapore Government.

These websites falsely claim that Singapore is adopting a cryptocurrency as its official coin. They also claim that a firm has been appointed exclusively to market this cryptocurrency. The sites ask readers to provide their personal and financial details to purchase the cryptocurrency. This is a scam and members

of the public should avoid providing any financial or personal information on the forms linked from the websites. Putting money in cryptocurrencies or digital tokens is highly risky. MAS and the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) have issued several advisories on 19 December 2017, 18 September 2018, 19 September 2018 and 5 December 2018 to warn the public of the risks of such investment offers.

Members of the public who suspect that an investment offer could be fraudulent or misused for other unlawful activities should report such cases to the Police.

13

A joint Australian, state and territory government initiative.

Authorised by the Australian Government, Canberra.