Russian Imperial Movement, based in St. Petersburg, is increasingly expanding its outreach beyond Russia through the establishment of transnational networks with likeminded neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups, experts warn

[Premium Times] Nigeria's tally of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose to 4,151 as 239 new infections were announced Saturday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

[Vanguard] On the 9th of May 2020, 239 new confirmed cases and 11 deaths were recorded in Nigeria, according to a report by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

BEIJING: The coronavirus outbreak exposed “shortcomings” in China’s public healthcare system, a top health official admitted Saturday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the country’s disease prevention and control mechanisms.China has faced criticism both at home...

HERAT: Two cops and four other people were killed in Afghanistan on Saturday after a deadly clash during distribution of food in central Ghor province, officials said.Hundreds of people had gathered outside the governor’s office in the provincial capital Firozkoh, where a Qatari group was...

LAHORE: The Punjab government has extended the lockdown relaxations to more businesses, markets and trades, subject to observance of the standard operating procedures and security measures till May 31.According to a handout issued on Saturday, the provincial government said relaxations were...

HERAT, Afghanistan: Two policemen and four other people were killed in Afghanistan on Saturday after a deadly clash at a public food donation in central Ghor province, officials said.Hundreds of people had gathered outside the governor´s office in the provincial capital Firozkoh, where a...

BEIJING: The coronavirus outbreak exposed “shortcomings” in China’s public healthcare system, a top health official admitted Saturday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the country’s disease prevention and control mechanisms.China has faced criticism both at home...

A majority of Israeli-Jews (51.7%) supported annexation and 8.8% of Israeli-Arabs supported it, while 27.9% of Israeli-Jews opposed it and 51.9% of Israel-Arabs were against it.

"If the information with the kids' location is uploaded to the internet, a pedophile with some cyber knowledge may invade the system and stalk them," cyber expert Einat Meron said.

'This was an attack that goes against all codes, even in war. This is an attack that cannot be done.'

Deputy Director-General of the Health Ministry Itamar Grotto insisted that despite improvements in coronavirus conditions around the country, we must be prepared for a second wave in summer.

Acting US director of national intelligence Richard Grenell says he spoke "with an influential Lebanese Shi'ite leader" who is "close" to coming out publicly in favor of decriminalizing homosexuality

China and its rivals in the West are using Africa’s debt problems, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, as a political football in their struggle for power on the continent, experts say.Seifudein Adem, a professor of global studies at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, said that ballooning national debt had been a major concern for many African countries even before Covid-19, but had now been brought front and centre.While it was encouraging that major creditors were seriously considering…

Beijing says reforms are underway to improve disease prevention and control mechanisms.

All across Asia , and around the world, people have been urged to keep a safe distance and maintain good personal hygiene amid the coronavirus pandemic. But if your “home” is a prison dormitory that holds five times the 100 inmates it was designed to, doing either is almost impossible.Overcrowding is the norm in the prison systems of many developing nations, but the Philippines has long held the dubious distinction of having one of the most jam-packed in the world.In Manila City Jail, one of an…

Fishermen in northeast Thailand say they have seen catches in the Mekong River plunge, while some farmers in Vietnam and Cambodia are leaving for jobs in cities as harvests of rice and other crops shrink.The common thread driving these events is erratic water levels in Asia’s third longest waterway.Water flows along the 4,300km (2,700 mile) Mekong shift naturally between monsoon and dry seasons, but non-governmental groups say the 11 hydroelectric dams on China’s portion of the river – five of…

The B.C. Centre of Disease Control says the Calgary to Kelowna flight happened on May 5.

In run-up to 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Panasonic and other multinational corporations find big market for security

Reducing carbon emissions could mean difference between 1 and over 4 feet of sea level rise

Voters in Bolivia rejected by a slim margin a constitutional amendment that would have allowed Morales to run again

Taxi drivers say some customers spend $100 a week on fares to and from work

Prisoners and area residents are hit by toxic fumes that could cause fatal harm

At Mutobo camp, former fighters spend three months being rehabiliated after returning from the DRC

Despite programs aimed at helping former fighters recover and rebuild, many struggle to find their place in society

1. Happy Mother’s Day: 8 extremely stylish moms of Bollywood who have raised the bar high for others  PINKVILLA
2. Mother’s Day 2020: Single Mothers of Bollywood  News18
3. Mother's Day 2020: Here Are Most Stylish Mother-Child Duos in Bollywood  News18
4. Mother’s Day 2020: These Bollywood Actresses Played On-Screen Mothers At A Young Age  News18
5. View Full coverage on Google News

Demi Lovato says she is very happy in her love life, alongside beau Max Ehrich

Hailey Baldwin bared it all about the constant comparisons between her and Justin Bieber’s past lovers like Selena Gomez

Beyoncé and the entire family has been cleared following the earlier scare

'The Crown' depicted Queen Elizabeth as a 'countryside woman of limited intelligence'

ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates Ambassador for Pakistan Hamad Obaid Ibrahim Salem Alzaabi has assured the world that Dubai Expo-2020’s new schedule would be a blessing for the world in the...

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LONDON: British Kashmiri Organisations have shown deep concern over brutalities of the Indian army keeping up in occupied Kashmir.Both the Kashmir Youth Assembly and the Organisation of Kashmir...

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KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Karachi President Khurram Sher Zaman on Saturday claimed that the Sindh government is exaggerating the number of COVID-19 cases to keep the markets shut down. The ...

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PESHAWAR: Confusion prevailed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over cancellation of the board examinations and extension of school closure until July 15 as no decision could be taken at the provincial level...

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LONDON: British Kashmiri Organisations have shown deep concern over brutalities of the Indian army keeping up in occupied Kashmir.Both the Kashmir Youth Assembly and the Organisation of Kashmir...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Karachi President Khurram Sher Zaman on Saturday claimed that the Sindh government is exaggerating the number of COVID-19 cases to keep the markets shut down. The ...

[[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

LONDON: British Kashmiri Organisations have shown deep concern over brutalities of the Indian army keeping up in occupied Kashmir.Both the Kashmir Youth Assembly and the Organisation of Kashmir...

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“What we want to see is how this ECQ is being used to stop the spread of the virus and not just to incarcerate the people in their homes while the government is not making any effort to aggressively conduct mass testing.”

The post Philippines has not flattened the curve – experts appeared first on Bulatlat.

Three senior officials guiding the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic were in self-quarantine on Saturday after coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for the disease, their agencies and spokesmen said.

BEIJING: The coronavirus outbreak exposed “shortcomings” in China’s public healthcare system, a top health official admitted Saturday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the country’s disease prevention and control mechanisms.China has faced criticism both at home...

MONROVIA: Liberian President George Weah has said he will partially lift restrictions on praying in mosques and churches aimed at curbing coronavirus, while extending a lockdown in the capital Monrovia. In a statement on Friday, the former international footballer said emergency measures announced...

BEIJING: The coronavirus outbreak exposed "shortcomings" in China’s public healthcare system, a top health official admitted Saturday, saying that reforms are underway to improve the country’s disease prevention and control mechanisms.China has faced criticism both at home and abroad...

TUNIS: A Tunisian NGO has set up a food bank that dispenses aid by text message to some 300 needy families rendered more vulnerable because of the coronavirus pandemic.The initiative, which had been long in the making, was finally launched at the end of April to coincide with the start of the holy...

A total of 14 positive coronavirus cases were detected on the May 8 expat return flights, the state-run National News Agency said Sunday.

KABUL: At least six people were killed when protesters angry over what they saw as unfair food aid distribution during the coronavirus pandemic clashed with police in Afghanistan’s western Ghor province on Saturday, according to officials.

Four civilians and two police officers died in the incident, according to Tariq Arian, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior.

“A delegation will be sent from Kabul to investigate today’s incident in a comprehensive manner,” he said, adding that 10 police officers and nine civilians were injured.

Gulzaman Nayeb, a lawmaker representing Ghor, said that seven people were killed and more than a dozen wounded during the protest, sparked by growing discontent at the distribution allegedly favouring people with political connections.

Police had opened fire after some among the around 300 protesters threw stones, started to fire guns and tried to enter the governor’s house, said Mohammad Arif Aber, a spokesman for the provincial governor of Ghor. He put the toll at two dead and five wounded. He denied that aid was being unfairly distributed.

War-ravaged nation has reported 4,033 cases of Covid-19 and 115 deaths

Among the dead was Ahmad Naveed Khan, a local volunteer radio presenter who was sitting in his nearby shop and was hit in the head by a bullet, according to Ahmad Quraishi, executive director at the Afghanistan Journalists Centre.

The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) is looking into the “worrying reports of police firing on protesters”, its chairperson Shaharzad Akbar said on Twitter.

Rights group Amnesty International also called for an independent investigation into the use of police force.

The government has been distributing food aid around the country as the restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic have led to many job losses and rising food prices. Akbar said this week that the commission was being inundated with complaints from the public that food aid is being distributed unfairly.

“We hear repeated complaints from people that the ones who are receiving the limited aid that is there are not the ones that are most deserving, they are the ones who have connections to local authorities or local officials,” she said, adding it was not possible to verify the extent to which it was happening.

Afghanistan has reported 4,033 cases of the coronavirus and 115 deaths.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has drafted tax proposals for Budget 2020-21 mainly focusing on “simplification of laws and removing tax anomalies,” Dawn has learnt from knowledgeable sources.

Unconfirmed reports are that the government is likely to announce a ‘tax-free budget’, an official in the FBR told Dawn, adding a final decision will be taken after consulting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after Eidul Fitr.

Also read: Govt, IMF agree to put on hold $6bn programme

Meanwhile, Finance Adviser Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has already termed the next year budget a ‘corona-budget’.

It will depend on the IMF whether it considers Pakistan’s proposal to lower tax target for TY21. The Fund had proposed a tax target of Rs5.1 trillion for the next year, which is higher by 30pc from the FY20’s proposed collection.

Consultation with IMF after Eidul Fitr

For the current year, the IMF has lowered the FBR tax target to Rs3.9tr, from Rs4.8tr to subside the impact of Covid-19 on businesses. However, achieving this benchmark also depends on the revival of activity before and after Eid and the entire June, the official added.

Another senior tax official told Dawn that the Fund officials meeting with Pakistani economic team will determine the direction of the next budget whether it will be tax-free or have some taxation to achieve the following year’s target.

The official said the FBR has already completed its homework on budget proposals for the next year and is currently working on identifying anomalies that should be removed.

“We are also working on simplification of tax laws to facilitate taxpayers,” the official said.

At the same time, the FBR is also engaging all stakeholders to identify problems related to taxation for redressal. “We will also consider tax incentives in the next budget for some sectors to help them revive their business,” they added.

Some of the proposals on the table from stakeholders are the revival of zero-rating for the five export-oriented sectors, allowing lower rates of sales tax on domestic sales of textile, clothing, waiver of CNIC conditions for traders and reducing the sales tax rate to 5pc from 17pc. “These are the demands of the stakeholders,” the official said.

Tax officials privy to budget-making said the FBR will try to avoid the introduction of new tax measures but will defend the continuation of those already in place. “It will be best to preserve our existing tax measures for now and see onward in the year how it progresses,” the officials commented.

At the moment, the focus is on the ease of doing business and facilitating taxpayers through information technology support. As the economy will revive, the FBR will support any new taxation proposals, they continued.

However, a senior tax official said the FBR cannot do away with maximum existing tax measures. “We need money for running the government machinery,” he said, adding other measures like printing of notes will add to inflationary pressure in the country.

The FBR has already worked out the impact of ongoing lockdown and closing down of businesses on the country’s revenue collection. The IMF has approved the incentive package for the construction sector on the request of Prime Minister Imran Khan to create employment.

“We are under an IMF programme so all budget proposals will be discussed with them,” the official said.

The FBR estimates a revenue loss of Rs450 billion in the first quarter (July-September) of next fiscal year in case the partial lockdown remains. It further projects that in case the partial lockdown extends, the tax body will see another shortfall in revenue realisation to the tune of Rs350bn.

According to the official, the FBR will try to recover some portion of the shortfall in the second half of the year. However, the government will have no other options but to seek a loan to bridge revenue shortfall. “You cannot bridge such a huge gap with new tax measures,” the source said.

Moreover, the FBR estimates also show that imports will remain on the lower side in the first half-year and so is the case of exports until orders revive. The domestic economy will revive to some extent while revenue collection from the services sector will be much lower from last year’s level.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2020

CES 2014, LAS VEGAS – HARMAN, the premium global audio and infotainment group (NYSE:HAR), unveiled two new services for the automotive market that leverage the Aha by HARMAN Cloud Platform and HARMAN’s infotainment system design leadership to ensure safe, personalized and connected driving experiences throughout the life of the vehicle. Extending beyond the popular Aha Radio interactive content service, the new Aha Updates and Aha Analytics services take HARMAN’s expertise and investments in cloud infrastructure into new directions.

CES 2015, LAS VEGAS – HARMAN, the premium global audio, infotainment and enterprise automation group (NYSE:HAR), introduces its enhanced Harman Kardon AVR 1x1 Series with the additions of Spotify Connect in all models and HDMI 2.0 in the two top models. The AVR 1x1s series, which includes Harman Kardon® AVR 1510, AVR 1610 and AVR 1710, was released last year and stands unprecedented in its versatility, quality and efficiency. Each Harman Kardon AVR 1x1s features the brand's iconic styling and unmatched sound reproduction and offers enhanced support for streaming and external devices.

Three senior officials guiding the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic were in self-quarantine on Saturday after coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for the disease, their agencies and spokesmen said.