Around 500 participants took part, including representatives from ASEAN, the EU and its Member States, youth and individuals with special needs. The event took place along Jalan Sudirman, leading to Gelora Bung Karno, Senayan, Jakarta.

PORT AUX BASQUES, Newfoundland — It will take several months for Canada to restore critical infrastructure after the powerful storm Fiona left an "unprecedented" trail of destruction, officials said Sunday, as crews fanned out in five provinces to restore power and clean up fallen trees and debris.  "It's like a complete war zone," said Brian Button, mayor of Port aux Basques, one of the hardest hit towns on the southwest tip of Newfoundland with just over 4,000 residents. More than 20 homes were destroyed and the cost of damages "is in the millions (of dollars) here now," Button said in an interview.  No fatalities have been confirmed so far, but police in Newfoundland are searching for a 73-year-old woman they suspect was swept out to sea.  "The woman was last seen inside (her) residence just moments before a wave struck the home, tearing away a portion of the basement. She has not been seen since," police said in a statement.  Fiona slammed into eastern Canada Saturday, forcing evacuations as wind gusted up to 170 km per hour (106 miles per hour).  While the full scale of Fiona's devastation is not immediately clear, the storm could prove to be one of Canada's costliest natural disasters.  Scientists have not yet determined whether climate change influenced Fiona, but in general the warming of the planet is making hurricanes wetter, windier and altogether more intense.  Canada's federal government is sending in the armed forces Sunday to help clear fallen trees and debris, which will in turn open the way for crews to restore power, Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair told Reuters.  The province of Nova Scotia requested the troops and machinery to clear debris Saturday, "and we said yes, and so they're being deployed today," Blair said. Other provinces are also in discussions about federal aid, Blair said.  The Canadian Hurricane Center estimated that Fiona was the lowest-pressured storm to make landfall on record in Canada. In 2019, Dorian hit the region around Halifax, Nova Scotia, blowing down a construction crane and knocking out power. Fiona, on the other hand, appears to have caused major damage across at least five provinces.  "The scale of what we're dealing with, I think it's unprecedented," Blair said Sunday.  "There is going to be... several months' work in restoring some of the critical infrastructure - buildings and homes, rooftops that have been blown off community centers and schools," he said.  Hundreds of thousands of residents across Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island (PEI), Newfoundland, Quebec and New Brunswick remained without power Sunday. Blair said hundreds of utility crews had already been deployed to restore power.  "When it's all said and done... Fiona will turn out to have caused the most damage of any storm we've seen," Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told the CBC.  Officials warned Saturday that in some cases it would take weeks before essential services are fully restored.  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had convened a meeting of his emergency response group for Sunday to coordinate the government's response, according to a statement.  "We do know that the damage is very extensive, quite likely the worst we have ever seen," Dennis King, PEI premier, told reporters Saturday.  "Islanders ... should know that our road to recovery will be weeks or longer. It will be an all-hands-on-deck approach," he added.  The storm also severely damaged fishing harbors in Atlantic Canada, which could hurt the country's C$3.2 billion lobster industry, unless it is fully restored before the season kicks off in a few weeks.  "Those fishers have a very immediate need to be able to access their livelihood once the storm passes," Dominic LeBlanc, minister of intergovernmental affairs of Canada, said Saturday. 

DOHA, Qatar — A top Qatari official involved in the country's World Cup organization has put the number of worker deaths for the tournament "between 400 and 500" for the first time, a drastically higher number than any other previously offered by Doha. The comment by Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary-general of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, appeared to come off the cuff during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan. It also threatened to reinvigorate criticism by human rights groups over the toll of hosting the Middle East's first World Cup for the migrant labor that built over $200 billion worth of stadiums, metro lines and new infrastructure needed for the tournament. The Supreme Committee and Qatar's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. In the interview, portions of which Morgan posted online, the British journalist asks al-Thawadi: "What is the honest, realistic total do you think of migrant workers who died from — as a result of work they're doing for the World Cup in totality?" "The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500," al-Thawadi responds. "I don't have the exact number. That's something that's been discussed." But that figure hasn't been discussed publicly by Qatari officials previously. Reports from the Supreme Committee dating from 2014 through the end of 2021 only include the number of deaths of workers involved in building and refurbishing the stadiums now hosting the World Cup. Those released figures put the total number of deaths at 40. They include 37 from what the Qataris describe as nonwork incidents such as heart attacks and three from workplace incidents. One report also separately lists a worker death from the coronavirus amid the pandemic. Al-Thawadi pointed to those figures when discussing work just on stadiums in the interview, right before offering the "between 400 to 500" death toll for all the infrastructure for the tournament. Since FIFA awarded the tournament to Qatar in 2010, the country has taken some steps to overhaul the country's employment practices. That includes eliminating its so-called kafala employment system, which tied workers to their employers, who had say over whether they could leave their jobs or even the country. Qatar also has adopted a minimum monthly wage of 1,000 Qatari riyals ($275) for workers and required food and housing allowances for employees not receiving those benefits directly from their employers. It also has updated its worker safety rules to prevent deaths. "One death is a death too many. Plain and simple," al-Thawadi adds in the interview. Activists have called on Doha to do more, particularly when it comes to ensuring workers receive their salaries on time and are protected from abusive employers. Al-Thawadi's comment also renews questions on the veracity of both government and private business reporting on worker injuries and deaths across the Gulf Arab states, whose skyscrapers have been built by laborers from South Asia nations like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Mustafa Qadri, the executive director of Equidem Research, a labor consultancy that has published reports on the toll of the construction on migrant laborers, said he was surprised by al-Thawadi's remark. "For him now to come and say there is hundreds, it's shocking," he told The Associated Press. "They have no idea what's going on."  

Since Israel restricted Muslim access to a holy site in Jerusalem, Israelis and Palestinians have plunged into a new battle in their eternal war.

[Liberian Investigator] Monrovia -- Sources have hinted to The Liberian Investigator that the Executive Branch, through the Ministry of Finance & Development Planning, is contemplating submitting the 2025 draft national budget to the breakaway "majority bloc" in the House of Representatives later this week.

How will Israel respond to Iran’s recent ballistic missiles barrage? “Strategic patience” is the best course. Israel has its hands full with Hamas and Hezbollah. Now is not the time to escalate a new major war with Iran, which could have nuclear implications. Israeli intelligence is still chafing from its failure to preempt Hamas’ attack […]

Migration, trade, the defence of democracy, the confrontation with China and the collapse of multilateralism are issues that shed more doubts than certainties on Latin America’s expectations of the imminent presidential elections in the United States. Interest and tension have grown after dozens of polls and bookmakers have shown similar chances of victory for Democrat […]

Slackliners set world record, balancing at 2,500 metres high between hot air balloons

Climate change is driving a mental health crisis and accelerating eco-anxiety. Dr. Emma Lawrance is leading Climate Cares, Imperial College London, a centre dedicated to research on climate change in mental health. The researcher spoke to IPS about the need to address this growing concern.

A bill discussed at the House labour committee on Tuesday would change pensions given to widowers and see them brought in line with those given to widows. It was submitted by independent socialist MP Kostis Efstathiou. Akel MP and committee chair Andreas Kafkalias said the current division between widowers who receive a pension and those […]

Puppies that are raised in someone's home seem to benefit from that extra human interaction, by asking for help at a younger age than those brought up in kennels

Concern over the risks of enabling nuclear weapons development is usually focused on nuclear fission reactors, but the potential harm from more advanced fusion reactors has been underappreciated

A single ytterbium atom, cooled down to extreme temperatures and manipulated with laser beams, could reveal how gravity affects quantum objects

Our Future Chronicles column explores an imagined history of inventions and developments yet to come. In our latest glimpse into the near future, Rowan Hooper tells how seaweed was a game changer when it came to getting carbon out of the atmosphere in the 2030s

SpaceX is preparing for the sixth test flight of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket. Next week's launch – if successful – will be the fastest turnaround yet

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Title: ADHD Risk Rises for Each Week a Preemie Is Born Early
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Background:

Higher trust in healthcare providers has been linked to better health outcomes and satisfaction. Lower trust has been associated with healthcare-based discrimination.

Background

The real-world consequences of a Philips Respironics recall for positive airway pressure (PAP) devices distributed between 2009 and 2021 are unknown.

BackgroundThere has been significant investment in pharmacists working in UK general practice to improve the effective and safe use of medicines. However, evidence of how to optimise collaboration between GPs and pharmacists in the context of polypharmacy (multiple medication) is lacking.AimTo explore GP and pharmacist views and experiences of in-person, interprofessional collaborative discussions (IPCDs) as part of a complex intervention to optimise medication use for patients with polypharmacy in general practice.Design and settingA mixed-method process evaluation embedded within the Improving Medicines use in People with Polypharmacy in Primary Care (IMPPP) trial conducted in Bristol and the West Midlands, between February 2021 and September 2023.MethodAudio-recordings of IPCDs between GPs and pharmacists, along with individual semi-structured interviews to explore their reflections on these discussions, were used. All recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.ResultsA total of 14 practices took part in the process evaluation from February 2022 to September 2023; 17 IPCD meetings were audio-recorded, discussing 30 patients (range 1–6 patients per meeting). In all, six GPs and 13 pharmacists were interviewed. The IPCD was highly valued by GPs and pharmacists who described benefits, including: strengthening their working relationship; gaining in confidence to manage more complex patients; and learning from each other. It was often challenging, however, to find time for the IPCDs.ConclusionThe model of IPCD used in this study provided protected time for GPs and pharmacists to work together to deliver whole-patient care, with both professions finding this beneficial. Protected time for interprofessional liaison and collaboration, and structured interventions may facilitate improved patient care.

The deadline to claim part of the $15 million Cash App settlement is November 18. Here's what to know.

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HARI SREENIVASAN: The desire of the Kurds along Iraq’s northern border to govern themselves is receiving more resistance from Iraq’s central government. Iraqi army forces are demanding Kurdish troops withdraw from oil fields and military bases around Kirkuk, a city in the Kurdistan region that voted for independence last month. Kirkuk also has 10% of Iraq’s known oil reserves. Washington Post’s Loveday Morris is in Baghdad covering this standoff joins me now via Skype. First of all the significance of this. Why is it so important?

LOVEDAY MORRIS: There’s been a longtime conflict between Baghdad and Kurdistan over these disputed territories. Most significant of which is Kirkuk because of the oil reserves. But the referendum last month has really sharpened these disputes because you have Baghdad opposing independence and so it feels like they have to restate its territorial claims these areas. So that’s why we’re seeing a lot of tension right now.

HARI SREENIVASAN: And just to give people a little bit of a brief timeline – Iraqi forces control this area for a while and then in June ISIS took over the area and now it’s kind of back in Kurdish hands?

LOVEDAY MORRIS: Right. So in June 2014 Iraq lost control of a lot of the areas and we have this huge collapse in the face of an ISIS offensive. Over 100,000 soldiers fled and Kurdish forces moved in some of these areas – some of them maybe took from ISIS and others just moved into into the vacuum. And so Iraqi forces have been in these areas since June 2014. And that’s their main demand that they return to the areas.

HARI SREENIVASAN: What’s the likelihood that this standoff right now turns violent? Into some sort of a civil war?

LOVEDAY MORRIS:: I think at this point both sides don’t want violence. Al-Abadi, the prime minister, is really trying to defuse the situation by saying there’s going to be no military attack. But at the same time there is this buildup of forces so that I think they are trying to, in a way, intimidate the Kurds to withdraw from some areas but they don’t want to see a fight per say. But in this really tense situation there can be a small spark and things can turn violent quite easily.

HARI SREENIVASAN: Thank you.

The post Iraqi, Kurdish forces in standoff, weeks after Kurdish vote for independence appeared first on PBS NewsHour.

The hunt for missing flight MH370 will end in two weeks, Malaysia’s transport minister said yesterday.

THE world’s tech will undergo a transformation over just three weeks with a bonanza of new phones, tablets, smart watches and OLED 4K TVs.

Okay, look folks, I'm terribly sorry you've been trapped in the bubble of silence for this weekend while comments are still un-fucking themselves. I'm expecting some really juicy catch-up comments next weekend! In the meantime, this post will stay up as usual so you can at least hear what we're getting up to in the treehouse.

Congratulations on making it to another checkpoint, fellow traveller. Please spend your hard-earned coin on one of the following bonuses: either a weekend of games but no sleep; a weekend of sleep but no games; or a weekend of health and activity but nothing to post in the comments below? Your choice! Here's what we're all clicking on this weekend.

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SCENE. A Video Game Website At Sunrise.

Enter A Reader Of News

A Reader Of News I wonder whither there be'est any new PC games on sale this week, perchance?

Enter A News Editor, With Alarums And Excursions

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I didn't sleep last night for entirely self-inflicted reasons and my brain feels like that one accursed hoover bag you refuse to empty, because there is no way of doing so that won't turn the neighbourhood into Silent Hill. I need to avoid any complicated write-ups, or my brain will detonate similarly and paint north London grey.

Ah, a minigolf game! I think I can just about hack the concept of minigolf, on this most desperate of Mondays. It is golf but mini. Bonzai golf. Digestible! Intuitive! Why, I've managed to write 100 words without even looking at the Steam page. Let's do so now. Wait a minute, this isn't minigolf. It's Mini Mini Golf Golf. What is Mini Mini Golf Golf? "Destabilize the present and plunge into a neon psychohistory of a bizarre entity in distress," the Steam page explains. "This is not a game about minigolf." It is too late to flee.

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Much the same as anyone with a soul, I find ants deeply fascinating and, much the same as anyone who occasionally drops small pieces of sandwich on the floor, I will continue to uphold my respect for them as long as they come nowhere near my feet. Yes. I admit it: I am a bug hypocrite, loudly extolling their virtue and beauty at a distance then getting irritated if they decide to come sit on me.

Fortunately, real time strategy Empire Of The Ants understands that the best place for insects to be is inside a screen, where they can be appreciated but cannot under any circumstances touch you. It’s out this week, as it happens, and here’s a new launch trailer to celebrate. Follow your pheromone trail to the video below.

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We’re still a week away from Blizzard’s Warcraft 30th Anniversary Direct next Wednesday the 13th of November, but art from an apparent remaster of 1995 real time strategy game Warcraft II: Tides Of Darkness has leaked online, via Xibbly user Stiven. It’s a thin one, as far as leaks go, but does show what looks to be cover, logo art, and a Battle.net icon. Thanks for the spot, Percy Coswald Gamer.

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Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics Of War developers Proxy Studios have just released Zephon, a new 4X strategy game set in a manky, post-apocalyptic world. It's got hexagonal maps, flesh trees, gangly Evangelion-grade giants, "otherworldly hymns of decay", nuclear bombs, and a player-led "blend of magic and cyberpunk" that extends from the city architecture to the research component. All of which is my cup of giblets. Here's the launch trailer.

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Alright everyone, let's put this new comments section through its paces. I want to hear deep and detailed roundups of everything you've been playing over the past two weeks this time! We're gonna make our tech team weep. Here's what we're clicking on this weekend!

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Good news, everyone: I'm off work all this week. I know, I know - a whole seven days with zero Edwin bullshit. What a prospect. Allow yourself a moment to savour the idea. I'm so thrilled for you! The Maw, sadly, does not understand the concept of "time off". Its hunger is as constant as the tide, as unrelenting as my retreating hairline. So before I disappear into a beam of sunshine, here's this week's list of new PC game releases.

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On 19 and 20 August, the JUICE mission will make the first ever attempt to get a gravitational boost from both Earth and the moon on its way to Jupiter

The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted six strange worlds the size of planets that formed like stars – and the smallest may be building its own miniature solar system

SpaceX is preparing for the sixth test flight of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket. Next week's launch – if successful – will be the fastest turnaround yet

A Spot robot equipped with a blowtorch can locate weeds on farms and precisely heat them up to stop them growing, offering a possible alternative to herbicides