Katie Boulter has overcome a series of mediocre results on the WTA Tour's Asian swing to advance to the Pan Pacific Open semifinals with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Bianca Andreescu on Friday.

With the finals of the Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup set to be played in Malaga, Spain, this month, the International Tennis Federation is making a donation to the Spanish Red Cross to support relief and recovery efforts for the recent catastrophic flooding in the country.

As Donald Trump's victory became apparent in last week's U.S. elections, Jewish West Bank settlement advocates popped bottles of champagne and danced to the Bee Gees at a winery in the heart of the occupied territory, according to a post on Instagram. The winery said it was rolling out a special edition red named for the president-elect.

With Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto making their first appearance, the World Series averaged 12.9 million viewers in Japan, making it the most-watched Fall Classic in the nation's history.

TikTok has been forced to close its offices in Vancouver and Toronto because Canadian security and intelligence officials said activity at the offices threatened the national security of Canada, a charge that TikTok plans to fight in court.

Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.

Japan's nuclear watchdog on Wednesday formally disqualified a reactor in the country's north-central region from restarting, the first rejection under safety standards that were reinforced after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The decision is a setback for Japan as it seeks to accelerate reactor restarts to maximize nuclear power.

Four-time Grand Prix series medalist Rika Kihira will miss the upcoming figure skating season because of a stress fracture in her right ankle that has not fully healed, the Japanese star announced Wednesday.

Olympic silver medalist race walker Koki Ikeda of Japan has been provisionally banned for suspected blood doping, track and field's Athletics Integrity Unit said on Friday.

Varada Sethu is joining the TARDIS alongside Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson for the Fifteenth Doctor's second season of adventures.

The post Doctor Who Is Getting A New Companion For 2025 first appeared on SciFi Stream.

From 16^th to the 18^th of July, a European stakeholder consultation for the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services (IPBES) took place in Leipzig (Germany). The consultation was organized by three European Biodiversity Platforms: Network-Forum Biodiversity Research Germany (NeFo), the Belgian Biodiversity Platform, and the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) (further information on the conference: www.biodiversity.de/index.php/de/ipbes/nefo-aktivitaeten-zu-ipbes/workshops/pan-european-stakeholder-consultation).

IPBES will greatly influence future biodiversity policy and research, and EU BON is expected to provide a European contribution to IPBES. IPBES will be in particular of high interest, because it will need tools to integrate and analyse different data sources, to develop relevant infrastructure and to do assessments of state and trends of biodiversity at multiple scales.

EU BON was represented by several partners at the meeting and we acted as facilitators in the round-tables, gathered input for the project, participated in discussions and exchanged ideas with many representatives and colleagues. We provide you with a short summary of the meeting below.

The aims of the pan-European stakeholder consultation meeting in Leipzig were:

1. To reach out to stakeholders to inform people and institutes and to raise awareness of the dynamics in IPBES.
2. To discuss and obtain feedback on several IPBES-related documents that are currently being drafted. In their final form these documents will be submitted to the Panel for the IPBES 2 plenary session in 9-14 December 2013.

The meeting in Leipzig was organized around round table discussions of several draft documents of importance for stakeholders: the draft work programme, the stakeholder engagement strategy draft and the draft "Vision for pan-European IPBES support perspective". If you are interested these documents, currently for review, can be found here:  http://www.ipbes.net/intersessional-process/current-review-documents-ipbes2.html .

There were several opportunities for EU BON partners to flag the potential biodiversity data and analysis requirements for the future IPBES work program in separate discussions and to give recommendations as to what should be additionally integrated in the draft work programme.

We also brainstormed on a potential EU BON side event at the second IPBES meeting, which will be held in 9-14 December in Antalya, Turkey. Topics discussed by national delegates in that plenary will amongst other topics comprise: the first work programme, budget, stakeholder engagement, the position of observers, technical requirements and a list of thematic priorities for IPBES assessments.

Although the meeting was a success in terms of the number and diversity of participants, the consultation felt for many participants as a top down exercise. However, the importance of being involved at this stage was felt and the hope for stakeholder empowerment in the future was often voiced.

Looked down on with scepticism by many taxonomists, handling big data efficiently is a huge challenge that can only be met with thorough and multi-layered efforts from both scientists and technological developers. Projects like the Pan-European Species-directories Infrastructure (PESI), started in 2009, prove that harmonised taxonomic reference systems and high-quality data sets are possible through dynamic, expertly created and managed online tools. The methods, results and future prospects of PESI are available in the open access Biodiversity Data Journal.

With environmental changes occurring at an unprecedented rate around the world, biological communication needs to be left off the pace at no point. Phenomena such as species' migration, extinction, intrusion; ecosystem stability; decline of pollinators and pest invasion have to be monitored closely and identified momentarily. In order to do so, proper identification based on reliable and easily accessible data is crucial.

Therefore, the three key objectives of PESI include standardisation in taxonomic reference systems, enhancement of the quality and completeness of taxonomic data sets and creation of integrated access to taxonomic information. The five pillars of biological community networks, Zoology, Botany, Marine Biota, Mycology and Phycology, have been integrated in five infrastructural components: knowledge, consensus, standards, data and dissemination.

As a result, PESI did not only merge data from a range of sources and published a total of nearly 450,000 scientific names online. It also maintains networks of outstanding experts and national focal points, so that it makes sure that the taxonomic information, it relies on, is always at its finest, while simultaneously takes care about delivering persistent standards and easily accessible up-to-date biodiversity data.

PESI results will also feed as an essential part for the advancement of relevant EU projects, such as Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON). In the EU BON project, the PESI Backbone will be advanced to satisfy the needs of the GEO BON / GEOSS system, also serving as a taxonomic backbone for the projected EU BON Biodiversity Portal.

Aiming at standardisation and integration of taxonomic data across platforms PESI also works in close collaboration with other relevant projects including GBIF, LifeWatch, the Catalogue of Life, the Encyclopedia of Life, the Global Names Architecture, GÉANT, ViBRANT, OpenUp!,BioVeL, iMarine , EU BON and BiodiversityKnowledge .

"Scientific names are key carriers of biodiversity information. Therefore, for the efficient exploring and integration of biodiversity data, the development of a functional taxonomic resolution system, including the establishment of a shared taxonomic standard (as a core component), is essential for all sorts of biodiversity assessments. PESI provides such an infrastructure for Europe, integrating the relevant technical (informatics) and social (knowledge & users) networks into a common work program, serving a wide community of biodiversity workers," says Dr. Yde de Jong, coordinator of the Pan-European Species-directories Infrastructure (PESI) project.

"The PESI Taxonomic Backbone serves as a taxonomic data standard resource, facilitating and optimising the integration and sharing of European biodiversity data, supporting a wide range of European services, major biodiversity programs and stakeholders on nature conservation and biodiversity management," conclude their results the scientists.

Original Source:

de Jong Y, et al. (2015) PESI - a taxonomic backbone for Europe. Biodiversity Data Journal 3: e5848.doi: 10.3897/BDJ.3.e5848

Additional Information:

The Pan-European Species-directories Infrastructure (PESI) provides standardised and authoritative taxonomic information by integrating and securing Europe's taxonomically authoritative species name registers and nomenclators (name databases) and associated expert(ise) networks that underpin the management of biodiversity in Europe. PESI kicked-off as an EC-FP7 project, running from 2009 to 2011.

PESI proceeded from the EC-FP6 Networks of Excellence EDIT, on developing a European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy, and MarBEF, on Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning.

Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON) is a European research project, financed by the 7th EU framework programme for research and development (FP7). EU BON seeks ways to better integrate biodiversity information and implement into policy and decision-making of biodiversity monitoring and management in the EU.

As part of the new 6th Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) UNEP has just released a separate Assessment for the pan-European region. The report provides an overview on the current state, trends and an outlook for the environment, and also highlights environmental factors that contribute to human health and well-being at the regional level.

Biodiversity is of central importance for human well-being and features prominently in the GEO-6 regional assessment. The state of biodiversity and ecosystems continue to give reason for major concerns and call for continued attention and increased efforts. The European Biodiversity Observation Network – EU BON – through its coordinating institution, the Museum für Naturkunde - Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science contributed significantly to this report. 

Credits: UNEP/UNECE 2016, UNEP-WCMC based on IUCN (2014) data

The assessment for the pan-European region clearly indicates that biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation is continuing in the region. Ongoing biodiversity decline and loss is particularly high in Eastern and Western Europe. Some positive developments and individual success stories offer lessons worth learning, for example developments of protected area networks such as Natura 2000 and the pan-European Emerald Network. However, an important challenge that needs urgent attention is improving availability and open access to comprehensive and integrated biodiversity data to support assessments and analysis, as well as planning and implementation of conservation efforts.

The full report can be found here: http://bit.ly/21q2ghL

UNEP press release: http://bit.ly/24A7sQN

For more information please contact:

Dr. Christoph Häuser christoph.häuser@mfn-berlin.de and Dr. Florian Wetzel florian.wetzel@mfn-berlin.de 
Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrassse 43, 10115 Berlin.

The Zone of Interest (2023)   Yes, another entry on A24. I didn’t expect for this topic to continue as a series, but the indie studio keeps doing intriguing and unusual things that most studios wouldn’t try. I first dealt with A24 because I was interested in the phenomenon of “prestige horror.” It was one […]

"I will do my best to work my way up from my minor contract to become the best player in the world."

The post Japanese ace Roki Sasaki to become available to MLB teams this offseason appeared first on Boston.com.

Wegen fragwürdiger Anklagen, Urteile und Ernennungen gerät die spanische Justiz zunehmend ins Zwielicht. Die politischen Parteien haben zu grossen Einfluss auf die Ernennung der Richter.


«Gerechtigkeit!» Spaniens Justiz gerät ins Zwielicht, etwa durch die Kehrtwende des obersten Gerichts im Fall der Grundbuchgebühren. (Bild: Susana Vera / Reuters)

The incomplete ‘incidental music’ for Alceste, conducted with liveliness and sensitivity.

If you've been let go from your organization, is it appropriate to try to maintain the internal and external professional relationships you've made during your time there? What implicit and explicit rules exist around contacting former clients and colleagues? Elaine Varelas explores the many aspects of this situation.

The post Maintaining professional relationships after being let go from a company—Elaine Varelas advises on an appropriate course of action appeared first on Boston.com.

“The hiring in some sectors and the layoffs in others is a clear reflection of the ‘feast or famine’ realities occurring with those industries serving consumers."

The post While many file for unemployment, these companies are hiring thousands. Here’s why. appeared first on Boston.com.

The World Health Organization says every effort is now needed to contain the coronavirus disease, COVID-19. Some nations have well-developed plans for dealing with the outbreak of a new virus, others are just starting to catch up. Jane Halton, the former health secretary of Australia, and a past chair of WHO’s executive board says there’s a lot to be learned from models that simulate similar outbreaks.

Also: health officials have warned people not to touch their face, but that’s easier said than done; understanding personal versus collective responsibility around coronavirus; millions of kids are home from school and they have some thoughts to share; after being on lockdown, a California family stranded in China ventures outside; and three Mexican nurses have become heroes in the global fight against coronavirus, thanks to a video they made on the correct way to wash hands.

(From L) World Health Organization (WHO) Health Emergencies Programme Director Michael Ryan, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Technical Lead Maria Van Kerkhove attend a daily press briefing on COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, at the WHO headquarters in Geneva. Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/Getty Images)

The US has been planning for catastrophe on a national scale since the beginning of the Cold War and the advent of the nuclear age. Now, with the new coronavirus, the US and the world face a very different challenge, but the approach is similar. Author Garrett Graff examined this intersection between national security and national emergency in his book Raven Rock, named after one of the major bunkers used by the US government in times of emergency.

Also, more than 300 million students in China are stuck at home and getting their schooling through online classes - how are they coping? As more people across the globe work from home, the team-messaging application Slack is having a big moment. International students in the US, displaced by COVID-19, face new challenges with online classes. In the US, farmworkers are considered essential so they still go out and work, but there are increasing concerns about their safety on the job. And Mr. Motivator wants you to have fun while exercising under quarantine.

Photo: An American flag is seen at sunrise at the Pentagon. Credit: Salwan Georges/The Washington Post/Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic is causing the world to realize just how fragile life can be.  More than ever, people need to hear that God is good and offers us salvation through Jesus.  As Christians, we have a unique opportunity to glorify God as we serve our neighbors. Through the ages, amazing things have occurred during difficult times. The story of C.S. Lewis writing the classic book Mere Christianity is one of those.  In the book, C. S. Lewis at War - The Dramatic Story Behind Mere...

By the time I got to the chorus, my voice was completely gone. Suddenly, I was painfully aware of the lights, and the countless faces staring up at me. And how the song kept going even though when I opened my mouth to sing—barely a whisper came out.  I panicked. I’m not ashamed to admit it. On a team of people, and in front of the entire church, I felt completely alone. Isolated in my embarrassment. Drowning in my confusion. Almost as if a wave had exploded through the front doors of the...

With ransomware attacks on high profile businesses like Colonial Pipeline and JBS Foods in the headlines, construction managers at organizations of all sizes are increasingly asking, “Are we vulnerable too?” or even “Are we next?”

InfernoShield is a new non-combustible insulated glazing panel designed to provide superior protection from fire when installed in window, glazing and curtainwall systems. InfernoShield panels create a highly decorative and durable surface with exceptional fire performance properties.

L.B. Hall Fireproofing, a minority- and women-owned fireproofing company located in Crystal Lake, Illinois, announced that Estefania Roa will become the company’s new CEO. In 2022, Roa became president and owner.

All Weather Insulated Panels has introduced two new mineral wool panels to its existing category of fire-rated insulated metal panels. The pair of new mineral wool panels — HE42-MW and PL42-MW — are both non-combustible and provide hourly ratings.

Nick Shaink remembers working for Professional Drywall Construction Inc. on the Target store in the Holyoke Mall, but he does not have much of a memory of the company before that, reported Emily Thurlow of BusinessWest.

Today we talk through that terrible, horrible, uncomfortable word; Discipline. How do you effectively correct or discipline your team when/if it’s needed? Should it really come down to that? Oh boy.

James and Dustin dig deep into the realities of this topic within our worship teams and how to make sure we are the best we can be.

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The Worship Podcast is powered by All About Worship in partnership with WeAreWorship. This episode also features Song Capture.

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Ten sound business practices in preparing your company for a sale.

This short article will share three business statistics you need to memorize to understand your risk if you ever intend to cash out.

Sika has broken ground on a 29,000-square-foot admixture production plant, which is expected to be in operation in late-2025.

There's value in using specialized gypsum panels for a home. But the benefits don’t stop there.

Gypsum panel product manufactures started receiving complaints that drywall screw heads did not seat properly when attaching AR/IR panels to 20-EQ studs.

Resilience is a newer design concern within the construction industry. With the apparent increase in natural disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires, the desire for more resilient buildings is on many people’s minds. However, what is resilience and how do gypsum panel products factor into this new way of thinking?

I want to first thank all the great guests we have had on Walls & Ceilings’ videos with our Publisher Jill Bloom. 

Barricade Building Products announced that its products will now be available at all Building Products Inc. locations throughout the Midwest. The expansion allows customers in the region to easily access Barricade’s comprehensive range of high-quality building materials, ensuring their projects are safeguarded from the ground up.

I’ve been using natural cements and natural hydraulic limes in the traditional plastering craft for many years. However, I never had the opportunity to visit a quarry where the unique limestones used to produce them are mined.

The Structural Insulated Panel Association announced the winners of its annual Building Excellence Awards, an off-site construction awards program that recognizes outstanding residential and commercial projects.

A K-12 school in rural Alaska, a zero-energy-ready timber-frame home, low-income housing with a high-performance shell...the winners of this year’s Building Excellence Awards are a strong testament to the benefits of SIP construction.

Florida acquisition expands complementary product offering in Southwest Florida; four new greenfield locations expand presence in key markets.

Westlake Royal Building Products announced Nov. 28 expanded partnerships with U.S. LUMBER and Amerhart, which are both Specialty Building Products brands, that will encompass multiple products and locations. U.S. LUMBER and Amerhart are leading distributors of building materials.

Plastering being one of the oldest of occupations, or as I am fond of calling it, the second “oldest profession” is represented in the United States and Canada by the Operative Plasterers’ and Cement Masons’ International Association, which was chartered in 1864 and is the oldest of all the active building trades unions in North America.

Transparent, fire-rated glass walls are an aesthetic and functional way to provide structure and safety while preserving the view.

With the introduction of Tectum DesignArt– Lines Finale PB ceiling and wall panels, Armstrong World Industries offers architects and designers an opportunity to deliver unique visuals created by panels providing excellent sound absorption.

Milwaukee Tool continues its commitment to disruptive innovation, expanding its PACKOUT Modular Storage System with eight new PACKOUT Toolbox Attachments. These new solutions securely lock onto the PACKOUT system’s metal-reinforced corners, allowing professionals to carry more and quickly access tools, parts and materials, enhancing job site productivity.