ga China's Priorities in Africa: Enhancing Engagements By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Wed, 11 Jun 2014 13:15:01 +0000 Research Event 13 June 2014 - 12:45pm to 1:45pm Chatham House, London Meeting Summarypdf | 61.95 KB Event participants Ambassador Zhong Jianhua, China’s Special Representative for African AffairsChair: Alex Vines OBE, Research Director, Area Studies and International Law; Head, Africa Programme, Chatham House With extensive and diverse engagements across sub-Saharan Africa, China is one among a range of international partners that is evolving its policy and relations with African states. At this roundtable meeting, Ambassador Zhong Jianhua will discuss China’s interests in Africa, the challenges it has faced and how China cooperates with international governments and across sectors in Africa. Christopher Vandome Research Fellow, Africa Programme +44 (0) 20 7314 3669 Email Full Article
ga China's Fury Over South China Sea Belies Its Legal Insecurities By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mon, 04 Jul 2016 09:11:57 +0000 4 July 2016 Sonya Sceats Associate Fellow, International Law Programme @SonyaSceats Despite its dramatic rejection of the South China Sea arbitration case initiated by the Philippines, China is gearing up to play a much larger role in the evolution of the international legal system. 2016-07-04-ninedashline.jpg A vendor in Beijing stands behind a map including an insert depicting the 'nine-dash line' in the South China Sea. Photo by Getty Images. It is tempting to read China's refusal in this case to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal in The Hague as the defiance of an arrogant superpower that views itself as above international law. No doubt many in Manila, Washington and elsewhere are purveying this view. But there is more here than meets the eye.For decades, Beijing has complained that the global order was forged in an era when China was weak and the rules of the game are rigged against it.But this lament is more difficult to sustain in relation to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which China helped negotiate in the 1970s and early 1980s. Beijing signed the treaty as soon as it was opened for signature in 1982 and ratified it in 1996.The Philippines initiated this arbitration against China in 2013 as part of a long-running dispute over rights in the South China Sea, including over the Spratly Islands (known as the 'Nansha Islands' in China) and surrounding maritime areas. Under the treaty, China is not obliged to defend the case but this is no bar to proceedings and it remains legally bound by the award. From a legal perspective, its refusal to participate is thus a risky move, all the more so since the ruling is likely to have legal ramifications for China's highly charged maritime disputes with other neighbours such as Vietnam and Malaysia.It is well known that the legal proceedings launched by the Philippines sparked a contest of ideas in Beijing. Behind closed doors, some Chinese international lawyers argued that China should prove its commitment to the international rule of law by vigorously fighting its corner in the arbitration. The defeat of these liberal voices is usually interpreted as an inevitable effect of the nationalists' grip on power under President Xi Jinping.In a significant concession to those on the losing side of the argument, however, China published a position paper setting out its objections to the jurisdiction of the tribunal and formally conveyed this to the tribunal which treated it as ‘effectively constituting a plea on jurisdiction’.This novel form of ‘non-participating participation’ must be seen against the backcloth of a strategic ambition by China to develop a greater mastery of international law. At an important meeting just two months earlier, the Communist Party called for China to strengthen its ‘discourse power and influence in international legal affairs’ and use legal methods to safeguard its ‘sovereignty, security and development interests’.Our research team at Chatham House has been tracking impressive steps by China to realize this goal, including new government decision-making machinery designed to promote compliance with international law, a hiring spree of international lawyers and new advisory committee for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, promotion of scholarship and efforts to show norm leadership especially in ‘new domains’ of international law such as cyber law, and a training programme to share growing Chinese international law expertise with the global South.We know from Chinese colleagues that maritime disputes are a major impetus for this drive. For years, the Chinese government has fretted about its low capabilities in the international legal field, compared with other permanent members of the UN Security Council and regional rivals such as Japan. Now, impelled by the need to protect its strategic interests in the South China Sea and elsewhere, it is doing something about it.It may seem paradoxical in light of its bullish attacks on the Philippines and even the tribunal itself, but China's boycott of the arbitration should also be seen as a manifestation of its low confidence in its own capacities in the realm of international law. Speculation is rife that the leadership lacks faith in its ability to convince the tribunal of the legal validity of its controversial ‘nine dash line’ demarcation of China's rights in the South China Sea. In the arbitration and otherwise, China has avoided clarifying the precise legal basis and implications of its ‘nine dash line’ claims while sponsoring a vast industry of academic studies to support its position.In the meantime, China is playing to its strengths, including its deep pockets, in pursuing an extrajudicial approach. An audacious programme of land reclamation and militarization of atolls and escalating patrols and exercises in disputed territories is a clear effort to alter ‘the facts on the water’. And in recent months it has choreographed statements of political support for its South China Sea claims from a motley crew of states with economic ties to China.While China's rejection of the South China Sea arbitration is true to form for a powerful state that, like its great rival the United States, is generally ill-disposed towards binding international dispute resolution processes, it is not inconceivable that this approach will give way when China becomes more confident in its ability to play and win at ‘law fare’, as we are already seeing in the context of World Trade Organization disputes. Until then, in time-honoured fashion, Beijing is biding its time, plugging its skills gap and hoping it can shake off mounting reputational damage from its petulant spurning of these proceedings.To comment on this article, please contact Chatham House Feedback Full Article
ga Anything Against OsCommerce? By forums.digitalpoint.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 00:48:50 +0000 Full Article
ga Neighbor of father and son arrested in Ahmaud Arbery killing is also under investigation By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 14:07:35 -0400 The investigation into the fatal shooting in Brunswick, Georgia, will also look at a neighbor of suspects Gregory and Travis McMichael who recorded video of the incident, authorities said. Full Article
ga After Five Bloody Years in Syria, Russia Is Turning Against Iran—and Assad By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 05:07:17 -0400 GAZIANTEP, Turkey—After five years fighting to preserve Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, Russia now appears inclined to dispose of its infamous client. Assad’s persistent brutality and corruption, and his inability to establish even the semblance of a functioning state, has grown to be a burden Moscow would prefer not to bear.And then there’s the problem of Iran. Assad, members of his family, and his Alawite clansmen enjoy close, perhaps unbreakable, bonds to the regime in Tehran and to Iranian-backed militias in Syria. All of which undermines Moscow’s primary mission there: to rehabilitate the Assad regime as a symbol of stability capable of attracting hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign investment for reconstruction, which Russian firms would then be poised to receive. As long as Assad’s relatives continue to function as a mafia and give free rein to Iranian troops using Syria as base of operations to threaten Israel and plan attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, those countries likely to foot the bill for Syrian reconstruction—the nations of Europe and the Gulf—are unlikely to come up with the cash. Amid Escalating Syrian Carnage, Turkey Shoots Down Assad’s PlanesThis has not gone unnoticed by the United States.“Assad has done nothing to help the Russians sell this regime,”James Jeffrey, the U.S. special envoy for the Coalition to Defeat ISIS, told reporters in a State Department briefing on Thursday. “You find Assad has nothing but thugs around him, and they don't sell well either in the Arab world or in Europe. We have heard repeatedly from Russians we take as credible that they understand how bad Assad is.” The Syrian president’s “refusal to make any compromises” in order to secure diplomatic recognition and acceptance for his regime has jeopardized “hundreds of billions of dollars in reconstruction assistance” for Syria, according to Jeffrey. Yet the Trump administration is unlikely to exploit this growing rift. “Getting Russia out of Syria,” Jeffrey said, “has never been our goal. Russia has been there for 30 years. It has a long-term relationship with Syria. We don’t think it has been healthy for the region. We don’t think it really is even healthy for Russia. But that’s not our policy.” MEDIA FRENZYJeffrey’s statements come just one week after Russian state media unleashed a slew of reports and editorials targeting Assad, portraying the beleaguered president as hopelessly corrupt and unfit to govern, and suggesting the time had come to replace him with a new leader.The first batch of articles was published by the Russia’s Federal News Agency (FNA), an outlet owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch and chairman of several companies implicated in the 2016 U.S. elections scandal. Appearing over the course of a mere three hours on April 17, they would shake Syria to its core. The first of the three articles in question highlighted a corruption scheme carried out by the regime in summer 2019 in which the Syrian prime minister purportedly lied to citizens about oil and gas scarcities in order to justify the occurrence of long power outages while selling Syrian electricity to businessmen in Lebanon. The second piece cited an opinion poll claiming only 32 percent of Syrians would vote for Assad in the country’s upcoming 2021 presidential election. The third and final article, entitled, “Corruption is Worse than Terrorism,” chastized President Assad for personally failing to combat corruption, prevalent at all levels of the state. That these were published by Prigozhin’s news agency was the kind of signal it would be hard for Assad to miss. Prigozhin, who first built his fortune as a caterer, is sometimes known as “Putin’s chef.” But of particular relevance to Syria is his role as chairman of the Wagner Group, whose mercenaries have fought alongside Assad regime forces since October 2015 and helped the latter take back control of key revenue generating infrastructure such as the al-Sha’ir gas field in Homs province.Deputy Assistant Secretary Christopher Robin told the same State Department briefing Thursday, “Wagner is often misleadingly referred to as a Russian private military company, but in fact it’s an instrument of the Russian government which the Kremlin uses as a low-cost and low-risk instrument to advance its goals.”The article on corruption would also point out, suggestively, that the Assads are not the only powerful family in Syria, “there are also the Makhloufs.”Rami Makhlouf, who is in fact Bashar al-Assad’s first cousin, is Syria’s wealthiest man, and also, it would seem, Russia’s man. Certainly he has strong ties to the Kremlin and for years has been one of the most vocal critics of Iran’s presence in Syria. In July 2018, the al-Watan newspaper, one Syria’s most prominent pro-regime mouthpieces and owned by Rami Makhlouf since 2006, published a then unprecedented public rebuke to Iran, accusing it of sponsoring Islamist fanaticism throughout the Middle East alongside Turkey and Qatar, the main backers of Syria’s opposition. (Rami Makhlouf’s father Muhammad and brother Hafiz meanwhile are alleged by some to be living in Russia.) The April 17 articles published by Prigozhin’s FNA preceded the release of a wave of other articles and items in the media over the next 12 days that would further drive home the point that Moscow was considering options other than Assad to rule Syria. TASS, Russia’s largest state-run news agency, wrote in one editorial that, “Russia suspects that Assad is not only unable to lead the country anymore, but also that the head of the Syrian regime is dragging Moscow towards the Afghani scenario.” This is like evoking the Vietnam War for an American audience, a reference to the Kremlin’s botched campaign through the 1980s that helped bankrupt the Soviet Union and finally break it apart.Amid this coverage, TASS would also take swipes at Iran, claiming that the Islamic Republic has “no interest in achieving stability in the region, because it considers it a battlefield with Washington”.On April 30, the Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC), a think tank established by Moscow’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, released a scathing report saying Russia was in talks with other parties to the Syrian conflict to draw up plans for a political resolution that did not include Bashar al-Assad as president. The report highlighted purported Russian efforts to compel the Syrian regime to commit to ceasefires with both American-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) opposition, while beginning steps to form a new unity government that would include representatives from both. That day, Rami Makhlouf, whose assets were frozen five months earlier as part of a tax dispute, uploaded a video onto his personal Facebook page accusing the Assad regime of corruption. In a state known for carrying out the full-scale slaughter of those who test its authority, Makhlouf’s videos, coming on the heels of the unprecedented Russian attacks in the media, sent shockwaves throughout the country. THE ROYAL FAMILYWhile the Makhlouf clan clearly has thrown its lot in with Russia, key members of Bashar al-Assad’s immediate family and others with ties to Qardaha in Syria’s largely Alawite Latakia province, are among the most prominent Iranian-backed militia leaders in Syria. It’s an alliance that traces back to his father Hafez al-Assad, who was born in Qardaha, and who forged ties with the Iranian revolution almost from its beginning more than 40 years ago. The Iranians responded by offering religious legitimacy to the Alawite sect, which is regarded as heretical by Sunnis and indeed by many Shi’a.These Qardaha militia leaders have regularly engaged in armed clashes against Russian backed units. They are among the most egregious violators and abusers of power, overseeing wide networks of corruption similar to those lamented in the Russian media. And foremost among them is Bashar’s younger brother, Maher al-Assad. Since April 2018, Maher al-Assad has commanded the Syrian Army’s 4th Armored Division, one of country’s oldest, best equipped and overwhelmingly Alawite brigades. After the 2011 outbreak of the Syrian revolution, when the loyalty of much of the army was in doubt, it became a refuge for numerous Alawite-Shi’a dominated pro-regime militias.Currently, the 4th Armored Division’s members control many smuggling operations throughout the country, in cities from Albu Kamel on Syria’s eastern border with Iraq to Latakia on the Syrian coast, where the port was leased to Iran on October 1 last year. It has since become one of the biggest export hubs for drugs headed to markets in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Examples abound: On July 5, 2019, Greek coast guard and drug enforcement officials announced the biggest drug bust in history, seizing 5.25 tons (33 million pills) of Captagon amphetamines worth $660m hidden in shipping containers loaded at the Latakia port in Syria. That followed a long string of such seizures made by Greek authorities. More recently, in late April, customs officials in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt also announced the seizure of similar quantities of drugs in containers traced back to Latakia. Local reports have accused a range of actors including Maher al-Assad’s 4th Division, Hizbollah, Rami Makhlouf, and others of profiting from the massive drug exports emanating from the port. In January 2019 the 4th Armored Division launched attacks on the Russian-backed Tiger Forces unit in an attempt to wrest control of smuggling routes between regime- and opposition-held territory in Idlib province. The clashes led to the death of 70 fighters. These and other skirmishes prompted Russia to back a major campaign to arrest 4th Division and other Iranian-backed units throughout the country beginning in April 2019, which succeeded in rounding up numerous mid-ranking Iranian-backed officers. Among those targeted in the campaign was Bashar Talal al-Assad, a cousin to the president (similar name, different people) who was wanted on drug and weapons trafficking charges. Unlike others who were detained in the roundup, Bashar Talal al-Assad and his ‘Areen Brigade managed to fight off Russian-backed forces that sought to arrest him in Qardaha. He then pledged to attack Russia’s Hmeimim military base, located 17 miles east of Latakia city, in the event the regime sought to arrest him again.For Russia, the threat of such attacks on its military infrastructure is a real concern. The Hmeimim base—from which Moscow has directed its entire military campaign in Syria—had already been subject to a series of attacks from January to October 2018 by other Iranian-backed militias in the area. The threat posed by both Iran’s acquisition of the Latakia port and its support for local Assad family proxies in Syria’s coastal region is exacerbated by the fact that Tehran has also begun making progress toward completing construction of its Shalamcha railroad, which, via stops in Basra, Baghdad, Albu Kamel and Damascus, will give Tehran direct access to the Syrian and Lebanese coasts. If Iran succeeds in integrating the Latakia port with the Shalamcha rail line, this will cut off Hmeimim from Russian forces in central and southern Syria and enable Tehran to quickly deliver weapons to proxy forces in Latakia that are already engaged in clashes against Russian-backed groups. WORLDWIDE CONSENSUSMoscow’s inability to control Iranian backed Syrian militiamen engaged in widespread crime, corruption, and assaults on Russian forces has infuriated the Kremlin. But Russia is not the only major player on the ground with scores to settle against Iran, and the Russian military leadership in Syria has ignored if not largely encouraged Israeli strikes on Iranian troops throughout the country.It may not be coincidental that the Israeli attacks have increased in pace and scope since April, following the flurry of Russian media articles attacking Assad and his regime. “We have moved from blocking Iran’s entrenchment in Syria to forcing it out of there, and we will not stop,” Israel’s new defense minister, Naftali Bennett, declared on April 28. Without Russia, Iran has found itself the odd man out in Syria, the single party still seeking to push for war at a time when most other international players have been struck with fatigue and simply seek to put Syria’s pieces back together. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey, the last patron of Syria’s battered FSA opposition, has himself made peace with Moscow, effectively agreeing last March to cede control of wide swaths of rebel held territory after a particularly bloody Russian led campaign against the last FSA holdout in Idlib province that ended in victory for regime forces. Ironically, Erdoğan’s long-held desire to overthrow Syria’s president may still come to fruition, albeit not as he expected, as Assad’s ouster may come at the hands of Russia itself, and not the revolution. Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Full Article
ga ‘Not a Bonafide Counterintelligence Investigation’: Barr Slams Comey’s Handling of Flynn Probe By news.yahoo.com Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 15:05:03 -0400 Attorney General Bill Barr explained that the FBI did not conduct “a bonafide counterintelligence investigation” in the case that led former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn to plead guilty to federal investigators in 2017.Barr, speaking in an exclusive interview with CBS News after the Justice Department dropped its case against Flynn on Thursday, said that his review of the case found Bureau investigators laid “a perjury trap” for Flynn in a January 2017 White House interview.“They didn’t warn him, the way that would usually be required by the Department, they bypassed the Justice Department, they bypassed the protocols at the White House, and so forth,” Barr stated. “These were things that persuaded me that there was not a legitimate counterintelligence investigation.”Former FBI director James Comey admitted in a December 2018 interview that he “sent” the agents to interview Flynn, adding that it was “something I probably wouldn’t have done or maybe gotten away with in a more organized administration.”In its Thursday court filing, the Justice Department explained that it was “not persuaded” that Flynn’s interview, which led to his guilty plea for lying to FBI agents Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka, had proper predication and was materially relevant.Comey tweeted his disappointment, following the decision, saying "the DOJ has lost its way."> The DOJ has lost its way. But, career people: please stay because America needs you. The country is hungry for honest, competent leadership.> > -- James Comey (@Comey) May 7, 2020Barr pointed to recently-released information that showed the FBI moved to close its surveillance of Flynn after finding “no derogatory information” about the retired general’s contacts with Russians, only for Strzok to keep the case open, leading to the eventual interview.“They were closing the investigation, in December [2016], they started that process and on January 4, they were closing it. When they heard about the phone call, which the FBI had the transcripts to — there was no question as to what was discussed, the FBI knew exactly what was discussed — and General Flynn, being the former director of the DIA, said to them, ‘you listen to everything, you know what was said,’” Barr explained.“So there’s no mystery about the call, but they initially tried some theories of how could open another investigation, which didn’t fly, and then they found out that they had not technically closed the earlier investigation, and they kept it open for the expressed purpose of trying to catch — lay a perjury trap — for General Flynn,” he added. A different filing released last week showed handwritten notes from an FBI official that questioned if the goal of Flynn’s White House interview was “to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired.”Barr also did not comment on whether those that sought to entrap Flynn would face criminal charges, pointing to U.S. Attorney John Durham’s probe into the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation and saying his team was “in the middle” of “looking at the whole pattern of conduct.”“I’m going to wait until all the evidence is [in], and I get their recommendations as to what they found and how serious it is. But, if we were to find wrongdoing, in the sense of any criminal act, obviously we would follow through on that,” Barr said. “But again, just because something may even stink to high heaven, and appear to everyone to be bad, we still have to apply the right standard and be convinced that there is a violation of a criminal statute and that we can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. The same standard applies to everybody.” Full Article
ga Glucocerebrosidases catalyze a transgalactosylation reaction that yields a newly-identified brain sterol metabolite, galactosylated cholesterol [Glycobiology and Extracellular Matrices] By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 2020-04-17T00:06:05-07:00 β-Glucocerebrosidase (GBA) hydrolyzes glucosylceramide (GlcCer) to generate ceramide. Previously, we demonstrated that lysosomal GBA1 and nonlysosomal GBA2 possess not only GlcCer hydrolase activity, but also transglucosylation activity to transfer the glucose residue from GlcCer to cholesterol to form β-cholesterylglucoside (β-GlcChol) in vitro. β-GlcChol is a member of sterylglycosides present in diverse species. How GBA1 and GBA2 mediate β-GlcChol metabolism in the brain is unknown. Here, we purified and characterized sterylglycosides from rodent and fish brains. Although glucose is thought to be the sole carbohydrate component of sterylglycosides in vertebrates, structural analysis of rat brain sterylglycosides revealed the presence of galactosylated cholesterol (β-GalChol), in addition to β-GlcChol. Analyses of brain tissues from GBA2-deficient mice and GBA1- and/or GBA2-deficient Japanese rice fish (Oryzias latipes) revealed that GBA1 and GBA2 are responsible for β-GlcChol degradation and formation, respectively, and that both GBA1 and GBA2 are responsible for β-GalChol formation. Liquid chromatography–tandem MS revealed that β-GlcChol and β-GalChol are present throughout development from embryo to adult in the mouse brain. We found that β-GalChol expression depends on galactosylceramide (GalCer), and developmental onset of β-GalChol biosynthesis appeared to be during myelination. We also found that β-GlcChol and β-GalChol are secreted from neurons and glial cells in association with exosomes. In vitro enzyme assays confirmed that GBA1 and GBA2 have transgalactosylation activity to transfer the galactose residue from GalCer to cholesterol to form β-GalChol. This is the first report of the existence of β-GalChol in vertebrates and how β-GlcChol and β-GalChol are formed in the brain. Full Article
ga Processivity of dextransucrases synthesizing very-high-molar-mass dextran is mediated by sugar-binding pockets in domain V [Glycobiology and Extracellular Matrices] By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: 2020-04-24T06:08:45-07:00 The dextransucrase DSR-OK from the Gram-positive bacterium Oenococcus kitaharae DSM17330 produces a dextran of the highest molar mass reported to date (∼109 g/mol). In this study, we selected a recombinant form, DSR-OKΔ1, to identify molecular determinants involved in the sugar polymerization mechanism and that confer its ability to produce a very-high-molar-mass polymer. In domain V of DSR-OK, we identified seven putative sugar-binding pockets characteristic of glycoside hydrolase 70 (GH70) glucansucrases that are known to be involved in glucan binding. We investigated their role in polymer synthesis through several approaches, including monitoring of dextran synthesis, affinity assays, sugar binding pocket deletions, site-directed mutagenesis, and construction of chimeric enzymes. Substitution of only two stacking aromatic residues in two consecutive sugar-binding pockets (variant DSR-OKΔ1-Y1162A-F1228A) induced quasi-complete loss of very-high-molar-mass dextran synthesis, resulting in production of only 10–13 kg/mol polymers. Moreover, the double mutation completely switched the semiprocessive mode of DSR-OKΔ1 toward a distributive one, highlighting the strong influence of these pockets on enzyme processivity. Finally, the position of each pocket relative to the active site also appeared to be important for polymer elongation. We propose that sugar-binding pockets spatially closer to the catalytic domain play a major role in the control of processivity. A deep structural characterization, if possible with large-molar-mass sugar ligands, would allow confirming this hypothesis. Full Article
ga Re: Covid-19: Brazil’s president rallies supporters against social distancing By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Saturday, May 9, 2020 - 17:51 Full Article
ga South Dakota illegally placed disabled people in nursing homes, federal investigation finds By feeds.bmj.com Published On :: Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - 12:41 Full Article
ga The Faltering U.S. Refugee Protection System: Legal and Policy Responses to Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Others in Need of Protection By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Sun, 01 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400 The U.S. refugee protection system, while generous in many respects, has become less robust over the last two decades. The unique and often diverse needs of emerging refugee populations have exposed severe limitations in the standard resettlement approach.This report examines U.S. legal and policy responses to those seeking protection and addresses the barriers, gaps, and opportunities that exist. Full Article
ga The Role of Civil Society in EU Migration Policy: Perspectives on the European Union's Engagement in its Neighborhood By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Wed, 01 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400 Civil society provides a crucial link between governments and the communities they represent—infusing policy processes with grassroots knowledge to which governments may not otherwise have access. Looking at the European Union’s efforts to engage with civil society in its “neighborhood,” this report examines the benefits, challenges, and mechanisms to building dialogue and cooperation on migration and development. Full Article
ga Pogba, Rashford available again for Man United By jamaica-gleaner.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 00:07:39 -0500 MANCHESTER, England (AP): Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford are expected to be available for Manchester United whenever the Premier League is allowed to resume after the suspension caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Whether United manager Ole Gunnar... Full Article
ga Cricket legend Murray warns against hasty restart By jamaica-gleaner.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 00:06:34 -0500 BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC): Former top West Indies cricket administrator, 76-year-old Deryck Murray, has warned against a forced restart of cricket amid the current challenges posed by the deadly coronavirus pandemic, and says any premature actions... Full Article
ga Mark Wignall | Help! I need to be a child again By jamaica-gleaner.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 00:17:51 -0500 Last Thursday morning, I went to visit my youngest grandchild, three-year-old Morgan. As she emerged from her bedroom with her tablet in hand and a scream on her lips then saw me and barged towards me, I knew that a full embrace was not going to... Full Article
ga GAP wants to delay capital projects at local airports By jamaica-gleaner.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 00:22:48 -0500 The operator Jamaica’s two largest airports wants to scrap or delay non-essential capital projects. It forms part of a wider halt of capital projects by the Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico – which translate to Pacific Airport Group, or GAP –... Full Article
ga Arbery’s death raises echoes of US racial terror legacy By jamaica-gleaner.com Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 15:05:27 -0500 (AP): Many people saw more than the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery’s life when a video emerged this week of white men armed with guns confronting the black man; a struggle with punches thrown; three shots fired and Arbery collapsing... Full Article
ga Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development: A Handbook for Policymakers and Practitioners in Home and Host Countries By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Fri, 01 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0400 This practical handbook highlights policies and programs that can magnify the resources, both human and financial, that emigrants and their descendants contribute to development. It gives concrete examples of policies and programs that have been effective, and pulls out both useful lessons and common challenges associated with the topics at hand. Full Article
ga Proactive Engagement: Two Strategies for Providing Language Access in Workforce Development Services By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400 This interactive language access webinar, one in a series offered by the Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, examines how New York and Illinois have broken down some of these barriers to proactively engage LEP communities to obtain workforce services. Full Article
ga Proactive Engagement: Two Strategies for Providing Language Access in Workforce Development Services By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Thu, 04 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0400 This webinar examines how New York and Illinois have proactively engaged Limited English Proficient (LEP) communities to obtain workforce services. Full Article
ga Immigrant Legalization: Assessing Labor Market Effects By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Public Policy Institute of California researchers Magnus Lofstrom and Laura Hill discuss their research examining the potential labor market outcomes and other possible economic effects of a legalization program. Full Article
ga Immigrant Legalization: Assessing Labor Market Effects By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400 Public Policy Institute of California researchers Magnus Lofstrom and Laura Hill discuss their research examining the potential labor market outcomes and other possible economic effects of a legalization program. The discussion was moderated by Doris Meissner, MPI Senior Fellow and Director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program, with comments from MPI Senior Policy Analyst Randy Capps and Sherrie A. Kossoudji, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, and Adjunct Professor, Department of Economics, University of Michigan. Full Article
ga Legal Immigration Policies for Low-Skilled Foreign Workers By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0400 The current U.S. legal immigration system includes few visas for low-skilled workers, and employers have relied heavily on an unauthorized workforce in many low-skilled occupations. This issue brief explains the questions that policymakers must grapple with when designing programs for admission of low-skill workers, for temporary as well as permanent entry. The brief focuses in part on the recent agreement by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO regarding admission of future low-skilled workers. Full Article
ga Frigatebirds sleep in mid-flight By www.theguardian.com Published On :: 2016-08-05T15:00:07Z New research shows that frigatebirds can sleep on the wing, with just one or both halves of their brainWhen Charles Darwin arrived at the Galápagos Islands in 1839, he had the opportunity to observe the habits of frigatebirds, and marvelled at their graceful flight manoeuvres and their ability to soar up high. “When it sees any object on the surface of the water,” he wrote, “[it] descends from a great height… with the swiftness of an arrow; and at the instant of seizing with its long beak and outstretched neck, the floating morsel, it turns upwards, with extraordinary dexterity, by the aid of its forked tail, and its long, powerful wings.” Related: Sleepy brains neglect half the world | Mo Costandi Related: Birds pack more cells into their brains than mammals Continue reading... Full Article Science Neuroscience
ga [ Other - Games & Recreation ] Open Question : A dnd session where the party killed a manticore and decided to bring the corpse back to town to sell. How much money should this give them? By answers.yahoo.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 09:02:55 +0000 Full Article
ga [ Law & Ethics ] Open Question : If I change my legal name is there a chance my future employers would see my old name? By answers.yahoo.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 09:20:07 +0000 I just got sent an electronic message from one of the employers stating that I am unsuitable for the role based on my police record. I'm under the impression some people are still choosing to impersonate me on several job search engines by giving each employer the idea I'm an ex-con with work skills that came out of prison. Is there a chance they can see my old name? Full Article
ga [ Video & Online Games ] Open Question : Is my Sim thick? By answers.yahoo.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 09:20:44 +0000 is she thicc af? I made this in the Sims 4 lol Full Article
ga [ Politics ] Open Question : Why can democrats never explain how sexism against women is a real issue when they get special treatment in society and courts? By answers.yahoo.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 09:23:13 +0000 Feminism is a lie and useless in modern America, patriarchy is a good thing and natural order of society. Women be like I'm oppressed cause I don't always get my way and choose careers that pay less Full Article
ga [ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered ] Open Question : Am I a lesbian? By answers.yahoo.com Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 09:26:53 +0000 I'll try to keep this short: So I have always dated guys. Yet when I am not dating guys, my best friend and I; who's a girl, hook up. We've been doing this for about 5 years, we met at the age of 15, and 5 yrs later I had my first lesbian experience with her, and then 5 years it became a fairly regular thing. 5 years is obviously a long time. But when I'm not dating a guy, I always go back to her. And she's the only woman I have ever been with. That's why I am confused about this. I do not know if I'm straight or a lesbian? Full Article
ga America’s Immigration System: Opportunities for Legal Immigration and Enforcement of Laws against Illegal Immigration By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 00:00:00 -0500 Testimony of Muzaffar Chishti, Director of MPI's office in New York, before the House Judiciary Committee. Full Article
ga Addressing the Immigration Status of Illegal Immigrants Brought to the United States as Children By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 00:00:00 -0400 Testimony of Margie McHugh, Co-Director of MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy, before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, U.S. House of Representatives. Full Article
ga The Executive Proclamation Designating the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks a National Monument: Implications for Border Security By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 09:14:51 -0400 Testimony of Marc R. Rosenblum, Deputy Director, U.S. Immigration Program, before the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency. Full Article
ga Transnational Organized Crime Groups, Immigration, and Border Security: Connections, Distinctions, and Proposals for Effective Policy By www.migrationpolicy.org Published On :: Thu, 13 Dec 2018 10:30:42 -0500 Testimony of Andrew Selee, President of MPI, before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration on December 12, 2018 regarding the intersections of transnational crime, immigration, and border security. Full Article
ga Yellowknife memorial garden hopes to return to 'spectacular glory' with new repairs By www.cbc.ca Published On :: Sat, 9 May 2020 17:24:32 EDT The city of Yellowknife is hoping make repairs to a local memorial garden this summer, after it has been the target of vandalism and has fallen into disrepair for a variety of reasons in recent years. Full Article News/Canada/North
ga Anti-lockdown supporters rally against COVID-19-related restrictions outside Manitoba legislature By www.cbc.ca Published On :: Sat, 9 May 2020 21:09:15 EDT A group that says pandemic-related restrictions are more harmful than COVID-19 itself held a rally at the Manitoba Legislative Building on Saturday. Full Article News/Canada/Manitoba
ga Exposure to racial residential segregation associated with worse cognitive performance in mid-life By www.news-medical.net Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 20:14:32 -0400 A study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that black subjects who were exposed to highly segregated neighborhoods in young adulthood exhibited worse performance in cognitive skills in mid-life. Full Article
ga New discovery could end chronic rejection of transplanted organs By www.news-medical.net Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 22:23:18 -0400 Chronic rejection of transplanted organs is the leading cause of transplant failure, and one that the field of organ transplantation has not overcome in almost six decades since the advent of immunosuppressive drugs enabled the field to flourish. Full Article
ga Singapore: Singaporean Courts Hear Only Essential and Urgent Matters During COVID-19 Outbreak, Largely Through Zoom By www.loc.gov Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 21:13:39 +0000 (May 1, 2020) On April 24, 2020, Singapore’s chief justice announced an extension to June 1, 2020, of the period during which the courts of Singapore would hear only essential and urgent matters in order to slow local transmission of COVID-19. On the same day, the Supreme Court, state courts, and family justice courts each […] Full Article
ga Sweden: National Prosecutor Investigates Workplace Environment Crime After Nurse Dies of COVID-19 By www.loc.gov Published On :: Mon, 04 May 2020 13:30:38 +0000 (May 4, 2020) On April 29, 2020, the Swedish National Prosecutor announced that it is investigating a workplace environment crime (arbetsmiljöbrott) after a nurse working at Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm died of COVID-19. The investigation comes following a report by the local safety representative (skyddsombud), who reportedly claimed that the hospital lacked the appropriate […] Full Article
ga Singapore: COVID-19 Control Orders Extended to June 1 By www.loc.gov Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 19:32:08 +0000 (May 7, 2020) On April 30, 2020, Singapore’s minister for health made an amendment to the COVID‑19 (Temporary Measures) (Control Order) Regulations 2020 to extend the expiration date of the COVID-19 control orders under the regulations to June 1, 2020. The Control Order Regulations, which had been originally issued on April 7, 2020, under the authorization […] Full Article
ga Mother’s Day 2020: THIS video of Sonnalli Seygall and her mom twinning and dancing together is the cooles – Times of India By rss-newsfeed.india-meets-classic.net Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 16:09:00 +0000 Mother’s Day 2020: THIS video of Sonnalli Seygall and her mom twinning and dancing together is the cooles Times of India Full Article IMC News Feed
ga Kangana dedicates a beautiful poem to her mom By rss-newsfeed.india-meets-classic.net Published On :: Sat, 09 May 2020 19:53:02 +0000 With more and more Bollywood celebs taking to social media to interact with their fans amidst the lockdown phase, Kangana Ranaut to Instagram to pour her heart out with a special message which she dedicated to her mother. Full Article IMC News Feed
ga MercyOne babies receive handmade ‘Star Wars’ hats to celebrate May 4 – Globe Gazette By rss-newsfeed.india-meets-classic.net Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 04:34:00 +0000 MercyOne babies receive handmade 'Star Wars' hats to celebrate May 4 Globe Gazette Full Article IMC News Feed
ga After Vizag gas leak, Centre issues guidelines for restarting industries post-coronavirus lockdown – khabrisala By rss-newsfeed.india-meets-classic.net Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 04:59:28 +0000 After Vizag gas leak, Centre issues guidelines for restarting industries post-coronavirus lockdown khabrisalaGovt issues new guidelines for restarting industries after lockdown LivemintConsider Week 1 As Trial: Government On Indus... Full Article IMC News Feed
ga Realme Narzo 10 confirmed to feature MediaTek Helio G80 gaming processor – Hindustan Times By rss-newsfeed.india-meets-classic.net Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 05:40:48 +0000 Realme Narzo 10 confirmed to feature MediaTek Helio G80 gaming processor Hindustan TimesRealme Narzo 10 officially confirmed to pack Helio G80 SoC - GSMArena.com news GSMArena.comRealme Narzo 10, Realme Narzo 10A Launch on May 11:... Full Article IMC News Feed
ga UFC 249: Justin Gaethje halts the Tony Ferguson vs Khabib Nurmagomedov storyline – Hindustan Times By rss-newsfeed.india-meets-classic.net Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 05:48:00 +0000 UFC 249: Justin Gaethje halts the Tony Ferguson vs Khabib Nurmagomedov storyline Hindustan TimesUFC 249 news: Khabib Nurmagomedov tweets immediately after Tony Ferguson loses to Justin Gaethje GIVEMESPORTTwitter Salutes Tony Ferguson After Surviving a Barrage of Attacks From Justin Gaethje Essentially SportsUFC 249: ‘He is epitome of an athlete,’ Justin Gaethje full of praise for opponent Tony Ferguson Hindustan TimesJustin Gaethje batters Tony Ferguson to win UFC interim lightweight title ESPN IndiaView Full coverage on Google News Full Article IMC News Feed
ga Players and everyone else need to live with this virus: Gambhir – Hindustan Times By rss-newsfeed.india-meets-classic.net Published On :: Sun, 10 May 2020 06:29:57 +0000 Players and everyone else need to live with this virus: Gambhir Hindustan TimesCricketers will have to live with dangers of COVID-19: Gautam Gambhir Times of IndiaPlayers will need to live with this virus in foreseeable future: Ga... Full Article IMC News Feed
ga Calgary-based company charged with pandemic price gouging By www.cbc.ca Published On :: Sat, 9 May 2020 13:14:53 EDT Alberta has charged a Calgary-based supply company with COVID-19 price gouging, but the company's owner says he himself is paying massively inflated prices just to bring in supplies like masks and sanitizer. Full Article News/Canada/Calgary
ga Calgary coffee shop ordered to close its patio by Alberta Health Services By www.cbc.ca Published On :: Sat, 9 May 2020 15:39:30 EDT A Calgary coffee shop must close public access to its patio and dine-in services, Alberta Health Services says. Full Article News/Canada/Calgary
ga Be a game changer! By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:15:51 +0000 Sports/English Camp meets community needs and instils biblical values in children and youth in Piedmont, Italy. Full Article