Because EIFS are a jointless type of wall cladding that can be installed over a huge wall area without joints at all, it’s clear that the only way for water to get behind the EIFS is somewhere at the edge of the EIFS. This penetration is most often at windows, openings and flashings.

[Politics] :
A court review is underway for pretrial detention warrants for four people suspected of involvement in election nomination meddling involving first lady Kim Keon-hee, as well as illegal polling. The Changwon District Court started the warrant hearings Thursday afternoon for power broker Myung Tae-kyun, ...

[more...]

How the Pipe Trades Giants happens.

It was a very good year ...

Booming construction and remodeling boosts the industry.

Nonresidential construction - education, healthcare, hospitality, etc. - keeps the industry afloat.

Positive attitude prevails despite faltering economy.

Plumbing and mechanical contractors are making the most out of a down economy.

Contractors are working on internal processes to prepare for an improving economy.

Contractors focus on marketing, sales training and business diversification to get more work.

Housing sales gain ground and green construction continues to grow.

Just over a third of respondents reported increased revenue last year from 2012.

The COP29 Summit in Baku has approved the key rules that would govern trade in carbon credits. A UN-backed global carbon market is likely to begin next year or so. Despite the BASIC grouping’s demand that discussions on ‘climate change-related, trade-restrictive unilateral measures’ like Europe's CBAM should be included in the main agenda, it was decided that CBAM would be discussed informally.

Finding power on location can be tough, especially when those locations are out in the middle of nowhere. It’s been getting a lot easier in...

The post Bluetti’s new Elite200 V2 wants to power your camera gear on location appeared first on DIY Photography.

VIENNA, 22 July 2016 - Violence against women and girls is one of the most serious and pervasive human rights violations. More needs to be done to eliminate this problem so that women can participate without barriers in all spheres of life, said participants of a high-level OSCE conference today in Vienna.

The conference, organized by the OSCE Gender Section and Germany’s 2016 OSCE Chairmanship, brought together representatives of governments of OSCE participating States, international organizations and civil society to discuss the progress, and to exchange good practices and lessons learned in the efforts to end violence against women..

“One in three women worldwide has experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, perpetrated by intimate partners, family members, acquaintances and strangers,” said OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, opening the conference. “While we should take note of past and current achievements and activities, we need to now translate our commitments into concrete action”.

 Ambassador Zannier referred to the 2004 OSCE Action Plan on the Promotion of Gender Equality and OSCE Ministerial Council Decisions of 2005 and 2014, which called on participating States to address gender-based violence through legislation, supporting victims’ access to justice, education of relevant institutions and ensuring that women and girls receive special consideration in terms of protection and assistance.

Baroness Joyce Anelay, the UK’s Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development was one of the prominent speakers of the event.

"The OSCE Action Plan on the Promotion of Gender Equality is clear that this agenda is essential to achieving comprehensive security across the OSCE region. We all have a responsibility to promote women's empowerment and their full political, social and economic participation," she said.

Baroness Anelay is also UK Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict. Earlier this week she addressed representatives of OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation at meetings of the Forum for Security Co-operation and the Permanent Council on the need to promote the role of women in conflict prevention and resolution.

Ambassador Eberhard Pohl, Chair of the OSCE Permanent Council and representing Germany’s OSCE Chairmanship, said: “The protection of women and girls needs our special attention. Violence against women is not only a traumatizing experience for individuals; it has an adverse impact on the stability of societies as a whole. As the OSCE Chairmanship we call for the joint political will in the OSCE to speed up combating violence against women. It is a violation of human rights and all OSCE participating States have committed to ensuring human rights for all its inhabitants equally.”

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The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on Serbia’s 24 April 2016 early parliamentary elections recommends a comprehensive review of legislation to further improve election process.  

The report, while finding the elections were efficiently administered and held in a competitive environment, spells out key areas that would benefit from such a review, including unclear rules on candidate registration, inadequate regulation of campaign finance, deficiencies and loopholes in dispute resolution mechanisms, an absence of sanctions for some violations and the lack of provisions on election observation.

The report, published on 29 July 2016, notes that, while fundamental freedoms were respected and candidates were able to campaign freely, biased media coverage, undue advantage of incumbency and a blurring of the distinction between state and party activities hindered a level playing field for contestants. To this end, the report recommends specific campaign regulations, including the introduction of ceilings on campaign expenditures and preventing the misuse of administrative resources and the abuse of office.  

In noting the absence of an effective mechanism for monitoring media conduct during the campaign, the report recommends clarifying the competences of the media regulatory body in investigating and sanctioning breaches of legislation in a timely manner.

A review of the election appeals system to guarantee an effective and timely remedy for all complaints, and particularly in cases related to electionday irregularities and election results, is also among the report’s recommendations.

Additional recommendations relate to providing unrestricted access of citizen and international observers to the entire electoral process, including voting, counting and tabulation, and enhancing the transparency of the tabulation of results.

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THE HAGUE / TBILISI, 1 July 2016 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier today awarded a certificate of participation to eight interns from Georgia’s national minority communities in Tbilisi. The certificate recognizes the immersive and proactive involvement of the young professionals in their mid-twenties in the day-to-day life of Georgia’s political parties during an intensive one-month internship programme in May-June 2016.

This programme is part of a two-year project, jointly implemented by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, which aims to encourage the participation of minority communities in mainstream politics and to promote multiparty dialogue.

“All diverse societies face the immense challenge of involving ethnic communities fully in the political arena. Engaging young people from national minority communities in the day-to-day work of political parties gives them a deeper insight into political life. The inclusion of minority communities in political life and their fair and equal representation in the public sector is a key ingredient for the successful integration of diverse societies,” said Steinmeier.

Now in its final phase, the Multiparty Dialogue – Strengthening the Participation of National Minorities in Political Life project has been in operation since its launch in September 2014 to encourage and support the involvement of national minorities in politics as a conflict prevention measure to make Georgia a more cohesive, integrated and resilient State. At the same time it has also helped to strengthen the Georgian political system in its efforts to reach out to, and engage with, national minorities.  

This pioneering project − the first of its kind in Georgia – provided young people from regions of Georgia with significant ethnic Armenian and ethnic Azeri populations with a unique opportunity to have first-hand experience of the work involved in running a political party. Furthermore, in addition to giving parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties the chance to work closely with young people from national minority communities, it also provided them with the necessary tools and insights to develop their own Action Plans on Minority Participation. These plans are now being finalized in time for preparations for the parliamentary elections in October 2016. Television also played an innovative role in this project, culminating in the production of five topical talk shows related to essential issues that affect national minorities such as integration and political participation. In addition, four policy papers will be published in August 2016.

Following on from her visit earlier this year to Tbilisi, High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors said: “The project activities in Georgia are an inspiring example of the effective promotion of the HCNM Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public Life. In this regard, I hope our project has helped to encourage these interns to actively participate in political life and also encourage others of their generation to do so.” 

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The final report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on Serbia’s 24 April 2016 early parliamentary elections recommends a comprehensive review of legislation to further improve election process.  

The report, while finding the elections were efficiently administered and held in a competitive environment, spells out key areas that would benefit from such a review, including unclear rules on candidate registration, inadequate regulation of campaign finance, deficiencies and loopholes in dispute resolution mechanisms, an absence of sanctions for some violations and the lack of provisions on election observation.

The report, published on 29 July 2016, notes that, while fundamental freedoms were respected and candidates were able to campaign freely, biased media coverage, undue advantage of incumbency and a blurring of the distinction between state and party activities hindered a level playing field for contestants. To this end, the report recommends specific campaign regulations, including the introduction of ceilings on campaign expenditures and preventing the misuse of administrative resources and the abuse of office.  

In noting the absence of an effective mechanism for monitoring media conduct during the campaign, the report recommends clarifying the competences of the media regulatory body in investigating and sanctioning breaches of legislation in a timely manner.

A review of the election appeals system to guarantee an effective and timely remedy for all complaints, and particularly in cases related to electionday irregularities and election results, is also among the report’s recommendations.

Additional recommendations relate to providing unrestricted access of citizen and international observers to the entire electoral process, including voting, counting and tabulation, and enhancing the transparency of the tabulation of results.

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• OSCE/ODIHR final report on Serbia’s parliamentary elections notes respect for fundamental freedoms, recommends steps to further improve election process
• Parliamentary Elections
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New approaches to unleashing and mobilizing the potential of female leadership and the role of men as partners in achieving gender equality were the focuses of the International Forum of Women Leaders "Equal Opportunities for a Better Future", co-organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Minsk on 21 and 22 June 2016.

More than 100 participants from 21 OSCE participating States, including representatives from all of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, discussed the possibilities for creating networks for women’s empowerment, explored ways of institutionalizing gender analysis, and outlined good practices for promoting women’s roles and influence in politics. A Minsk Declaration of Women Leaders was also adopted, acknowledging the main obstacles in reaching gender equality and calling for action to challenge the status quo.

The forum was co-organized with Belarusian State University, Council of Europe Information Point in Minsk, the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Belarus, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Belarus, and Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

"All actors, from political parties to governmental structures, should think about how they can involve women and create gender-sensitive platforms where women can substantively contribute on an equal footing with men," said Marcin Walecki, Head of ODIHR’s Democratization Department.

Elena Shamal, a Member of the House of Representatives of Belarus National Assembly, said: "The 2015 Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum points out that there is not a single state in the world that could provide absolute gender equality. Today’s Forum has once again underlined the need to strengthen international, state and public co-operation for further promoting women’s participation in political and public life."

Nadezda Shvedova, of the Russian Academy of Science, said: "To achieve gender equality, we need to enhance co-operation in the OSCE area and the CIS region, in particular. We are calling for the establishment of regional networks of women leaders and women’s organizations to further advance women’s participation in political and public life, for the benefit of all."

This forum was organized as part of ODIHR’s programme to advance women’s political participation in the OSCE region, and with the support of the Belarus Ministries of Labour and Social Protection and of Foreign Affairs.

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Digital determinants of health important with growing technology usage  Association of Health Care Journalists

One Step™ Foamable Adhesive is specifically formulated to reduce contractor liability, increase productivity and perform consistently every time.

[Premium Times] MDCAN is an association of medical and dental consultants who are specialists in various fields of medicine and dentistry, holding the highest qualifications in their professions.

Donald Trump's deputies say they will dramatically expand the detention space needed for the bureaucratic process of flying illegal migrants back to their foreign homes, according to NBC News.

The post Donald Trump’s Deputies Want More Detention to Block, Repatriate Migrants appeared first on Breitbart.

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The ReidOut,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) vowed to “do everything that I can to protect our undocumented immigrants.” But also stated that the state “had the problem of the very inhumane shipping of migrants”

The post Pritzker: I’ll Protect Illegal Immigrants, It Was a ‘Problem’ When Texas Sent Us Migrants appeared first on Breitbart.

TOKYO -- Argentina would support an economic partnership agreement between the South American trade bloc Mercosur and Japan, an official at the Economy Ministry said, touting the South American country as an investment destination for energy and other industries. "Japan is one of the biggest…

LISBON, Portugal — Tech giants are increasingly investing in the development of so-called "sovereign" artificial intelligence models as they seek to boost competitiveness by focusing more on local infrastructure. Data sovereignty refers to the idea that people's data should be stored on…

By Keegan Kelly Published: November 13th, 2024

1. Unrest over deaths of 10 ‘militants’ spills over to Assam, Mizoram; ‘extra-judicial killings’ by CRPF, sa  The Times of India
2. ​Manipur’s misery: On the need for the Centre to act  The Hindu
3. ‘Sleepless nights’: cop concerned about 6 missing family members  The Indian Express
4. Fresh gunfights, arson in Manipur amid shutdown  Hindustan Times
5. 'Completely charred': Autopsy fails to collect samples to prove claim of Hmar woman's rape in Manipur  Deccan Herald

Nov. 13, 2024 — When researchers use high-performance computing (HPC)—to model electric vehicle infrastructure or to test the performance of sustainable technologies, for example—they can see how advanced computing impacts their […]

The post NREL Partnership Demonstrates Computationally Efficient Analysis of Hybrid Plants appeared first on HPCwire.

If the PCs are to hold or even grow their majority this election, Hants West is one of the seats they need to win again. The district is also emblematic of some key markings of the Houston government’s first term.

The mothers of two young people killed in a 2023 crash along a rural road near Windsor, N.S., are welcoming the charges laid against the alleged driver of the vehicle after an agonizing 15-month wait as the RCMP investigation stretched on.

The Charles E. Kaufman Foundation has selected three Penn State researchers to receive scientific research grants: Grayson Sipe, assistant professor of biology; David Radice, associate professor of physics and of astronomy and astrophysics; and Romit Maulik, assistant professor of information sciences and technology.

The protest has gained momentum as students demand the removal of the normalisation system.

1. Bangladesh To Be Islamic Nation Soon? Attorney General’s Plea Wants ‘Secular’ Word Out Of Constitution  News18
2. 90% of Bangladesh Muslim, remove 'secular' from Constitution: Top law officer  India Today
3. Bangladesh Attorney General calls for major constitutional changes, wants 'secularism' removed  The Economic Times
4. Bangladesh top official calls for removing ‘secular’ from Constitution, citing 90% Muslim population  Hindustan Times
5. Attorney General: Bangabandhu undisputed leader of the nation  Dhaka Tribune

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has withheld the international passport of the former governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa. Okowa was arrested by the anti-graft agency on November 4, 2024, over an alleged diversion of N1.3tn derivation fund. The N1.3trn amounted to a 13 per cent derivation fund from the federation account between 2015

Chelsea Manalo‘s victory as Miss Universe Philippines has been monumental because she is the first Filipino woman of black heritage to represent the Philippines in the 73-year history of the Miss Universe pageant. And while many celebrated her victory, there were still those who raise the race card and asked if she is “Filipino” enough to carry the country’s flag in a global arena. But for “La Bulakenya,” being of mixed race is an advantage. “We are already representing multicultural aspects that we have, for diversity, for inclusivity in the Philippines. And to bring that to a universal stage, what […]...

Keep on reading: Chelsea Manalo leads charge in promoting inclusivity in PH pageants

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike has justified the recent clamp down on beggars in the city of Abuja. DAILY POST recalls that the Minister had in October this year, “declared war on beggars because Abuja is returning to the beggar’s city”. His action attracted condemnation from those who believe that the move […]

They can be terrorists’ informants – Wike justifies war against beggars in FCT

Marty, it’s time for a wealthy woman to have secrets.

Donald Trump promised repeatedly to pardon hundreds of people caught up in the events of January 6, 2021. For those who marched peacefully through the Capitol, it's time for the nightmare to end.

EXCLUSIVE: World of Warcraft is one of the most popular games in the world on PC, but could it come to console eventually? We asked executive producer Holly Longdale at the game's 20th Anniversary

Amazon Haul will be the ecommerce titan's new discount storefront designed to compete against Temu and Shein, CNBC reports. This new corner of Bezos's empire is mobile-only and promises items at “crazy low prices.”

Unlike Amazon Prime’s fast speeds, Amazon promises its Haul orders orders will arrive in less than two weeks. Previously, CNBC mentioned in a previous report that Amazon was exploring a storefront where goods would be sold to US customers directly from China, though now it seems the company itself is doing the importing and acting as an intermediary.

Speed isn't the only alteration to the typical Amazon arrangement customers will have to get used to. It seems, regardless of if they subscribe to Prime or not, buyers will have to purchase $25 of goods per order with Haul to get free shipping. For lesser orders, the shipping fee will be $3.99. Amazon also won't accept Haul returns if the value of the items is $3 or under.

If customers take to Haul, the new storefront could put Amazon in a favorable position in a seemingly crowded market. Both the US and EU have set their regulatory sights on Temu.

PARIS — Israeli officials are insisting on maintaining a capacity to strike Lebanon at any moment as part of conditions to secure a ceasefire with Iran-backed Hezbollah, France's foreign minister said on Wednesday (Nov 13). Speaking to a parliamentary hearing after holding talks in Israel last week in Jerusalem, Jean-Noel Barrot said it was a condition increasingly voiced among Israeli officials. "Today we hear in Israel voices calling for it to keep a capacity to strike at any moment or even enter Lebanon, as is the case with its neighbour Syria," said Barrot, who held talks with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and new Defence Minister Israel Katz last week. "That is not compatible with the sovereignty of a strong country," Barrot said, referring to broader efforts to help strengthen Lebanon's governance. Several diplomats said that it would be all but impossible to get Hezbollah or Lebanon to accept any proposal that included this demand.

A property agent was shocked to discover a leased home in a filthy condition, left behind by tenants who moved out several months earlier, according to a TikTok video uploaded by user HomesWithHaziq on Saturday (Nov 9). "For my future landlords, beware," Haziq wrote in the video description. Introducing the video, he also stated: "If you're planning to rent out your whole unit, watch this video first." According to Haziq, the home had been tenanted out for less than two years to a group of foreigners who had little interaction with one another, keeping to their own rooms. The location of the property was not disclosed, but Haziq shared with AsiaOne that it is located in the west. Starting with the living room, things appear to be clean at first glance - if a little cluttered - but Haziq soon points out in the video visible spots of black dirt hidden behind the couch. "The condition of the house will speak for itself," he added. The first toilet certainly proved his point - the toilet seat was yellowed, with the bottom of the bowl stained black.