A former State Department employee was sentenced today to 12 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 75 confidential passport application files.

Susan Holloman, 58, of Washington, pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging her with unauthorized computer access.

Kevin M. Young, 42, was sentenced today to 12 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 125 confidential passport application files. Young was also ordered by U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay in the District of Columbia to perform 100 hours of community service.

A ninth individual pleaded guilty today to illegally accessing numerous confidential passport application files, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division announced.

Karal Busch, 28, of District Heights, Md., was sentenced today to 24 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 65 confidential passport application files.

To date, nine current or former State Department employees or contractors have pleaded guilty in this continuing investigation.

A State Department employee was sentenced today to 12 months of probation for illegally accessing more than 60 confidential passport application files.

Brooke E. Reyna, 28, of Barrington, N.H., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante in U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire to making false statements.

Charlotte M. Robinson, 46, of Dolton, Ill., pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox in the Northern District of Illinois to a one-count criminal information charging her with unauthorized computer access.

A State Department contract employee pleaded guilty today to illegally accessing confidential passport application files.

The International Competition Network (ICN) adopted new recommended practices for predatory pricing analysis and competition assessment, and approved new work product on international merger enforcement cooperation, confidentiality protections during investigations, leniency policy and digital evidence gathering.

Red Bull driver Mark Webber is relishing the challenge of coming from behind in the final two races of the season to take the championship

Kimi Raikkonen is confident he will be able to adapt quickly to the Pirelli tyres when he makes his comeback with Renault next season

Bruno Senna is not sure where he will end up in 2012 but is confident he will be in a better position at the start of next season than he was at the start of this year

The Chinese Grand Prix appears to be edging closer to an extension of its contract with Bernie Ecclestone

Michael Schumacher's family are "happy and confident with the work of the team of doctors" according to his manager Sabine Kehm

Manufacturing is a crucial part of the U.S. economy. According to the U.S. census, around 11.1 million workers are employed in the sector, and it generates about $5.4 trillion in economic activity annually. Yet this area currently faces significant headwinds. The June IHS Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index fell to its worst reading since 2009…

The horsemeat scandal in the UK and Europe could make more people turn to vegetarianism.

NYC New York Color Lovatics by Demi

The economic free fall from Covid-19 is taking its toll on what had been strong housing demand just a few months ago.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its confidence index tumbled to a reading of 86.9, the lowest level in nearly six years and down from 118.8 in March.

Main Street confidence hit a record low in the Q2 2020 CNBC Small Business Survey, with the coronavirus causing a majority of entrepreneurs to fear permanent changes, including bankruptcy.

Didi Chuxing is now "even more confident and more committed" to the idea of entering global markets in the wake of the coronavirus crisis, says Jean Liu, president of the mobile app-based transportation firm.

US president again criticises Beijing as European countries prepare to ease lockdown

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Donald Trump has said he is “very confident” there will be a vaccine for coronavirus by the end of the year, revising up his estimate of the final US death toll as several European countries prepare for a cautious easing of lockdowns.

The president used a Fox News “virtual town hall” on Sunday night to repeat his regular virus talking points, including that a vaccine was not far away, Covid-19 was China’s fault and the economy would not only recover but “grow like crazy”.

Related: Mike Pompeo: 'enormous evidence' coronavirus came from Chinese lab

Global coronavirus cases have surpassed 3.5 million with more than 247,000 deaths.

In New York, the centre of the US outbreak, an emergency field hospital erected in Central Park is set to close. Dozens of New Yorkers were fined for violating social distancing guidelines as they flocked to beaches and parks in balmy weekend weather.

China reported three new coronavirus cases, versus two the day before.

Japan’s state of emergency is expected to be extended until the end of the month.

France will not quarantine anyone arriving from the EU, the Schengen area or Britain due to the coronavirus.

New Zealand has reported no new coronavirus cases for the first time.

South Korea plans to ease a ban on some gatherings and events as long as they “follow disinfection measures”.

Brazil has become the first country in Latin America to report more than 100,000 cases.

The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, announced mosques will reopen across large parts of the Islamic republic after they were closed in early March.

Maharashtra minister Eknath Shinde has expressed confidence that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance will win the Lok Sabha polls and asked the coalition workers to work for increasing the victory margin this time. Addressing a meeting of Shiv Sena-BJP workers at Dombivli town in Maharashtra's Thane district on Sunday night, the senior Sena leader also asked them not to be reckless or underestimate the rival candidates. "Our victory is definite this time also.

Our target should be to ensure maximum difference of votes between the winning and losing candidates," said Shinde, who is also the guardian minister of Thane. Lauding Srikant Shinde, the sitting Sena MP from Kalyan seat in Thane, for the work done by him in his constituency in the last five years, the minister claimed the voters would elect him this time also. State minister Ravindra Chavan said voters in Dombivli segment of the constituency earlier supported the BJP and Shiv Sena and this time also they will ensure victory for the alliance candidate.

"This election is an important one and the party workers should ensure that our candidate wins by the maximum victory margin," he said. Srikant Shinde is the saffron alliance's candidate from Kalyan where his main rival is Babaji Patil of the NCP. Lok Sabha elections to total 48 seats in Maharashtra will be held in four phases on April 11, 18, 23 and 29 and the results will be declared on May 23.

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Nidhi Tiwari (in orange) with her crew

I have always felt that mobility is key to empowerment — especially where women are concerned," says Nidhi Tiwari, an extreme terrain driver. Let us explain her job profile by outlining a few of her achievements — she is the first Indian woman to drive from Delhi to London in 2015, and became the first Indian to drive to the Pole of Cold in North Eastern Siberia in 2016. She also founded Women Beyond Boundaries (WBB) in 2015, which focuses on undertaking extreme overland journeys. Recently, Tiwari led a crew of five female drivers to Upper Mustang in Northern Nepal, and they became the first crew of women drivers to reach Lo Manthang (the erstwhile capital of the Kingdom of Mustang).

With an average height of around 13,000 feet, the area hosts two of the higher peaks in the Greater Himalayas that stand above 8,000 metres — the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna. "No women drivers from anywhere in the world had ever driven up the treacherous road to Lo Manthang. But then, every journey is about pushing boundaries," says the 37-year-old, who has been now driving for 13 years. The women drove from Delhi and entered Nepal via Gorakhpur to reach Pokhara in two days, from where started the off-road section into the Mustang Valley. Mustang is infamous for its non-existent and challenging roads punctuated by numerous streams and nallah crossings. A particular section between Muktinath and Tsarang, though only 36 km, took them eight hours. And then they headed to Lo Manthang, which is located just 50 km short of the Chinese border.

Five women drove the cars to Mustang

Delhi-based Tiwari may have been be well equipped with what such a journey entails but as they drove, major challenges cropped up. Most of the crew were city drivers and they were all learning on the go. "It was a very steep terrain, with plenty of blind corners," she describes. For example, one had to be very careful where they placed the wheel — there were instances where the road had a gorge on one side, and a river bed on the other. "But the way they adapted to the terrain — that transformation was a very big high for me," says Tiwari of her team. This could do with the kind of training Tiwari is known to provide. Her WBB workshops aim to make women self-sufficient as far as driving goes. "It's all about self-maintenance. A woman has to be ready to fix tyres."

Tiwari also chose her crew with care, making sure she had a varied bunch on the trip. There was an academician, a physiotherapist, an IT professional, and an e-commerce expert. "Extreme terrain is seen as a man's forte. We have broken that misconception. It threw the spotlight on some critical gender questions that have hovered around driving, expeditioning and the extreme terrain overlanding space. Along with being the first women to get there, we are also the second set of Indian vehicles to get there. Isn't that something?"

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Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has described Brian Lara as "sheer class", saying he never felt confident whenever he bowled to the West Indies legend. Afridi and Lara locked horns only twice in Test cricket but the former Pakistan skipper said the left-handed batting great had quite an "effect" on him.

"I got him out a few times but whenever I was bowling to him I always had the feeling in the back of my mind that he is going to hit me for four the next ball. He had an effect on me. I never bowled with any confidence to him," Afridi was quoted as saying by Wisden.

The 40-year-old Afridi, who snapped 395 and 48 wickets in 398 ODIs and 27 Tests, lavished praise on Lara, saying he had a brilliant footwork. "He was a world-class batsman who dominated the best spinners he came up against, even the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan in Sri Lanka," said Afridi. "His footwork against spinners was brilliant and the way he batted against such bowlers was a wonderful sight. He was sheer class."

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The Bank of Canada has published the findings of its latest business outlook survey, which shows some concern among firms over the impact of US trade and tax policies.

Patients feel more confident and better able to communicate with orthopedic surgeons who wore white coats, reports a new study. Hospitalized patients

Columbus, OH - As the country gradually re-opens for travel as restrictions ease, Red Roof®, the leader in upscale economy lodging, has launched Red Roof RediClean™, as it welcomes guests back. Red Roof RediClean includes rigorous enhanced cleaning ...

Due to the rapidly changing world we need to be focused on tackling the social consequences of the crisis, fight poverty and social exclusion, exploiting in particular the potential of a green economy to promote growth and competitiveness. We are inspired by the OECD work in all these areas, said the Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic to the OECD Council.

Hrtihik Roshan had revealed on social media how the golden actress Sridevi had helped very early in his acting career by making him feel comfortable.

Furthering its efforts to strengthen international tax co-operation, the OECD has issued two new reports on automatic exchange and tax confidentiality. The report on automatic exchange of information describes what it is, how it works, where it stands and what challenges remain. The report on confidentiality of information exchanged examines all aspects of ensuring the protection of information exchanged for tax purposes.

Business Confidence in Indonesia decreased to 104.82 points in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 105.33 points in the third quarter of 2019. Business Confidence in Indonesia averaged 106.75 points from 2000 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 122.50 points in the second quarter of 2000 and a record low of 95.12 points in the first quarter of 2006. In Indonesia, the Business Tendency Index (BTI) measures the expectations of entrepreneurs about current business income, production capacity, average working hours and future domestic and foreign orders, selling prices and raw materials. The survey covers a sample of around 2000 managers from large and medium companies from almost all regions of the country and from the main sectors of the economy (Agriculture, Mining and Quarrying, Manufacturing, Electricity, Gas and Water, Construction, Trade, Hotels, Transportation and Communication, Financial and Services). For each of the variables measured, the proportion of positive, negative and neutral answers is computed, and the final index is reported as a weighted average of those proportions. The BTI above 100 indicates an improving outlook and below 100 a deteriorating outlook. This page provides - Indonesia Business Confidence - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Business Confidence in Faroe Islands increased to 35 points in the first quarter of 2020 from 13 points in the second quarter of 2019. Business Confidence in Faroe Islands averaged 13.64 points from 2006 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 40 points in the second quarter of 2013 and a record low of -36 points in the first quarter of 2009. In Faroe Islands, the indicator and balances for the primary sector and other industries show development, current situation and expectations based on 15 questions asked twice a year in a survey of 35-40 companies. The questions refer to i.a. trends in production, possible limiting factors, expected employment, expected changes in prices, order books, production capacity and market trends home and abroad. The indicator is average of balances ranging from -100 to +100. Any single value only makes sense when compared to previous answers to the same question. This page provides - Faroe Islands Industrial Confidence- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Business Confidence in Maldives increased to 77 points in the fourth quarter of 2019 from -5 points in the third quarter of 2019. Business Confidence in Maldives averaged 9.35 points from 2014 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 91 points in the fourth quarter of 2018 and a record low of -82 points in the second quarter of 2019. The Quarterly Business Survey is conducted by the MMA with the aim of obtaining a quick assessment of current business trends and expected future economic activity. The respondents of the business survey are senior managers or top management of businesses who has an overall view of the business situation. The questions cover the views of the senior management (for the past quarter and expectation for the next quarter) on the direction of change in various business variables such as sales, output, prices, exports, capacity utilisation and employment which are useful for analysing and predicting economic activity. The qualitative response for these questions takes the form of either increase, decrease or no change. The business survey conducts for the main sector of the economy which is tourism. This page provides - Maldives Business Confidence- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Business Confidence in South Africa decreased to 18 points in the first quarter of 2020 from 26 points in the fourth quarter of 2019. Business Confidence in South Africa averaged 43.29 points from 1975 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 92 points in the third quarter of 1980 and a record low of 12 points in the fourth quarter of 1977. In South Africa, the BER Business Confidence Index covers 1,400 business people in the building sector, 1,400 in the trade sector and 1,000 in manufacturing. The survey assesses the level of optimism that senior executives in the companies have about current and expected developments regarding sales, orders, employment, inventories and selling prices. The index varies on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 indicates an extreme lack of confidence, 50 neutrality and 100 extreme confidence. This page provides - South Africa Business Confidence - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Business Confidence in Gambia increased to 72 points in the fourth quarter of 2019 from 68 points in the third quarter of 2019. Business Confidence in Gambia averaged 51 points from 2017 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 72 points in the fourth quarter of 2019 and a record low of 7 points in the third quarter of 2017. This page provides - Gambia Business Confidence- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Business Confidence in Italy decreased to 89.50 points in March from 98.80 points in February of 2020. Business Confidence in Italy averaged 102.19 points from 1991 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 121.52 points in February of 1995 and a record low of 71.50 points in March of 2009. In Italy, the Manufacturing Confidence Index covers 4,000 Italian companies. The questionnaire focuses on the current trend of order books, production and inventories, short-term forecasts on order books, production, prices and the general economic situation. The business confidence index is adjusted for seasonal effects and fixed to a base year of 2005. The value 100 indicates no evolution in business sentiment, a value over 100 shows increasing confidence and a value under 100 indicates low expectations. This page provides the latest reported value for - Italy Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Business Confidence in Japan decreased to -8 points in the first quarter of 2020 from 0 points in the fourth quarter of 2019. Business Confidence in Japan averaged 1.47 points from 1983 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 53 points in the second quarter of 1989 and a record low of -58 points in the first quarter of 2009. In Japan, the quarterly Tankan Index of Sentiment at Large Manufacturers covers about 1,100 companies with capital over 1 billion Yen. The survey is done by mail or e-mail and asks participants to evaluate current trends and conditions in the business place and their respective industries as well as their expected business activities for the next quarter and year. The indicator is calculated by subtracting the percentage share of enterprises responding on the negative side from the share giving positive assessments. The index varies on a scale of -100 to 100 such that a value above zero indicates business optimism, a value below zero pessimism and 0 indicates neutrality. This page provides - Japan Business Confidence - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Business Confidence in Australia decreased to -66 points in March from -4 points in February of 2020. Business Confidence in Australia averaged 5.48 points from 1997 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 21 points in April of 2002 and a record low of -66 points in March of 2020. The NAB monthly survey of business confidence is based on a telephone survey of around 600 small, medium and large size non-agricultural companies. The Survey measures the expectations of business conditions for the upcoming month and is a simple average of trading, profitability and employment indices, reported by respondents for their company. The indices are calculated by taking the difference between the percentage of respondents nominating good or very good, or a rise and those nominating poor or very poor, or a fall. This page provides - Australia Business Confidence - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Business Confidence in Ukraine decreased to 110.50 points in the first quarter of 2020 from 112 points in the fourth quarter of 2019. Business Confidence in Ukraine averaged 114.58 points from 2006 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 140.20 points in the fourth quarter of 2007 and a record low of 72 points in the first quarter of 2009. Business Confidence in Ukraine measures presidents/managers assessments of the current and future business activity, inflation and exchange rate expectations, and changes of the business environment in the country. The Business Confidence Index is based on a sample size of around 1236 enterprises covering all industry sectors, including small, medium and large enterprises from different regions. This page provides - Ukraine Business Confidence- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Business Confidence in Ireland increased to 13 points in the fourth quarter of 2019 from -26 points in the third quarter of 2019. Business Confidence in Ireland averaged 16.06 points from 2011 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 50 points in the fourth quarter of 2014 and a record low of -26 points in the third quarter of 2019. The ISME Quarterly Trends Survey measures the level of optimism that people who run small and medium companies in Ireland have about the performance of the economy and how they feel about their organizations’ prospects. The survey is based on responses from around 1000 SME owner managers across all sectors of the economy and is presented as a balance of sentiment for twelve indicators including: business expectations and environment, profitability, employment, sales, investment, exports and economic uncertainty. The result is a simple balance between positive and negative answers. This page provides the latest reported value for - Ireland Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Business Confidence in France decreased to 82 points in April from 98 points in March of 2020. Business Confidence in France averaged 100.06 points from 1976 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 124 points in June of 2000 and a record low of 66 points in March of 2009. In France, Business Climate measures industrial entrepreneurs’ sentiment about current business situation and expectation about business conditions. The survey sample comprises about 4,000 enterprises in the manufacturing and mining industries. The indicator is calculated using factor analysis technique. The index is then calculated in a way to measure the current sentiment in relation to the historic index values of the period 1993-2011. A value over 110 indicates unusually high optimism and a value under 90 indicates unusually high pessimism. The value 100 indicates neutrality. This page provides the latest reported value for - France Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Business Confidence in the United Kingdom decreased to -87 points in the second quarter of 2020 from 23 points in the first quarter of 2020. Business Confidence in the United Kingdom averaged -4.08 points from 1958 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 55 points in the third quarter of 1959 and a record low of -87 points in the second quarter of 2020. In the United Kingdom, the Business Optimism Index is published by the Confederation of British Industry's in its Industrial Trends Survey. An average of 400 small, medium and large companies from the manufacturing sector is surveyed each quarter. The Questionnaire accesses the overall sentiment regarding general and export business situation, investment, capacity, order books, employment, output, stocks, prices competitiveness regarding domestic, EU and non-EU markets and innovation and training. For each assessment is computed a sub-index as the percentage of positive answers minus the percentage of negative answers. The composite index is then computed as the weighted average of the sub-indices. An Optimism Index of +100 indicates that all survey respondents are much more confident about future prospects, while -100 suggests that all survey respondents are much less confident about future prospects. An index level of 0 indicates neutrality. This page provides - United Kingdom Business Confidence - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.