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Gibraltar sailing trip

Sailing across the Straits of Gibraltar to North Africa. On a course to get my International Yacht Skipper Licence. Sailing to three countries and two continents in a week. I passed the test so now I'm now an officially licenced Skipper Who's up for a s




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Itinerario de 3 das en Malta

Para ayudarlo a planificar su estada he preparado este itinerario detallado . Durante su viaje podr visitar Valletta la capital as como Mdina Rabat los acantilados de Dingli o incluso algunas de las playas ms bonitas




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Day 24 Ho Chi Minh to Mekong Delta

We left HCM at 8.30 by taxi and arrived in Mekong Delta around midday. We met our guide Nam and boarded a long wooden boat to take us down the river making several stops along the way.The first stop was a brick factory where Nam told me about how bri




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Church desecration suspect in custody after Brooklyn priest, altar are splashed with juice during Sunday morning service

A 14-second video captured the unsettling scene inside St. Anthony of Padua Church in Greenpoint as the Rev. Jossy Vattothu presided over the 9:30 a.m. Mass, with the man strolling casually inside the house of worship with a container of juice in his right hand.




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Tús inniu le cainteanna foirmiúla faoi bhunú rialtais nua

Cuirfear tús le cainteanna foirmiúla tráthnóna idir trí pháirtí polaitíochta - Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil agus an Comhaontas Glas - maidir le bunú rialtais nua.




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Surviving the Shutdown: Alta Adams reopens, with fried chicken to order and a sliding payment scale

The West Adams restaurant Alta Adams reopens with a sliding price scale so people in need can dine for free.




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Coronavirus rescue: Gibraltar brings stranded British citizens back from Morocco



TWENTY-three British citizens left stranded in Morocco as a result of the coronavirus pandemic have been returned to their homes in Gibraltar on two specially commissioned vessels.




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High Voltage Development Engineer

Roles & Responsibilities Document test methods, perform system testing, and document test results for HV system performance testing Lab development testing and documentation of power electronic subsystems Testing of high voltage, high power electronic components including system bring up an




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High Voltage Design Engineer

Roles & Responsibilities: Design and optimization of HV circuits (450 to 1700 V) including gate drives, inverter, and protection features for low and high power circuits Create and document models for HV circuits Develop worst case analysis for HV Circuits Create detailed component desi




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Mw 5.4 SALTA, ARGENTINA

Magnitude  Mw 5.4
Region  SALTA, ARGENTINA
Date time  2020-04-29 05:37:15.5 UTC
Location  24.32 S ; 67.10 W
Depth  148 km




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Mw 5.4 SALTA, ARGENTINA

Magnitude  Mw 5.4
Region  SALTA, ARGENTINA
Date time  2020-04-30 22:10:32.2 UTC
Location  24.02 S ; 67.07 W
Depth  171 km




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Delta, citing health concerns, drops service to 10 US airports. Is yours on the list?

Delta said it is making the move to protect employees amid the coronavirus pandemic, but planes have been flying near empty

      




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Coronavírus: por que alguns pacientes já recuperados voltam a ter teste positivo para covid-19, segundo OMS

Infectologista da organização explica que células mortas expelidas do pulmão fazem exames darem positivo mais de uma vez — mas não necessariamente quer dizer que a pessoa voltou a ficar infectada pelo coronavírus.




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Coronavírus: estudo com coquetel de remédios tem bons resultados contra a covid-19, mostra The Lancet

Em estudo clínico randomizado controlado, pessoas que receberam as substâncias interferon beta 1-b, lopinavir-ritonavir e ribavirin tiveram tempo menor para alta e desaparecimento do vírus, na comparação com o grupo controle.




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Fila para UTI e falta de testes: os relatos do colapso na saúde que leva o Rio a planejar lockdown

Profissionais de enfermagem relatam falta de equipamentos de proteção, baixas nas equipes e lotação; em ofício, governador Witzel reconhece que esforços contra a covid-19 não foram suficientes e que estuda endurecer confinamento.




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Introduction to Flight Reviews: 7 hours stuck in a Delta Airline airplane

We are now quite familiar with customer-written hotel reviews; we also know about the trendy use of video reviews of hotels but what about reviews of flights?! Yesterday I stumbled upon an incredible amateur video that made it to the top #20 of the most watched video of Youtube. The statistics speak for themselves: Views: 76,062 Comments: 468 Favorited: [...]




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Malta timeline

A chronology of key events




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Gibraltar timeline

A chronology of key events




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Malta country profile

Key facts, figures and dates




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Gibraltar profile

An overview of Gibraltar including key facts, political leaders and notes on the media




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The Scene: Cirque du Soleil’s opening reception for Volta

Washington VIPs (hint: allll the Housewives) showed up for Cirque's ode to street sports, "Volta," which plays at Tysons II through Sept. 29.




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Trump found a way to simultaneously sabotage our health-care and immigration systems

He just took out two birds with one proclamation.




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AT#126 - Travel to Malta

Malta




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AT#283 - Travel to Gibraltar

The Amateur Traveler talks to San Francisco Chronicle Travel Editor Spud Hilton about Gibraltar. This little patch of England at the bottom of Spain is more than just a place where you can see a large rock and get good fish and chips with your tapas. Explore the "rock" and meet the "apes" of Gibraltar. Hear about some of the history as well as the unique traffic challenges of this tiny peninsula. Also learn about Winston Churchill's secret World War 2 monkey plan for Gibraltar. Along the way let me introduce you to Spud Hilton who is one of my favorite travel editors.




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AT#517 - Travel to the Danube Delta, Romania

Hear about travel to the Danube Delta in Romania as the Amateur Traveler talks to Christian Cummins about traveling to this UNESCO biosphere in Europe.




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1 dead after train slams into pickup truck near Brooks, Alta.

RCMP say a 50-year-old man died and a 60-year-old man is in hospital following a crash involving a CP Rail train Friday morning.




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2 Morley, Alta. residents arrested following drug and firearm seizure

Cochrane RCMP say charges have been laid against two individuals in connection with an investigation that began with a firearms complaint.




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Sport24.co.za | Cycling's Vuelta a Espana cuts Portugal from itinerary

The Vuelta a Espana organisers have confirmed that a race already rescheduled and shortened would also now cut its foray into neighbouring Portugal from the 2020 itinerary.




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EIT Elsewhere | “Time Out: San José” in Delta Sky Magazine

I was excited to finally get the word that an article I wrote sharing my love for my hometown – San Jose, California – is out in Delta Sky Magazine this month! Time Out: San José (Are you flying Delta this month? If so, pick up a copy for me! I’d love to see it […]

The article EIT Elsewhere | “Time Out: San José” in Delta Sky Magazine originated at EverInTransit.com




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Oman’s New Sultan Needs to Take Bold Economic Steps

16 January 2020

Dr John Sfakianakis

Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme
The country is in a good regional position, but the economy is at a crossroads.

2020-01-16-SultanHaitham2.jpg

Sultan Haitham bin Tariq speaks during a swearing in ceremony as Oman's new leader. Photo: Getty Images.

The transition of power in Oman from the deceased Sultan Qaboos to his cousin and the country’s new ruler, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, has been smooth and quick, but the new sultan will soon find that he has a task in shoring up the country’s economic position.

Above all, the fiscal and debt profile of the country requires careful management. Fiscal discipline was rare for Oman even during the oil price spike of the 2000s. Although oil prices only collapsed in 2014, Oman has been registering a fiscal deficit since 2010, reaching a 20.6 per cent high in 2016. As long as fiscal deficits remain elevated, so will Oman’s need to finance those deficits, predominately by borrowing in the local and international market.

Oman’s Debt-to-GDP ratio has been rising at a worrying pace, from 4.9 per cent in 2014 to an IMF-estimated 59.8 per cent in 2019. By 2024, the IMF is forecasting the ratio to reach nearly 77 per cent. A study by the World Bank found that if the debt-to-GDP ratio in emerging markets exceeds 64 per cent for an extended period, it slows economic growth by as much as 2 per cent each year.

Investors are willing to lend to Oman, but the sultanate is paying for it in terms of higher spreads due to the underlying risk markets are placing on the rising debt profile of the country. For instance, Oman has a higher sovereign debt rating than Bahrain yet markets perceive it to be of higher risk, making it costlier to borrow. Failure to address the fiscal and debt situation also risks creating pressure on the country’s pegged currency.

If oil revenues remain low, Sultan Haitham will have to craft a daring strategy of diversification and private sector growth. He is well placed for this: Sultan Haitham headed Oman’s Vision 2040, which set out the country’s future development plans and aspirations, the first Gulf country to embark on such an assessment. However, like all vision documents in the Gulf, Oman’s challenge will be implementation.

In the age of climate change, renewable energy is a serious economic opportunity, which Oman has to keep pursuing. If cheap electricity is generated it could also be exported to other Gulf states and to south Asia. In Oman, the share of renewables in total electricity capacity was around 0.5 per cent in 2018; the ambition is to reach 10 per cent by 2025.

However, in order to reach this target, Oman would have to take additional measures such as enhancing its regulatory framework, introducing a transparent and gradual energy market pricing policy and integrating all stakeholders, including the private sector, into a wider national strategy.

Mining could provide another economic opportunity for Oman’s diversification efforts, with help from a more robust mining law passed last year. The country has large deposits of metals and industrial minerals and its mountains could have gold, palladium, zinc, rare earths and manganese.

Oman’s strategic location connecting the Gulf and Indian Ocean with east Africa and the Red Sea could also boost the country’s economy. The Duqm special economic zone, which is among the largest in the world, could become the commercial thread between Oman, south Asia and China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative.’

Oman has taken important steps to make its economy more competitive and conducive to foreign direct investment. Incentives include a five-year renewable tax holiday, subsidized plant facilities and utilities, and custom duties relief on equipment and raw materials for the first 10 years of a firm’s operation in Oman.

A private sector economic model that embraces small- and medium-sized enterprises as well as greater competition and entrepreneurship would help increase opportunities in Oman. Like all other Gulf economies, future employment in Oman will have to be driven be the private sector, as there is little space left to grow the public sector.

Privatization needs to continue. Last year’s successful sale of 49 per cent of the electricity transmission company to China’s State Grid is a very positive step. The electricity distribution company as well as Oman Oil are next in line for some form of partial privatization.

The next decade will require Oman to be even more adept in its competitiveness as the region itself tries to find its new bearings. Take tourism for instance; Oman hopes to double its contribution to GDP from around 3 per cent today to 6 per cent by 2040 and the industry is expected to generate half a million jobs by then. Over the next 20 years, Oman will most likely be facing stiff competition in this area not only by the UAE but by Saudi Arabia as well.

The new sultan has an opportunity to embark on deeper economic reforms that could bring higher growth, employment opportunities and a sustainable future. But he has a big task.




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Reduction of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) complexity reveals cellular functions and dephosphorylation motifs of the PP2A/B'{delta} holoenzyme [Enzymology]

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a large enzyme family responsible for most cellular Ser/Thr dephosphorylation events. PP2A substrate specificity, localization, and regulation by second messengers rely on more than a dozen regulatory subunits (including B/R2, B'/R5, and B″/R3), which form the PP2A heterotrimeric holoenzyme by associating with a dimer comprising scaffolding (A) and catalytic (C) subunits. Because of partial redundancy and high endogenous expression of PP2A holoenzymes, traditional approaches of overexpressing, knocking down, or knocking out PP2A regulatory subunits have yielded only limited insights into their biological roles and substrates. To this end, here we sought to reduce the complexity of cellular PP2A holoenzymes. We used tetracycline-inducible expression of pairs of scaffolding and regulatory subunits with complementary charge-reversal substitutions in their interaction interfaces. For each of the three regulatory subunit families, we engineered A/B charge–swap variants that could bind to one another, but not to endogenous A and B subunits. Because endogenous Aα was targeted by a co-induced shRNA, endogenous B subunits were rapidly degraded, resulting in expression of predominantly a single PP2A heterotrimer composed of the A/B charge–swap pair and the endogenous catalytic subunit. Using B'δ/PPP2R5D, we show that PP2A complexity reduction, but not PP2A overexpression, reveals a role of this holoenzyme in suppression of extracellular signal–regulated kinase signaling and protein kinase A substrate dephosphorylation. When combined with global phosphoproteomics, the PP2A/B'δ reduction approach identified consensus dephosphorylation motifs in its substrates and suggested that residues surrounding the phosphorylation site play roles in PP2A substrate specificity.




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Reduction of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) complexity reveals cellular functions and dephosphorylation motifs of the PP2A/B'{delta} holoenzyme [Enzymology]

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a large enzyme family responsible for most cellular Ser/Thr dephosphorylation events. PP2A substrate specificity, localization, and regulation by second messengers rely on more than a dozen regulatory subunits (including B/R2, B'/R5, and B″/R3), which form the PP2A heterotrimeric holoenzyme by associating with a dimer comprising scaffolding (A) and catalytic (C) subunits. Because of partial redundancy and high endogenous expression of PP2A holoenzymes, traditional approaches of overexpressing, knocking down, or knocking out PP2A regulatory subunits have yielded only limited insights into their biological roles and substrates. To this end, here we sought to reduce the complexity of cellular PP2A holoenzymes. We used tetracycline-inducible expression of pairs of scaffolding and regulatory subunits with complementary charge-reversal substitutions in their interaction interfaces. For each of the three regulatory subunit families, we engineered A/B charge–swap variants that could bind to one another, but not to endogenous A and B subunits. Because endogenous Aα was targeted by a co-induced shRNA, endogenous B subunits were rapidly degraded, resulting in expression of predominantly a single PP2A heterotrimer composed of the A/B charge–swap pair and the endogenous catalytic subunit. Using B'δ/PPP2R5D, we show that PP2A complexity reduction, but not PP2A overexpression, reveals a role of this holoenzyme in suppression of extracellular signal–regulated kinase signaling and protein kinase A substrate dephosphorylation. When combined with global phosphoproteomics, the PP2A/B'δ reduction approach identified consensus dephosphorylation motifs in its substrates and suggested that residues surrounding the phosphorylation site play roles in PP2A substrate specificity.




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CBD News: Statement by the Executive Secretary, Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, at the UNEP Informal Strategic Consultation on Sustainability beyond 2010: Perspectives from Experiences, Nairobi, 15 February 2009.




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CBD News: Statement by Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the Indigenous and Local Community, Business and Biodiversity Consultation, UN Headquarters, New York, 12 May 2009.




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CBD Notification: Expert consultation on the revision and updating of the Strategic Plan of the Convention, 18 - 20 January 2010, London, the United Kingdom.




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CBD News: Welcome Note by the CBD Secretariat for the Asian Regional Consultations in Support of the Finalization of the International Regime on Access & Benefit-sharing, 4-6 December 2009, Siem Reap, Cambodia.




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CBD News: Opening Remarks by the CBD Secretariat at the GRULAC Regional Consultations in Support of the Finalization of the International Regime on Access & Benefit-sharing, 15-16 January 2010, Panama City, Panama.




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CBD News: Statement by Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the XVI Consultative Group Meeting and the XVI General Authority Meeting of the Plan of Action for the Protection of the Marine Env




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CBD News: Opening Remarks by Mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the Access and Benefit-Sharing Regional Consultations for Central and Eastern European Countries, 9-10 February 2010, Isle o




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CBD News: Opening Remarks by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity on the occasion of the Pacific Regional Consultations in Support of the Finalization of the International Regime on Access & Benefit-Sharing, 15-16 February 2010, A




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CBD News: Statement by Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary, On the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation and Capacity Building Workshop on REDD-Plus, Including on Relevant Biodiversity Safeguards, Singapore, 15 - 18 March 2011




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CBD News: Déclaration de mr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, Secrétaire exécutif de la Convention sur la diversite biologique, à l'occasion de la 9ème comité consultatif régional (CCR) - partenariat pour les forêts du bassin




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CBD News: Statement by Mr Ahmed Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary, on the occasion of the African Regional Consultation and Capacity Building Workshop on REDD-Plus, Including on Relevant Biodiversity Safeguards, Cape Town, 20-23 September 2011




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CBD News: The High-Level Panel (HLP), co-sponsored by the Governments of India and the United Kingdom, has organized a one-day open consultation with Parties. The Webinar will take place on 2 August 2012 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (U.K. time)




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CBD News: Statement by the CBD Executive Secretary, Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, on the occasion of the 14th Meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, 17 to 20 June 2013, UNHQ, New York




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CBD News: United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, following consultation with the Bureau of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, announced the appointment of Cristiana Pasca Palmer of Romania as Executive Secreta




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CBD News: Opening statement by Ms. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, at the Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation Workshop on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, 2




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CBD Notification SCBD/IMS/JMF/NS/ET/CP/88538 (2019-109): Date extension: Thematic Consultation on Transparent Implementation, Monitoring, Reporting and Review Mechanism, 20-22 February 2020 - Kunming, China and Thematic Consultation on Capacity Building a




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CBD Notification SCBD/SSSF/AS/CC/VA/88615 (2020-009): Thematic Consultation on the Sustainable Use of Biological Diversity for the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, 30 March - 1 April 2020 - Bern, Switzerland




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CBD News: Due to the ongoing situation following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus 2019, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in consultation with the Government of the People's Republic of China, the COP (Conference of