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African Leadership Transitions Tracker

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Thu, 23 Apr 2020 14:07:00 +0000

The African Leadership Transitions Tracker (ALTT) is an interactive feature that factually recounts and visually presents changes at the head of state level in every African country from independence or end of the colonial period to the present. The interactive application aims to start a broader conversation about leadership transitions and what they mean for…

       


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The African leadership transitions tracker: A tool for assessing what leadership change means for development

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Wed, 25 Mar 2015 11:58:00 -0400


Editor's Note: In this blog, Vera Songwe introduces the African Leadership Transitions Tracker, a new interactive that aims to start a broader conversation about leadership transitions and what they mean for the region and beyond.

On March 28, Nigerians voters will go to the polls to participate in their nation’s fifth election since the military handed over power to civilians in 1999. As Africa’s largest economy and an important oil exporter, this election comes at an important time for Nigeria and for the continent as a whole.

Events around this election have generated significant debate around electoral and voting processes on the continent such as the importance of a constitution, the cost, the frequency and level of contestability, and the power of incumbency in African elections. However, amid this dialogue, much less consideration has been devoted to where this election stands within the continuum of leader transitions Nigeria has experienced since it first gained independence in 1960. Nigerians have, in fact, gone through 18 leadership transitions in the last 55 years, including the untimely death of former President Umaru Masu Yar’Adua in May 2010, the multiparty elections that brought President Olusegun Obasanjo to power in 1999, and the first presidential elections that brought President Shegu Shagari to power in 1979. Nigeria’s high rate of leadership changeover should not, however, be considered illustrative of Africa’s overall story. On the contrary, a high level of diversity exists among countries in the region on this measure, with countries like Angola having had only one leadership transition since it achieved its independence in 1975, and Benin, on the other hand, undergoing an election, coup, or other type of leadership transition nearly every two years in the country’s 55-year post-independence history. However, overall in Africa today there are more peaceful and competitive leadership transitions than there have been over the last six decades. This contestability process is gaining ground across the continent, and while coups d’etat appear to be fading revolutions are gaining ground where competition has not taken hold.

The recent passing of Singapore’s 30 year-long leader Lee Kwan Yew credited with having taken Singapore from a third world country to a fully developed country in less than a generation, has brought the question of leadership and leadership transitions back to the fore. A 2010 report by Michael Spence’s Growth Commission heralds Lee Kuan Yew as the hero of Singapore’s growth story. The African Leadership Transition Tracker hopes to launch a dialogue on what the frequency, nature, and scope of leadership transitions mean for African countries’ growth, stability, and development trajectory overall. Moreover, how have transition trends in the region changed from the time of the African founding fathers and the tumultuous years of the 1960s to the present day?

As an initial step towards thinking this question through, Brookings’s African Growth Initiative is today launching the African Leadership Transitions Tracker as a resource both to inform readers about African political history and a tool to initiate analysis on what leadership changeover might mean (or not mean) for development. The Transitions Tracker specifically records all changes that have occurred at the head-of-state level in every African country between the end of the colonial period and the present day. We are hoping that recording this information and presenting it visually (and as a downloadable data set) will help start a broader conversation and support additional work on these issues. Brookings will update this data on a regular basis, and we welcome your feedback as we further refine this interactive. Moreover, the information we present today is by no means the full story—key variables are needed to complement this study, including, for example, the various political party affiliations of leaders within a country or cross tabulations with resources that seek to measure the level of citizen participation and engagement in these transitions. However, as further analysis takes place, we are hoping that the African Leadership Transitions Tracker will enrich dialogue about developments occurring in the region and place current news on elections or other types of changeover events within the broader context of the continent’s leadership story overall.  Over the next few months, we will be running a series of articles based on this data.  

Special thanks to Ehui Adovor, graduate student at George Washington University and the many AGI research assistants, analysts, and program staff that have supported this project, including Jessica Pugliese, Brandon Routman, Christina Golubski, Andrew Westbury, and Amy Copley.

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Brazil and the international order: Getting back on track

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Wed, 29 Jun 2016 18:00:00 +0000

Crisis seems to be the byword for Brazil today: political crisis, economic crisis, corruption crisis. Yet despite the steady drum beat of grim news, Brazil is more than likely to resume its upward trajectory within a few years.

      
 
 


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@ Brookings Podcast: Eye-Tracking Technology and Digital Privacy

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:39:00 -0400


Eye-tracking technology now makes it possible for computers to gather staggering amounts of information about individuals as they use the Internet, and draw hyper-accurate conclusions about our behavior as consumers. As the technology becomes more practical, Senior Fellow John Villasenor discusses its benefits and risks.

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Audio

Image Source: © Scanpix Sweden / Reuters
     
 
 


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Brazil and the international order: Getting back on track

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Wed, 29 Jun 2016 18:00:00 +0000

Crisis seems to be the byword for Brazil today: political crisis, economic crisis, corruption crisis. Yet despite the steady drum beat of grim news, Brazil is more than likely to resume its upward trajectory within a few years.

      
 
 


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The African leadership transitions tracker: A tool for assessing what leadership change means for development

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Editor's Note: In this blog, Vera Songwe introduces the African Leadership Transitions Tracker, a new interactive that aims to start a broader conversation about leadership transitions and what they mean for the region and beyond. On March 28, Nigerians voters will go to the polls to participate in their nation’s fifth election since the military…

      
 
 


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African Leadership Transitions Tracker

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Wed, 25 Mar 2015 17:07:00 +0000

The African Leadership Transitions Tracker (ALTT) is an interactive feature that factually recounts and visually presents changes at the head of state level in every African country from independence or end of the colonial period  to the present. The interactive application aims to start a broader conversation about leadership transitions and what they mean for…

      
 
 


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Tracking turnover in the Trump administration

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Thu, 20 Dec 2018 13:00:55 +0000

The rate of turnover among senior level advisers to President Trump has generated a great deal of attention. Below, we offer four resources to help measure and contextualize this turnover. The first set of resources tracks turnover among senior-ranking advisers in the executive office of the president (which does not include Cabinet secretaries), whereas the second…

       


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High Achievers, Tracking, and the Common Core

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Thu, 29 Jan 2015 09:00:00 -0500


A curriculum controversy is roiling schools in the San Francisco Bay Area.  In the past few months, parents in the San Mateo-Foster City School District, located just south of San Francisco International Airport, voiced concerns over changes to the middle school math program. The changes were brought about by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).  Under previous policies, most eighth graders in the district took algebra I.  Some very sharp math students, who had already completed algebra I in seventh grade, took geometry in eighth grade. The new CCSS-aligned math program will reduce eighth grade enrollments in algebra I and eliminate geometry altogether as a middle school course. 

A little background information will clarify the controversy.  Eighth grade mathematics may be the single grade-subject combination most profoundly affected by the CCSS.  In California, the push for most students to complete algebra I by the end of eighth grade has been a centerpiece of state policy, as it has been in several states influenced by the “Algebra for All” movement that began in the 1990s.  Nationwide, in 1990, about 16 percent of all eighth graders reported that they were taking an algebra or geometry course.  In 2013, the number was three times larger, and nearly half of all eighth graders (48 percent) were taking algebra or geometry.[i]  When that percentage goes down, as it is sure to under the CCSS, what happens to high achieving math students?

The parents who are expressing the most concern have kids who excel at math.  One parent in San Mateo-Foster City told The San Mateo Daily Journal, “This is really holding the advanced kids back.”[ii] The CCSS math standards recommend a single math course for seventh grade, integrating several math topics, followed by a similarly integrated math course in eighth grade.  Algebra I won’t be offered until ninth grade.  The San Mateo-Foster City School District decided to adopt a “three years into two” accelerated option.  This strategy is suggested on the Common Core website as an option that districts may consider for advanced students.  It combines the curriculum from grades seven through nine (including algebra I) into a two year offering that students can take in seventh and eighth grades.[iii]  The district will also provide—at one school site—a sequence beginning in sixth grade that compacts four years of math into three.  Both accelerated options culminate in the completion of algebra I in eighth grade.

The San Mateo-Foster City School District is home to many well-educated, high-powered professionals who work in Silicon Valley.  They are unrelentingly liberal in their politics.  Equity is a value they hold dear.[iv]  They also know that completing at least one high school math course in middle school is essential for students who wish to take AP Calculus in their senior year of high school.  As CCSS is implemented across the nation, administrators in districts with demographic profiles similar to San Mateo-Foster City will face parents of mathematically precocious kids asking whether the “common” in Common Core mandates that all students take the same math course.  Many of those districts will respond to their constituents and provide accelerated pathways (“pathway” is CCSS jargon for course sequence). 

But other districts will not.  Data show that urban schools, schools with large numbers of black and Hispanic students, and schools located in impoverished neighborhoods are reluctant to differentiate curriculum.  It is unlikely that gifted math students in those districts will be offered an accelerated option under CCSS.  The reason why can be summed up in one word: tracking.

Tracking in eighth grade math means providing different courses to students based on their prior math achievement.  The term “tracking” has been stigmatized, coming under fire for being inequitable.  Historically, where tracking existed, black, Hispanic, and disadvantaged students were often underrepresented in high-level math classes; white, Asian, and middle-class students were often over-represented.  An anti-tracking movement gained a full head of steam in the 1980s.  Tracking reformers knew that persuading high schools to de-track was hopeless.  Consequently, tracking’s critics focused reform efforts on middle schools, urging that they group students heterogeneously with all students studying a common curriculum.  That approach took hold in urban districts, but not in the suburbs.

Now the Common Core and de-tracking are linked.  Providing an accelerated math track for high achievers has become a flashpoint throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.  An October 2014 article in The San Jose Mercury News named Palo Alto, Saratoga, Cupertino, Pleasanton, and Los Gatos as districts that have announced, in response to parent pressure, that they are maintaining an accelerated math track in middle schools.  These are high-achieving, suburban districts.  Los Gatos parents took to the internet with a petition drive when a rumor spread that advanced courses would end.  Ed Source reports that 900 parents signed a petition opposing the move and board meetings on the issue were packed with opponents. The accelerated track was kept.  Piedmont established a single track for everyone, but allowed parents to apply for an accelerated option.  About twenty five percent did so.  The Mercury News story underscores the demographic pattern that is unfolding and asks whether CCSS “could cement a two-tier system, with accelerated math being the norm in wealthy areas and the exception elsewhere.”

What is CCSS’s real role here?  Does the Common Core take an explicit stand on tracking?  Not really.  But de-tracking advocates can interpret the “common” in Common Core as license to eliminate accelerated tracks for high achievers.  As a noted CCSS supporter (and tracking critic), William H. Schmidt, has stated, “By insisting on common content for all students at each grade level and in every community, the Common Core mathematics standards are in direct conflict with the concept of tracking.”[v]  Thus, tracking joins other controversial curricular ideas—e.g., integrated math courses instead of courses organized by content domains such as algebra and geometry; an emphasis on “deep,” conceptual mathematics over learning procedures and basic skills—as “dog whistles” embedded in the Common Core.  Controversial positions aren’t explicitly stated, but they can be heard by those who want to hear them.    

CCSS doesn’t have to take an outright stand on these debates in order to have an effect on policy.  For the practical questions that local grouping policies resolve—who takes what courses and when do they take them—CCSS wipes the slate clean.  There are plenty of people ready to write on that blank slate, particularly administrators frustrated by unsuccessful efforts to de-track in the past

Suburban parents are mobilized in defense of accelerated options for advantaged students.  What about kids who are outstanding math students but also happen to be poor, black, or Hispanic?  What happens to them, especially if they attend schools in which the top institutional concern is meeting the needs of kids functioning several years below grade level?  I presented a paper on this question at a December 2014 conference held by the Fordham Institute in Washington, DC.  I proposed a pilot program of “tracking for equity.”  By that term, I mean offering black, Hispanic, and poor high achievers the same opportunity that the suburban districts in the Bay Area are offering.  High achieving middle school students in poor neighborhoods would be able to take three years of math in two years and proceed on a path toward AP Calculus as high school seniors.

It is true that tracking must be done carefully.  Tracking can be conducted unfairly and has been used unjustly in the past.  One of the worst consequences of earlier forms of tracking was that low-skilled students were tracked into dead end courses that did nothing to help them academically.  These low-skilled students were disproportionately from disadvantaged communities or communities of color.  That’s not a danger in the proposal I am making.  The default curriculum, the one every student would take if not taking the advanced track, would be the Common Core.  If that’s a dead end for low achievers, Common Core supporters need to start being more honest in how they are selling the CCSS.  Moreover, to ensure that the policy gets to the students for whom it is intended, I have proposed running the pilot program in schools predominantly populated by poor, black, or Hispanic students.  The pilot won’t promote segregation within schools because the sad reality is that participating schools are already segregated.

Since I presented the paper, I have privately received negative feedback from both Algebra for All advocates and Common Core supporters.  That’s disappointing.  Because of their animus toward tracking, some critics seem to support a severe policy swing from Algebra for All, which was pursued for equity, to Algebra for None, which will be pursued for equity.  It’s as if either everyone or no one should be allowed to take algebra in eighth grade.  The argument is that allowing only some eighth graders to enroll in algebra is elitist, even if the students in question are poor students of color who are prepared for the course and likely to benefit from taking it.

The controversy raises crucial questions about the Common Core.  What’s common in the common core?  Is it the curriculum?  And does that mean the same curriculum for all?  Will CCSS serve as a curricular floor, ensuring all students are exposed to a common body of knowledge and skills?  Or will it serve as a ceiling, limiting the progress of bright students so that their achievement looks more like that of their peers?  These questions will be answered differently in different communities, and as they are, the inequities that Common Core supporters think they’re addressing may surface again in a profound form.   


[i] Loveless, T. (2008). The 2008 Brown Center Report on American Education. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2009/02/25-education-loveless. For San Mateo-Foster City’s sequence of math courses, see: page 10 of http://smfc-ca.schoolloop.com/file/1383373423032/1229222942231/1242346905166154769.pdf 

[ii] Swartz, A. (2014, November 22). “Parents worry over losing advanced math classes: San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District revamps offerings because of Common Core.” San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved from http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2014-11-22/parents-worry-over-losing-advanced-math-classes-san-mateo-foster-city-elementary-school-district-revamps-offerings-because-of-common-core/1776425133822.html

[iii] Swartz, A. (2014, December 26). “Changing Classes Concern for parents, teachers: Administrators say Common Core Standards Reason for Modifications.” San Mateo Daily Journal. Retrieved from http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2014-12-26/changing-classes-concern-for-parents-teachers-administrators-say-common-core-standards-reason-for-modifications/1776425135624.html

[iv] In the 2014 election, Jerry Brown (D) took 75% of Foster City’s votes for governor.  In the 2012 presidential election, Barak Obama received 71% of the vote. http://www.city-data.com/city/Foster-City-California.html

[v] Schmidt, W.H. and Burroughs, N.A. (2012) “How the Common Core Boosts Quality and Equality.” Educational Leadership, December 2012/January 2013. Vol. 70, No. 4, pp. 54-58.

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Tracking and Advanced Placement

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Thu, 24 Mar 2016 00:00:00 -0400


      
 
 


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Brazil and the international order: Getting back on track

By webfeeds.brookings.edu
Published On :: Wed, 29 Jun 2016 14:00:00 -0400


Crisis seems to be the byword for Brazil today: political crisis, economic crisis, corruption crisis. Even the 2016 Rio Olympics seem to teeter on the edge of failure, according to the governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Yet despite the steady drum beat of grim news, Brazil is more than likely to resume its upward trajectory within a few years. Its present economic and political troubles mask a number of positives: the strength of its democracy and a new found willingness to fight corruption at all costs. With the correct policies in place, its economy will recover in due course. The impeachment process against Dilma Rousseff will soon be over, one way or the other. The present troubles are merely a temporary detour on Brazil’s long quest to achieve major power status and a consequential role in the international system. In a world in turmoil, where geopolitical tensions are on the rise and the fabric of international politics is stressed by events such as Brexit, we should not lose sight of Brazil’s history of and potential for contributing to sustaining the liberal international order.

Brazil’s aspirations for greatness

Brazil has long aspired to grandeza (greatness) both at home and abroad. As its first ambassador to Washington, Joaquim Nabuco (1905-1910) once said, “Brazil has always been conscious of its size, and it has been governed by a prophetic sense with regard to its future.” As we document in our new book, Brazil has reached for major power status at least four times in the past 100 years: participating as a co-belligerent with the Allies in World War One and seeking a permanent seat on the Council of the League of Nations thereafter; joining the Allies in World War II and aspiring to a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 1945; mastering nuclear technology beginning in the 1970s, including launching a covert military program (now terminated) to build a nuclear explosive device; and most recently, beginning with the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2011), seeking to become a leader in multilateral institutions, including actively campaigning for a permanent seat on the UNSC.

A decade ago, many Brazilians believed that this time their country was poised to secure its position as a major power. As the seventh largest economy in the world with the 10th largest defense budget and significant soft power, Brazilian leaders such as Lula saw their country as being “in the mix” of major powers who, while not able to make the international order alone, could very well shape its evolution through uncertain times together with other major powers. Certainly, they no longer saw Brazil as one of the middle or small powers, the “order takers” in the international system.

Brazil saw a new opportunity to emerge as a major power in the advent of a relatively stable and peaceful post-Cold War geopolitical order, the decade-long commodity boom that supercharged its economy after 2002, and the rise of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). Between 2002 and 2013, Brazil’s virtuous trifecta—democratic consolidation, rapid economic growth, and reduced inequality—was a boon to its soft power. This combination was highly attractive to many in the developing world, contributing to Brazil’s claim to leadership on the international stage as a bridge between the global South and the great powers. International peace and stability particularly favored Brazil’s predilection for deploying soft power rather than hard power. And in the BRICS, Brazil saw an opportunity to work together with other emerging powers critical of the present international order to advance its agenda for reformed global institutions.

Rethinking Brazil’s approach to global influence

Brazil’s bridge-building strategy was effective in advancing its national interests in multilateral forums, most recently on global internet governance and global climate change. But the BRICS dimension of Brazil’s strategy detracted from its ability to influence the world’s great democracies. The BRICS identity associated Brazil with authoritarian powers—China and Russia—that were viewed by the United States and its allies, at best, as unhelpful critics and, at worst, as deliberate saboteurs of the present order. This undermined Brazil’s credibility with Washington and other leading democracies, and hindered its ability to advance its preferred policies on everything from nonproliferation to the reform of global economic institutions to the debate on humanitarian intervention. In retrospect, working more closely with other emerging democracies that seek reform of the international order, such as through the India-Brazil-South Africa association known as IBSA, would have more clearly signaled Brazil’s constructive intentions while still preserving its critical posture.

Today, the opportunities that powered Brazil’s most recent rise—post-Cold War geopolitical stability and a massive commodity boom—are receding, replaced by a more fractious and dangerous international system. Despite troubles at home, it is not too early for Brazil’s leaders to think anew about how to strengthen national capabilities and deploy them strategically to address this new environment. This includes fortifying domestic institutions, both to address the present crisis but also to restore the luster of Brazil’s soft power. It means bolstering Brazil’s hard power capabilities once the economy improves and deploying them in ways that contribute to its soft power, for example by taking on additional responsibility for leading critical international peacekeeping operations as it has in Haiti. It means thinking carefully about how to signal to the democratic great powers Brazil’s commitment to a strengthened liberal international order, even as it holds onto its own principles and works towards reform of multilateral institutions. And eventually, as Brazil completes its recovery, it means contributing more substantially to the costs of maintaining its preferred global order. A Brazil that achieves all this will be well positioned to have a positive global impact, continuing to be a strong (if sometimes critical) partner for the United States in shaping the international order.

Image Source: © Adriano Machado / Reuters
      


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TreeHugger's Greatest Hits, 2004-2012 (with a Soundtrack by Bruce Springsteen)

By www.treehugger.com
Published On :: Thu, 20 Dec 2012 14:54:00 -0500

I wrote my first TreeHugger post more than seven years ago. Since then, there's been a lot of water under the bridge. Here are some of the many highlights.


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TarSandsSOS lets you track tar sands oil tankers

By www.treehugger.com
Published On :: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 10:09:06 -0500

ForestEthics has launched a new tool called TarSandsSOS that lets citizens track supertankers hauling tar sands oil along the Pacific coast in real time.


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This song bugged me for 15 years. So I tracked down the songwriter.

By www.treehugger.com
Published On :: Mon, 11 Jun 2018 07:30:00 -0400

Spoiler alert: The writer turned out to be a YouTube star.


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Robotic eel tracks down pollution in lakes

By www.treehugger.com
Published On :: Thu, 27 Jul 2017 11:30:04 -0400

The modular robot could swim through bodies of water to detect and find the source of pollutants.


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Which fashion companies are on track to detox?

By www.treehugger.com
Published On :: Fri, 12 Aug 2016 08:00:00 -0400

Greenpeace has released its Detox Catwalk report for 2016, revealing which companies are on track to meet detox commitments by 2020 and which are lagging far behind. The results may surprise you.


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Self-powered fish tag tracks fish for as long as they swim

By www.treehugger.com
Published On :: Tue, 27 Sep 2016 10:55:22 -0400

Long-living fish can now be tracked for their whole lives with a single tag.


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Protest works: Australian Prime Minister backtracks (a bit) on climate change

By www.treehugger.com
Published On :: Tue, 26 Feb 2019 07:00:00 -0500

He's not exactly treating it like a crisis. But at least he's doing something...


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Teflon replacement on track to test definition of hazardous chemicals

By www.treehugger.com
Published On :: Tue, 27 Nov 2018 06:00:00 -0500

If a chemical does not bioaccumulate and is not so toxic, do we need to worry about it building up in the environment?


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RESOLVING TO GET HEALTHIER IN 2016? STAY ON TRACK WITH THESE QUICK TIPS! - Stay On Track With 2016 With These Quick Tips

By feedproxy.google.com
Published On :: 29 Jan 2016 13:50:00 EST

Stay On Track With 2016 With These Quick Tips


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Bill Ackman looks to find another winner in restaurants, where his track record is perfect

By www.cnbc.com
Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 12:02:05 GMT

Pershing Square made six previous investments in this industry and has never lost money on any of them.


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Eurostar backtracks over coronavirus refunds after complaints

By www.theguardian.com
Published On :: 2020-05-05T16:25:13Z

Customers say they were denied cancellation repayments and pushed to accept unusable vouchers

Eurostar is to offer more generous cancellation terms and has promised cash refunds after facing a backlash from customers furious at its previous refunds stance.

With French borders still closed to all tourist traffic, Eurostar has been forced to cancel all but two trains a day out of London, leaving thousands of passengers with unusable tickets.

Related: Confusion over French quarantine rules for overseas visitors

Related: UK watchdog flooded with complaints over holiday refunds

Continue reading...


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Further COVID-19 U.S-bound import declines are expected, notes Port Tracker report

By www.logisticsmgmt.com
Published On :: 2020-05-08T16:24:00+00:00

Heavy declines for imports at United States-based retail container ports, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, are expected to continue in the coming months, according to the new edition of the Port Tracker report, which was issued today by the National Retail Federation (NRF) and maritime consultancy Hackett Associates.


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usps trackin

By www.toothpastefordinner.com
Published On :: Mon, 30 Mar 2015 04:00:00 EDT

Today on Toothpaste For Dinner: usps trackin


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UK plans £250m boost for cycle lanes and fast-track e-scooter trials

By www.theguardian.com
Published On :: 2020-05-09T11:53:24Z

Campaigners call for redesign of transport system to help prevent bounce-back in air pollution

The government is expected to unveil a £250m investment in UK cycle lanes to encourage commuters to ride to work instead of using public transport, as part of the effort to prevent a resurgence of coronavirus.

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is expected to make the funding announcement during his appearance at the Downing Street coronavirus briefing on Saturday.

Continue reading...


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Tracking the global outbreak

By www.bbc.co.uk
Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 11:04:09 GMT

Key maps and charts explaining how the respiratory virus has spread around the world and how it is being dealt with.


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Love Bug's creator tracked down to repair shop in Manila

By www.bbc.co.uk
Published On :: Sun, 03 May 2020 00:07:48 GMT

Two decades after the world's first major computer virus, an author finds the perpetrator in Manila.


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The rapper's track that sparked a wave of killings

By www.bbc.co.uk
Published On :: Tue, 03 Mar 2020 20:05:19 GMT

Tensions have long existed between gangs in Tottenham and Wood Green - for 10 weeks in 2018 they boiled over.


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Senegal back on track with dominant win over Belarus

By www.fifa.com
Published On :: Sun, 24 Nov 2019 17:07:00 GMT


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Mumbai: Man lies on railway track in suicide attempt at Kurla

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 31 Jul 2018 07:15:35 GMT

A 54-year-old man on Monday attempted to commit suicide at Mumbai's Kurla railway station. The incident took place at around 1:30 pm when the man suddenly jumped off and lied on the railway track. 

The man was saved by Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and other co-passengers.

The man said that he was fed up with family issues and which is why he tried to commit suicide. Later on, the man was handed over to his family after police verification.

Watch Video here

Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from ANI

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever



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Mumbra girl missing since 2016, finally tracked through Tik Tok app

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 28 Feb 2019 15:40:56 GMT

Thane: A girl who had gone missing in 2016 from Mumbra was found in Goregaon through a post on social media site Tik Tok. Police took her into custody and learned that the girl went on her own accord.

According to Mirror Now, a woman on November 6, 2016, registered a complaint at the Mumbra police station that her daughter had been abducted. Acting on the complaint, police began searching for her through various means but were unsuccessful. The case was later transferred to the immoral trafficking prevention cell on May 11, 2018. Assistant Sub-Inspector Raju Mahale was appointed to investigate the case.

During the investigation, Police learned that the kidnapped girl has been using Tik Tok and shared it on social media. Police began tracking the girl on social media and asked her to make a video call. After confirming the identity, the police asked the girl to meet her sister under a false pretext of her mother being ill. She was then taken into custody and cops began interrogating her.

During the interrogation, the girl revealed that she left home on her own accord and not under pressure or threat from anyone. As a result, the kidnapping charge was dissolved. She also revealed that after running away from Mumbra, she was living in Goregaon for ten days and later started a catering business in Surat for 3-4 months. Later, she shifted to Vasai for few months. Since then, she has been living in Nalasopara.

On further investigation, it was revealed that the girl had made a fake account under the name of Abhay Shetty and befriended her sister and her husband after watching a video of them on Tik Tok ten days ago. The sister and her husband had uploaded a video of Bhojpuri song on a Tik-Tok mobile app. The girl began to chat with her sister and her husband and ask information about the family.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates

The article has been sourced from a third-party source and Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability, and data of the text. All information provided in this article is for informational purposes only.



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mid day editorial: Cross tracks at your own risk

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 18 May 2018 01:35:04 GMT

The mystery behind the death of a group of brothers seems to have been solved, said a report in this paper. The Chavan cousins were found dead between Kandivli and Borivli stations earlier this week.

A day after their death, an eyewitness informed the police he saw them jumping from the train to cross the tracks when it had stopped at a red signal between stations.

An inspector stated in the report that when the train halted, the boys tried to jump to cross the tracks. In doing so, they missed seeing a train coming from the opposite direction and were hit by it. Investigations are on and eyewitnesses are being sought to corroborate the version. Yet, it looks quite certain that this is yet another track death amongst the many in the annals of railway track death history.

We need to see signage on stations warning people not to cross tracks. Even some signage inside train bogies about the danger of crossing tracks will be helpful. This may not be an absolute deterrent, but will at least make people stop and rethink before crossing tracks.

Maybe passengers' unions can put up warnings on social media. A track crossing survivor, who has had a narrow escape, could recount his experience. He could even speak about how lucky he was to escape with his life and exhort the lakhs who use the service not to endanger their lives.

From riding rooftop of trains to crossing tracks, there are so many dangers that commuters bring upon themselves. A service that is already strained to a breaking point is inherently dangerous because of the sheer numbers. It is safety first, when it comes to this service, commuters must realise there is a greater onus than ever on them to ensure their own safety. Crossing tracks is an invitation to a grievous injury or a tragic end.

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Central Railway builds steel tunnels to prevent boulders falling on tracks

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 28 Apr 2020 02:01:41 GMT

In a first, the Central Railway (CR) seems to have come up with a permanent solution for the falling boulders in the ghat section known for disrupting services during monsoon. Accordingly, CR has recreated steel tunnels which will trap falling boulders and protect the passing trains below.

Last year, CR deployed 60 additional CCTV cameras, posted gangmen, rock-bolting at 750m stretch and drone cameras to alert approaching trains, but all were of limited help.In 2017, three passengers on the Hubli-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) Express suffered injuries after a boulder came crashing through the roof while it was passing through Khandala ghat.

After the problem was analysed last year, it was revealed that the increased incidents of boulders falling on tracks along with mud had been due to heavy monsoon.

So, officials started working on the steel tunnel portal extension last year in four tunnels. "The work has been progressing with the lockdown in place and will be completed before the monsoon sets in," CR chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said. "Work of removing loose boulders is still underway and at present, we are running boulder special trains, and patrolling the mountains to scan loose boulders and tunnels," he added.

In the history books
Historically, the Indian Railways has been dealing with the problem of boulders in this stretch since its inception. But they never cancelled these many trains to manage the situation as they have done in recent years. The archival records of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, which is now called Central Railway, on the initiation of passenger rail service on the ghat section in 1864, had issued a notice on the operation of the 'terrain section' by dividing the entire stretch into 13 parts with three watchmen deputed for each.

4
Total no. of tunnels in which steel tunnel work is underway

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Coronavirus outbreak: App tracks wildlife during lockdown

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 30 Apr 2020 01:30:49 GMT

With several instances of wildlife venturing into cities being recorded during the lockdown, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) feels that these incidents will help them provide important information in understanding the human-wildlife interface in the country.

Hence, in order to collect the data of such encounters easy and from all across the country, WII has developed a mobile application for android phone users named 'Lockdown Wildlife Tracker.'

The data generated from the app will be shared with the respective state forest department post lockdown so that better conservation strategies can be planned once the lockdown is lifted.


The tracking app

Talking to mid-day Dhananjai Mohan, WII Director said, "In this time of the COVID-19 quarantine, where we humans are locked inside our homes, there are more and more reports of wildlife exploring human-dominated areas or 'rewilding' urban areas. However, these records are stray and just circulated as WhatsApp stories. So a group of WII scientists thought to collect this data in an organised manner to help visualise interesting patterns of wildlife that is unfolding during this period. You can help us in this citizen-science initiative by reporting your sightings from the confines of your homes and be a part of this unique experiment."

"These sightings can be reported real-time as well as at any later period - but only till the quarantine lasts. What's more, is that you can even upload photos of your sightings. This free app makes it convenient to keep track of what you see while making your data openly available for scientific research, education, and conservation," WII senior scientist, Dr Bilal Habib said. The mobile application allows one to record their wildlife sightings anytime and from anywhere along with photographs.

The quick entry tools make recording experience short and simple. The data will have GPS enabled entries of all sightings. Currently, the application is available in English and the Hindi version might come soon.

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Aurangabad train tragedy: Why migrants are still walking on tracks

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 9 May 2020 01:16:51 GMT

'Videsh se log flight se laye ja rahe hain, aur gareeb patri par mar rahe hain (People are being brought back from abroad on flights and the poor are dying on railway tracks)," said a migrant, who was walking on the tracks to reach his hometown in UP, about the tragic incident at Aurangabad. Most migrants are aware of it, but choose to walk on the tracks to avoid police action on the highways.

They fear they will be stopped from walking home and beaten and quarantined by the police. Speaking to mid-day, many of them said they don't have a choice.

mid-day has been reporting about the plight of the migrants who claim the government is not helping them with food and have also spent all their money since the lockdown began as they have been out of work. Many of them also claimed they decided to walk home as despite giving all required documents to board the special trains, local authorities are not telling them of the next procedures. Some of them decided to walk as they don't have the required documents. After the disturbing sight of hundreds of migrants walking home on highways, comes another such sight of them walking on railway tracks.


Tukaram Kuldip and his friends are walking from Mumbai Central to UP

Tukaram Kuldip, a resident of Basti, Uttar Pradesh, started walking from Mumbai Central on Thursday night, and by Friday morning had reached Thane. "We are a group of 30 people going to Basti. We submitted relevant documents at Nagpada police station to board the special trains, but there is no response. We are starving. Sarkar theek hai achche ke liye band kiya hai, lekin ham gareebon ka kya ? Videsh se log flight se laye ja rahe hai aur gareeb patri par mar rahe hai. (It's good the government has implemented the lockdown, but what about us poor people? People are being brought back from abroad on flights and the poor are dying on the railway tracks) We heard about the Aurangabad incident. Nobody wants to die like that but we have no options left. Ghar par hamare log bhi hain. (We have family at home)."

'Should we starve here?'

Another group of 30 migrants was walking on the railway tracks near Mulund railway station. A member of the group, Jalaluddin Khan, told mid-day. "We know it's dangerous. So should we starve here? Should we get beaten up by the police? Nobody knows what we are going through since the past one month. We are given half-cooked rice by the local civic corporation to eat once a day. We just want the government to take us home." This group belongs to Basti, Uttar Pradesh.

"Our group members submitted the forms at the concerned police station for the special trains but they got rejected. We don't know why. No one told us anything. We will see if there are any arrangements in Thane, otherwise we will continue walking," Khan said.


Udaybhan Yadav and his family are walking to Basti 

Another migrant worker, Udaybhan Yadav, a resident of Basti, started his journey from Mulund along with his wife and eight-year-old child. Yadav used to work at a hotel in Mumbai. "My parents are worried about us as we have no money and are not getting enough food here. We don't know when things will return to normalcy."

Railway speak

"We have been on alert since the lockdown was announced. The gateman and the keymen have been briefed to alert us about the movement of migrants. We have been counselling and taking action against those walking on the tracks," said Atul Pathak, IG Central Railway Mumbai division.

Inputs by Vishal Singh

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BTS to release their Japanese album 'Map Of The Soul: 7 - The Journey' on July 15 with four new tracks

By
Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 15:31:45 GMT

More BTS music is coming our way! The South Korean septet released the highly awaited 'Map Of The Soul: 7' album back on February 21, 2020. They are releasing their fourth Japanese album 'Map Of The Soul: 7 - The Journey' on July 15, 2020.

As per new details released on Thursday, May 7, the Japanese album will have Japanese versions of some of their previous album songs including four new tracks - 'Intro: Calling', 'Stay Gold', 'Your Eyes Tell', and 'Outro: Journey'.

Tracklist:

1. INTRO: Calling
2. Stay Gold
3. Boy With Luv -Japanese ver.-
4. Make It Right -Japanese ver.-
5. Dionysus -Japanese ver.-
6. IDOL -Japanese ver.-
7. Airplane pt.2 -Japanese ver.-
8. FAKE LOVE -Japanese ver.-
9. Black Swan -Japanese ver.-
10. ON -Japanese ver.-
11. Lights
12. Your eyes tell
13. OUTRO: The Journey

This will include the 'Stay Gold' music video. The track will also serve as Original Sound Track for Japanese drama, Spiral Labyrinth – DNA Forensic Investigation (literal translation). Tanaka Kei will headline the drama which is based on a manga of the same name. Jungkook has participated in the composition of 'Your Eyes Tell'.

'Stay Gold' will be the first Japanese release since last year's 'Lights/Boy With Luv'.

ALSO READ: Troye Sivan reveals interesting details about co-writing 'Louder Than Bombs' for BTS' 'Map Of The Soul: 7


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Dosage mapping tracks cancer radiotherapy more closely

By ec.europa.eu
Published On :: Wed, 11 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT

A non-invasive system being developed by EU-funded researchers could make radiotherapy a safer and more-effective treatment for cancer patients by creating a visual dosage map of the tumour and the surrounding healthy tissue.


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Anoushka Shankar: Always wanted to score film track

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 28 Oct 2017 02:58:36 GMT

Anoushka Shankar, who scored the recently restored silent film, Shiraz, recalls the challenge of the task, her upcoming India tour with the film and why Mumbai will always remain special

An emperor's love for his queen was immortalised in white marble in 1653. Three centuries later, when cinema was still at a nascent stage in India, the Taj Mahal and the love story of Shahjahan and Mumtaz Mahal became one of the earliest subjects to be celebrated on the big screen with Franz Osten's silent classic, Shiraz (1928). Almost 90 years on, the film starring Himanshu Rai, Charu Roy, Seeta Devi and Enakshi Rama Rau was restored to its former glory by the British Film Institute (BFI), in a manner most fitting.


The music for Shiraz is a blend of Indian and western instrumentation

While sitar player and composer Anoushka Shankar was invited to score the music of the film, she will also present a live performance, alongside a screening in four Indian cities, being brought here by the British Council and BFI.
We spoke to Shankar about what went into reliving an era musically. Edited excerpts from an interview:

How did a project of this nature come about?
The BFI undertakes frequent film restoration projects, and in 2017, as part of the UK-India Year of Culture, they decided to work on Shiraz. When they asked me to do the score, I was thrilled. I had been wanting to start scoring films for some time. And this seemed like a lovely fit with my musical background and skill set.


Stills from the restored film

How did you approach the music for a silent film?
It's much more challenging to score for a silent film because there's no conversation, and this means it needs constant music. The sheer volume of output required was huge. While we tried to give a feel of the time in which the film is set and the time in which it was made, we also wanted the audience to enjoy a cinematic effect in the music with a rich, modern sound. In some ways, it's been the most creative process that I have been a part of. I found it incredibly fulfilling.


Shiraz: A Romance of India. Pics/British Council and BFI

What does the music sound like?
We are an eight-member orchestra, and it's relatively evenly spaced out for the Indian and western instrumentation. We've used Indian percussion, the bansuri, sitar, cello, piano, violin, clarinet and some elements of live electronic music as well. It's a long film of an hour and 47 minutes, and throughout the duration, I have tried to create variety. For example, the opening piece is purely classical and then, within the course of the first half hour, we move to a different soundscape. When scoring the film, I knew it was going to be a live show as well and I was mindful of making music that people would want to sit and listen to and watch as a show.



How has composing music for Shiraz impacted you as a musician?
Whenever I take up any music project, it involves a mix of something that I have to offer, but also an opportunity where I can learn and grow. With Shiraz, I have grown a lot as a composer. I have learnt how to orchestrate my own music for an ensemble within a western harmony, in a way that allows Indian music to stay. I have also learnt a lot technically.

Around the time Shiraz premiered in London, the Taj was called a blot on Indian culture by an Indian politician...
If you take out the politics and think of it in terms of people, it's like one person putting another person down in order to make himself feel bigger. There is a lack of confidence in that. If someone is a fantastic human being in a way that's different from me, it doesn't make me a bad human being. We are different, but we can both be wonderful. As a culture, we have so much diversity in our history that there is room to celebrate everything.

How do you look at Mumbai as a performance venue?
Mumbai is a place that I have been coming to since I was a child. As a classical musician, it's such an important city. I have had years of memorable concert experiences here with my father initially, and with my own work in more recent years. I am always happy to play for Mumbai. It's a kind of place where you get a cosmopolitan audience that listens to diverse types of music.

On: November 5, 7.30 pm
At: Sri Shanmukhananda Auditorium, Sion East.
Log on to: bookmyshow.com
Entry: Rs 300 onwards



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Watch video: David Warner and wife Candice dance to Telugu track Butta Bomma

By www.mid-day.com
Published On :: 1 May 2020 04:10:11 GMT

Australia opener David Warner is making most of the time he is getting to spend with his family due to the coronavirus pandemic which has brought the entire cricketing calendar to a grinding halt. On Thursday, Warner posted yet another Tik Tok video in which he and his wife Candice are dancing on a popular song 'Butta Bomma'. The couple can be seen swaying to the hook steps of the song. "It's tiktok time buttabomma get out of your comfort zone people lol Candice Warner," the Australian opener captioned the video on Instagram.

 
 
 
View this post on Instagram

It’s tiktok time #buttabomma get out of your comfort zone people lol @candywarner1

A post shared by David Warner (@davidwarner31) onApr 29, 2020 at 11:58pm PDT

The song is a popular number from Telegu movie Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo and featured Allu Arjun along with Pooja Hegde. Earlier this week, Warner had upload a hilarious video featuring Candice in which they are seen switching 'jobs'. The video started with Warner in full kit and his wife virtually kayaking just beside him. Then they switch characters and Warner is seen wearing his wife's swimsuit and she, on the other hand, is in full Australian ODI kit.

Before that, Warner had shared a TikTok video in which he was dancing with his daughter on popular Bollywood track 'Sheila Ki Jawani'.

In normal circumstances, Warner would have been currently leading Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League but due to COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament stands indefinitely postponed.

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Tax-News.com: New Zealand To Better Track Taxpayers' Property Transactions

By www.tax-news.com
Published On :: Fri, 21 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT

New Zealand's Inland Revenue has announced that those who buy and sell property will be required to provide their IRD number on land transfer documentation, to improve the agency's ability to enforce the tax rules on property speculation.


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New Methods To Track Air Pollution Discussed

By www.medindia.net
Published On ::

Air pollution exposure threatens human health both outdoors and when polluted air infiltrates homes, offices, schools, and vehicles. Risk Analysis (SRA)


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Tracking Of Salmonella Food-Poisoning Outbreaks May Improve

By www.medindia.net
Published On ::

Sensitive and specific assay to detect different serotypes of Salmonella has been developed, which would paving the way for rapid serotyping directly from specimens.


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No More Finger Pricks: Artificial Intelligence can Track Low-glucose Levels Via ECG

By www.medindia.net
Published On ::

Using artificial intelligence (AI), detecting low glucose levels (hyperglycemia) becomes very easy and painless. This new technology could track low-glucose levels via ECG without finger-prick test.


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Artificial intelligence Application Tracks Mental Health

By www.medindia.net
Published On ::

Artificial intelligence-based interactive voice application is an effective way to monitor the wellbeing of patients being treated for serious mental illness.


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IIT Bombay Launches 'CORONTINE' To Track Quarantine People

By www.medindia.net
Published On ::

CORONTINE app could help authorities track asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19 and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. A team led by Manjesh K Hanwal


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