With a brilliant fuel strategy resulting from an early crash, Simon Pagenaud won IndyCar's iRacing Challenge race at Michigan International Speedway.

Empty seats. Silent screens. How Franklin's Artcraft Theater is weathering the pandemic.

The Historic Artcraft Theater in Franklin has to survive the pandemic shutdown. The downtown economy depends on it.

Tens of thousands are calling helplines and thousands are going to bed hungry as India shuts down.

Egypt's economy had just started to recover after years of political turmoil and militant attacks when the coronavirus crisis hit, impacting especially its vital tourism sector.

David Murray-Hundley, our resident Grumpy Entrepreneur, on the eight things for startups to consider if the bubble bursts

The Government is set to revive the economy through different measures and everyone should act together to attain this goal.

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui made the remarks today after attending a radio programme, saying the economy has been seriously affected by the epidemic.

“I think right now the immediate priority is definitely to revive the economy because after all, we have been subjected to many restrictions on all you can imagine in the past few months due to COVID-19.

“So the immediate priority is really for us to act together to revive the economy through different measures.

“And the measures that are subject to the Legislative Council’s approval as you have seen over the past few days, I think are definitely something that we want to do in order to provide a sort of foundation for our economic recovery.”

(University of Helsinki) A multidisciplinary research group coordinated by the University of Helsinki dated the bones of dozens of Iron Age residents of the Levänluhta site in Finland, and studied the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios. The results provide an overview of the dietary habits based on terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems, as well as of sources of livelihoods throughout the Levänluhta era.

(University of Southern Denmark) Investing in the future: Researchers show how cannibalism among the invasive comb jelly enables adults to survive severe conditions at the edge of their ecological range with implications for the use and evolutionary origins of cannibalism.

Dancehall artiste Stylysh is set to restart her Instagram (IG) show, which is centred around love, sex, and relationships. Last season's guests included the likes of Shauna Chin, Destiny Sparta, and Gaza Sheba, who spoke candidly of her sexual...

Management professors Adam Galinksy and Paul Ingram, together with Jonathan Laor ’21, CEO of Applicaster, advise on leadership during a crisis.

On this week's UK Tech Weekly podcast host Matt Egan is joined by Macworld UK and PC Advisor Staff Writer Lewis Painter, who has spent the past week in virtual reality, and is beyond excited to tell us all about the amazing HTC Vive. Then regular podder David Price, acting editor of Macworld UK, brings us tales from the murky world of Bitcoin, and explains how the crypto-currency is bringing about new tech that may revolutionise the finance industry (16:30) Finally, producer Chris throws aside his mic stand to discuss Sky Q and the current options in media streaming and TV. (25:30).  

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Everyone hopes for health this early in spring. But few more than Nate Karns, who has trudged a longer road back than any player in Orioles camp.

Can COVID-19 survive on my phone? Yes. That’s why a daily wipe down of “high-touch” surfaces like phones, keyboards and tablet computers is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A scientific test...

The ADA and nearly 100 other organizations are asking Congress and the White House to help businesses survive the coronavirus crisis by reducing their costs and increasing their cash flow as much as possible in the coming weeks.

The warty comb jelly is native to the western Atlantic, but in recent decades, it has invaded the waters of Eurasia. New research suggests cannibalism is key to the species' ability to move into new environs.

Presidential press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday the Trump administration is confident in a major economic recovery after several weeks of closures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The court revived a lawsuit claiming that Mississippi's lack of a "uniform" education system violates the 1868 federal law that readmitted the state to the Union.

2019

The exact molecule behind the Minamata mercury disaster, caused by a chemical plant’s wastewater, remains a point of disagreement

SCOTLAND’S workers could stay put in rural communities in the post-lockdown world - boosting countryside economies and cutting commuter traffic, a Holyrood cabinet secretary has suggested.

Whether Janus will be a death blow or a turning point for unions depends on what they do now, writes Paul Reville.

Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., has introduced legislation to allow money in 529 savings plans to be used for home-schooling expenses, a proposal that was stripped out of a late version of the recent tax-code overhaul.

Rome Newsroom, Apr 22, 2020 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- For Iraqi Christian and Yazidi communities still recovering from the destruction wreaked by the Islamic State, the coronavirus poses significant risks, NGOs have said in a joint statement. 

“The public health system in Sinjar and the wider Nineveh Governorate was decimated by ISIS during its brutal occupation and genocidal campaign in Iraq, beginning in 2014,” the letter stated.

“An impending humanitarian and security disaster looms large in Iraq. … There is a significant attendant threat to global security if ISIS uses this opportunity to regroup and return, but it does not have to be this way. Iraqi authorities and the United Nations must act now,” it continued.

Twenty-five NGOs working in northern Iraq issued a joint statement April 16 calling on the World Health Organization to undertake an assessment mission in the area, where testing has been limited, and urging Iraqi authorities to prevent the Islamic State from regrouping.

Signed by the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, Free Yezidi Foundation, Genocide Alert, and the Religious Freedom Institute, the statement described how the pandemic is exacerbating existing security, humanitarian, and health risks among displaced and rebuilding Iraqi minority communities. It highlighted, in particular, the global risk of a potential resurgence of the Islamic State.

Security threat

“COVID-19 and the precipitous drop in oil prices have caused the Iraqi economy to collapse, leaving a dangerous security vacuum for ISIS to exploit. Indeed, the resultant political turmoil and social strife recall the very conditions that earlier incarnations of ISIS and its supporters capitalized on during its initial surge almost a decade ago,” it stated.

“According to International Crisis Group, ISIS in its weekly newsletter Al-Naba called on its fighters to attack and weaken its enemies while they are distracted by the pandemic,” it added.

U.S. military officials have expressed concern that the Islamic State could use adverse conditions to its advantage in it recruitment efforts.

“COVID-19 has also hastened the departure of some coalition forces from Iraq, weakening counter-terrorism operations, while some ISIS detainees have recently escaped prison in Syria,” the letter stated.

On March 30, Islamic State fighters imprisoned in northwestern Syria revolted. The rioting prisoners took over one wing of the prison before Kurdish forces intervened.

“There is an urgent need for reform in the civilian security sector, in order to integrate regional militias into a unified Federal Police that upholds the rule of law and protects all citizens, regardless of religion or clan affiliation,” the letter said.

Health infrastructure needs

The economic strain has also hindered Iraqi minorities’ efforts to rebuild their communities, including medical infrastructure needs.

“Many Yazidis (Ezidis/Yezidis) want to return to Sinjar, but security, reconstruction and basic services are still lacking to allow a dignified return. There are currently only two hospitals and just one ventilator to assist the current population of around 160,000 people in the region,” the NGOs’ statement explained.

Iraq’s healthcare system, which has suffered for decades from the effects of sanctions and war, currently faces a critical shortage of doctors and medicine, according to a Reuters investigation. Hospitals in Iraq are already overcrowded and doctors overworked, while the healthcare situation is slightly better in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which has its own health ministry.

There have been at least 1,600 cases of COVID-19 documented in Iraq, which is under pressure to reopen its border with Iran, which has had more than 85,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

Humanitarian workers have also had trouble reaching those in need due to movement restrictions, and have raised concerns about the risk of an outbreak in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps.

Social distancing is very difficult in these high-density IDP camps in Iraq, where 1.8 million people remain displaced due to insecurity and reconstruction needs, according to the UN.

The 25 NGOs called for the government of Iraq and the United Nations to provide testing capacity in the IDP camps in Sinjar, Tel Afar and the Nineveh Plains.

“At present, it is impossible to apprehend the extent of the spread of the virus because no testing for the disease is taking place in the camps, while restrictions of movement impede the work of humanitarian actors who provide basic essentials such as food, water and medicine,” they stated.

Psychological risk for trauma survivors

Genocide survivors with trauma also face increased personal risk of psychological harm amid isolation imposed by coronavirus measures.

As in much of the world, authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan have ordered people to stay home, imposed a curfew, and have closed places of worship, schools, restaurants, and most businesses. 

“Another alarming corollary of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq is the psychological impact on at-risk communities, including Yazidis, Turkmen and Christians, such as Assyrians,” it said.

This is a particular concern for the Yazidi communities in which thousands of women were victims of sexual violence by the Islamic State.

“Prior to the outbreak, Médecins Sans Frontières reported on a debilitating mental health crisis among Yazidis in Iraq, including a rising number of suicides,” it stated.

Suicides in this community have already been reported since social distancing measures were put into place, the NGOs reported. They called on the World Health Organization to address this “acute mental health crisis.”

In their appeal to the WHO and Iraqi government, the NGOs insisted that the stakes were high: 

“COVID-19 is a pandemic the likes of which we have not seen before. Survivors of genocide and other mass atrocity crimes are now waiting for this silent death to pass through the camps and their homes, unable to fight back.”

With Ramaphosa sworn in as president, the SA public will be watching closely to see if, and when, he reshuffles Jacob Zuma's last Cabinet.

Not every urban customer has ordered from us yet, and very few are ordering more than 20 meals a month from us. There is enough and more to be done in the food delivery marketplace

House Intelligence Committee chair Adam Schiff has published all the transcripts of ‘Russiagate’ interviews he had kept secret, blaming President Donald Trump for the delay, but their content belied his conspiracy narrative.
Read Full Article at RT.com

The president emphasised the need to focus promoting medical tourism by highlighting the "successful efforts taken by Sri Lanka to contain the spread of the coronavirus."

Silicon Valley has lately come to the realisation that it is not the meritocracy it has long pretended to be...

Some schools of thought suggest that the eruption pushed Earth into volcanic winter that lasted as long as six years and the planet Earth had to endure a longish cooling period of a thousand years.

Williams will put safety first even though the team is one of several whose survival depends on Formula One starting racing again, deputy principal Claire Williams said.

The Dutch appeal court has reinstated a major $50bn award to Yukos shareholders by Russia, in a long-running dispute.

Once the powerhouse of the industrial US, the rust belt states have revived their economies with the help of foreign investment. 

On 15 March 2020, following the announcement by President Ramaphosa regarding South Africa’s precautionary measures that must be put in place to prevent the contraction and spread of COVID-19, South Africans came face to face with the stark re...

Roberts, who is an author and was last seen in a telenovela five years ago, says this new role is so meaty that she couldn't resist it.

A stray kitten climbed into the engine of a car in Otara, south Auckland, and ended up hitching a ride all the way to West Harbour, in west Auckland, where it was rescued and adopted by a loving family.It was early on Saturday morning...

With footfall having dropped dramatically at Japan's live music venues, many are turning to crowdfunding. But whether this will help mid-sized spaces remains to be ...

Blood thinners could improve the survival rate among the most severely ill Covid-19 patients, according to a hospital study in New York City.The finding comes as doctors have been observing blood clot disorders among coronavirus patients that can damage vital organs.The researchers found that intubated patients treated with anticoagulants – medicines that help prevent blood clots – had a mortality rate of 29 per cent.Of those who were not treated with blood thinners, 63 per cent died.And among…

Tourism is a key component in the European economy, accounting for 10 per cent of all activity, but it now faces its greatest challenge – how to survive the coronavirus pandemic?International tourist arrivals could plunge by 60 to 80 per cent in 2020 owing to the coronavirus, the World Tourism Organisation warned on Thursday, meaning the local business is going to be essential.France is the world’s leading destination for holiday travel but President Emmanuel Macron warned earlier this week it…

ISLAMABAD: Minister of Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz Friday said state-run radio will be developed on modern lines to enhance the effectiveness of this important medium of mass...

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A new program will help provide food to thousands of poor households in the Philippines.

For many of Indonesia’s urban poor who work in the informal sector, social distancing is nearly impossible if they want to maintain their income. Two key policies can help.

A gender-sensitive response is crucial to this global health emergency.

During the early 1900s, the city of Mumbai witnessed an unprecedented peak in social, artistic, and cultural activity. At the center of this movement was the Royal Opera House, Mumbai, India’s ‘cultural crown jewel’ and only surviving opera house. Built...