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CBD News: Due to the evolving nature of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has moved to hold many meetings virtually and has postponed others.




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CBD Notification SCBD/SSSF/AS/SBG/JSH/VA/JM/AER/88592 (2020-031): Postponement of the Global Taxonomy Initiative Forum and selected participants




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CBD Notification SCBD/NPU/DC/WY/BG/RKi/88737 (2020-030): Extension of deadline: Peer review of a study related to Article 10 of the Nagoya Protocol




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CBD Notification SCBD/OES/EM/DC/88792 (2020-033): Dates and venue: Twenty-fourth Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 24), 17 to 22 August 2020, and Third Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation




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CBD News: Two meetings of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) permanent subsidiary bodies originally scheduled for May 2020 and then rescheduled for August/September 2020 will now take place in August 2020.




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CBD News: Statement by Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of World Health Day




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CBD Notification SCBD/OES/EM/DC/IS/88838 (2020-034): Summit on Biodiversity




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CBD Notification SCBD/OES/DAIN/MB/FD/88610 (2020-035): Logo for the International Day for Biological Diversity 2020: "Our solutions are in nature"




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CBD News: Statement by Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, Acting Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of Earth Day




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CBD Notification SCBD/SSSF/AS/BB/ML/GD/88853 (2020-036): Launching of the UNEP Strategy for Private Sector Engagement








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A linearly convergent majorized ADMM with indefinite proximal terms for convex composite programming and its applications

Ning Zhang, Jia Wu and Liwei Zhang
Math. Comp. 89 (2020), 1867-1894.
Abstract, references and article information




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High order explicit local time stepping methods for hyperbolic conservation laws

Thi-Thao-Phuong Hoang, Lili Ju, Wei Leng and Zhu Wang
Math. Comp. 89 (2020), 1807-1842.
Abstract, references and article information





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Stability of the Stokes projection on weighted spaces and applications

Ricardo G. Durán, Enrique Otárola and Abner J. Salgado
Math. Comp. 89 (2020), 1581-1603.
Abstract, references and article information




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Analytic Trends in Mathematical Physics

Houssam Abdul-Rahman, Robert Sims and Amanda Young, editors. American Mathematical Society, 2020, CONM, volume 741, approx. 208 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4704-4841-7 (print), 978-1-4704-5388-6 (online).

This volume contains the proceedings of the Arizona School of Analysis and Mathematical Physics, held from March 5–9, 2018, at the University of...




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Topological Phases of Matter and Quantum Computation

Paul Bruillard, Carlos Ortiz Marrero and Julia Plavnik, editors. American Mathematical Society, 2020, CONM, volume 747, approx. 240 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4704-4074-9 (print), 978-1-4704-5457-9 (online).

This volume contains the proceedings of the AMS Special Session on Topological Phases of Matter and Quantum Computation, held from September...




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Babylon Health releases coronavirus Care Assistant

Telehealth and GP service Babylon has rolled out a "COVID-19 Care Assistant" with a raft of features designed to help subscribers cope with symptoms during the pandemic, from the safety of their phone screen




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CapitalRise reassesses its mission amidst Brexit and regulation change

The proptech startup wanted to democratise investment in prime real estate projects through crowdfunding, but government regulations have limited its reach to high net worth individuals




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How to scale up your startup workforce without killing its culture

Startups moving to the scale-up phase will naturally experience growing pains, here's how to manage your team through that period with as little disruption as possible




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FCA delays two-factor online shopping authentication by 6 months

The new rule, which will force payments platforms and online retailers to strongly authenticate purchases of £28 or more has been delayed by another six months amidst the COVID-19 pandemic




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Axially symmetric solutions of the Allen-Cahn equation with finite Morse index

Changfeng Gui, Kelei Wang and Jucheng Wei
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3649-3668.
Abstract, references and article information




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Zhu reduction for Jacobi ????-point functions and applications

Kathrin Bringmann, Matthew Krauel and Michael Tuite
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3261-3293.
Abstract, references and article information





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Tech startups cashing in on cannabis




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Best tech podcasts 2020




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Who are the UK's best venture capital firms?




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Puppeteer....Canoeing

wheehamx posted a photo:

Stay at home pinhole camera, f285, 8seconds exposure, xray film




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Arcade Boeing 247 b

dlberek posted a photo:




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Calculation of the convexity adjustment to the forward rate in the Vasicek model for the forward in-arrears contracts on LIBOR rate

N. O. Malykh and I. S. Postevoy
Theor. Probability and Math. Statist. 99 (2020), 189-198.
Abstract, references and article information




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On the lack of memory for distributions of overshoot functionals in the case of upper almost semicontinuous processes defined on a Markov chain

D. V. Gusak and E. V. Karnaukh
Theor. Probability and Math. Statist. 99 (2020), 77-89.
Abstract, references and article information




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A borderline case of Calderón–Zygmund estimates for nonuniformly elliptic problems

C. De Filippis and G. Mingione
St. Petersburg Math. J. 31 (2020), 455-477.
Abstract, references and article information







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Discontinuous critical Fujita exponents for the heat equation with combined nonlinearities

Mohamed Jleli, Bessem Samet and Philippe Souplet
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 148 (2020), 2579-2593.
Abstract, references and article information




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Classical solution of a PDE system stemming from auxin transport model for leaf venation

Bin Li and Jieqiong Shen
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 148 (2020), 2565-2578.
Abstract, references and article information






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Refined scales of decaying rates of operator semigroups on Hilbert spaces: Typical behavior

Moacir Aloisio, Silas L. Carvalho and César R. de Oliveira
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 148 (2020), 2509-2523.
Abstract, references and article information





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A topology on the set of isomorphism classes of maximal Cohen–Macaulay modules

Naoya Hiramatsu and Ryo Takahashi
Proc. Amer. Math. Soc. 148 (2020), 2359-2369.
Abstract, references and article information





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Phone scam alert issued

The Immigration Department today reminded the public to stay vigilant against phone scammers claiming to be from the department.

 

The department said victims in recent cases received pre-recorded voice calls from scammers posing as immigration officers informing them that they would have immigration restrictions imposed on them.

 

Such calls were then transferred to another scammer posing as a non-local law enforcement officer who asked the call recipient to provide sensitive information such as personal particulars, bank account numbers and passwords.

 

The department stressed that it does not make any pre-recorded voice calls to the public, nor will it transfer calls to other non-local authorities or ask the call recipient to provide information such as bank account numbers and passwords.

 

It reminded people to verify the identity of a caller and not to disclose their personal information.

 

If people have any doubts about a call, they should immediately report it to Police.




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LawTech Fund applications set

The Government today announced the establishment of a LawTech Fund to help law firms and barristers' chambers procure and upgrade information technology (IT) systems and arrange lawtech training courses for their staff.

 

In a statement, the Department of Justice said the LawTech Fund, established under the Anti-epidemic Fund, will be open for applications from April 28 and cater to small and medium-size law firms as well as barristers’ chambers.

 

Applications will be accepted for two months and those eligible can receive a reimbursement of up to $50,000.

 

The Law Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Bar Association will establish a joint committee to assess the applications and arrange funding disbursement.

 

More than 60% of law firms and 50% of barristers' chambers in Hong Kong are expected to benefit from the funding.

 

As for funding eligibility, law firms or chambers must have five or fewer practising lawyers as at April 8 and at the time of granting the subsidy.

 

The subsidies must be used for procuring and upgrading IT systems, including but not confined to video-conferencing facilities. The lawtech training that is to receive the subsidy must be recognised and approved by the joint committee.

 

The application form and guidance notes are available at the homepages of the Law Society and the Bar Association.

 

The Secretary for Justice has given an outline of the fund and discussed lawtech in her blog.




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Collective effort can revitalise HK

On this last Sunday of 2019, I wish every Hong Kong citizen a warm, peaceful and hopeful year 2020.

      

A New Year holds welcome promises of a fresh start and a new beginning. The New Year is also traditionally a time for planning, greeting, reminiscing as well as some soul and heart searching.

      

I believe that many of you would share my feeling that the year 2019 has been a year of unremitting shocks and turbulence to our community and our economy. Indeed, it has been a severely testing time for all in Hong Kong.

      

It all began with the introduction into the Legislative Council of the bill to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance in April. Responding to strong public sentiment, the Government suspended all work on the bill in mid-June and declared its death in early July. On September 4, the Chief Executive announced the bill's withdrawal. This was done on October 23 when the Legislative Council resumed normal business.

Despite this, the public protests which began as largely peaceful and orderly marches in June soon got out of control. Unprecedented violence and reckless destruction became the norm. Radical protesters attacked police officers as well as police stations and facilities with petrol bombs, iron bars, bricks and chemicals. Some even used high-tension slingshots, bows and arrows. During the past six months or so, over 2,600 people were injured in the social unrest, including over 500 police officers.

            

Meanwhile, public infrastructure and transport including a cumulative total of 85 heavy rail stations and 62 light rail stations, as well as countless shops, restaurants and shopping malls had been repeatedly vandalised. More so, nearly 21,000 square metres of paving blocks from footpaths were ripped up and used as weapons to attack Police. Over 52,000 metres of roadside railing were removed and 740 sets of traffic lights destroyed.

      

Last month, masked protesters battered the Hung Hom Cross-Harbour Tunnel, shutting it down for two full weeks. This vital city artery normally carries 110,000 vehicles a day, accounting for some 43% of the daily cross-harbour vehicular flow. It took a total of 800 government staff and contractor's workers some 100 hours to carry out emergency repair round-the-clock before the tunnel could be reopened. At the same time, nearby Polytechnic University was overrun by radical protesters. The same happened to the Chinese University.

      

Apart from recklessly damaging our universities, violent protesters turned the two campuses into arsenals on a frightening scale. When the last of the protesters finally left the universities, Police seized altogether nearly 8,000 petrol bombs plus numerous explosives, hundreds of bottles of corrosive liquid and weapons of all sorts.

      

This level of premeditated and organised destruction and violence could hardly be tolerated in any country or economy that upholds the rule of law. Hong Kong, I am proud to say, is among those economies that believe passionately in the primacy of rule of law. It safeguards our economy, our community, our families and our way of life.

      

In fact, the rule of law is among Hong Kong's much cherished core values, alongside our fiercely independent judiciary, clean government, level playing field for business and enviable freedoms. These freedoms, as enshrined in the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, include freedom of speech, of the press and free flow of information; freedom of association and assembly; free trade and free port; free flow of capital; freely convertible currency; freedom of religious belief and free education. We have also been the freest economy in the world continuously for 25 years. The unique "one country, two systems" formula has been functioning well and we enjoy the best of both worlds.

      

Despite the recent social unrest which has affected our economy and labour market, Hong Kong's institutional strengths remain robust and intact. Our fundamentals stay sound and strong. We still enjoy a high rating in various areas by international think tanks and agencies. Allow me to say that whilst Hong Kong may not have the full semblance of Western democracy, we do enjoy for a very long time the full substance of real freedom which underpins Hong Kong's success.

      

Over the past six months, most of the requests for public meetings, processions and protests were given the greenlight by Police. During these public events, be it small or large, Police had dutifully facilitated and ensured the safety of protesters and other road users. When the requests were not approved, it was generally a decision made in the hopes of preventing violence, ensuring peace and public order, as our society has every right to expect of its police and its government.

      

On November 24, we witnessed a peaceful and orderly District Council Election with a record high turnout and voting rates. My colleagues and I are looking forward to working with all new District Council members. We also look forward to expanding our dialogue with the community. While we will continue to engage different sectors of society through our usual channels, the Government will broaden and rejuvenate our communication with the public. Less than two weeks ago and after the one by the Chief Executive in September, my Principal Official colleagues have started a dialogue with the public through Facebook live. You will certainly see more of us listening and responding to people's views and concerns on these and other communication channels in the coming year.

    

We are also establishing an Independent Review Committee comprising experts and community leaders. The committee will look into the causes and full circumstances of the social unrest and probe into Hong Kong's deep-seated social conflicts, from affordable housing, land supply, wealth gap, upward social mobility and opportunities for our young people to social justice. The committee will recommend ways to address the real and long-entrenched community concerns that underlie the discord.

 

Meanwhile, our economy is inevitably affected by the twin blows of social unrest and the trade dispute between the United States and the Mainland. Businesses and people of Hong Kong are yearning for the restoration of peace and order soonest possible, and the recovery of our economy.

      

In response, the Government has launched four rounds of relief measures since August. These added up to more than $25 billion. A number of the measures which will benefit grassroots families and small and medium enterprises will be implemented at the beginning of the New Year.

      

These relief measures would not solve our economic problems. Yet, they could help businesses and people of Hong Kong stay afloat while we strive to heal our divided community and battered economy.

      

There are deep-seated issues that we must acknowledge and resolve if we are to end the prolonged social unrest that has shaken the familiar Hong Kong which we all love and cherish. We must be patient and perseverant in helping our city to heal, one step at a time.

      

The past six months have been tough for us, but we will soldier on. Hong Kong is a remarkably resilient and resourceful international city with a strong can-do spirit. We have a New Year waiting for us. We have new and expanded channels of communication opened up for us. We expect the first report of the Independent Police Complaints Council to come out soon. And we have research and concrete recommendations of the Independent Review Committee ahead of us. Working together, I am confident that we can rebuild, reclaim and rejuvenate the remarkably resilient spirit of Hong Kong.

      

On this note, I wish all of you a New Year blessed with peace, harmony and goodwill.

 

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung gave these remarks on RTHK's "Letter to Hong Kong" programme aired on December 29.




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Banks to ease cashflow pressure

The banking sector today launched a scheme to alleviate the cashflow pressure faced by corporate customers in light of the economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 outbreak.

 

Jointly announced by the Monetary Authority and the Banking Sector SME Lending Coordination Mechanism, the Pre-approved Principal Payment Holiday Scheme is estimated to cover more than 80% of all corporate borrowers in Hong Kong.

 

All corporate customers that have an annual sales turnover of $800 million or less and with no outstanding loan payments overdue for more than 30 days are eligible for the scheme.

 

Eligible customers’ loan principal payments due within a six-month period between May 1 and October 31 this year will be pre-approved for deferment.

 

The loans’ principal payments, including revolving facilities, will generally be deferred by six months, whereas trade facilities, given their short-term nature, will be deferred by three months.

 

The scheme does not cover syndicated loans or loans used for financing purchases of shares or other financial assets.

 

Banks will begin informing eligible customers of the pre-approval under the scheme as soon as practicable. Eligible customers do not need to apply. They only need to contact the bank within 14 days of the bank’s notice to confirm the detailed arrangements.

 

The authority has issued a circular requesting all banks to participate in the scheme and has received support from all 11 major lenders in the co-ordination mechanism.

 

It will monitor the scheme’s operation and maintain close dialogue with banks.