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Myanmar Coup: Military Junta Blocks Internet Access as Protests Grow

Roy Siemens
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Myanmar Coup: Military Junta Blocks Internet Access as Protests Grow
Image source: AP

Myanmar’s internet has been shut down as thousands of people joined the largest rally yet against February 1 coup.

A near-total internet blackout is in effect with connectivity falling to 16% of ordinary levels, said the monitoring group NetBlocks Internet Observatory.

In Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, crowds chanted “Military dictator, fail, fail; Democracy, win, win”.

Police with riot shields have blocked the main roads into the city center.

The internet shutdown happened hours after the military blocked access to Twitter and Instagram to stop people mobilizing for protests. Facebook had been banned a day earlier.

Many users had evaded the restrictions on social media by using virtual private networks (VPNs) but the more general blackout severely disrupted that.

Civil society organizations urged internet providers and mobile networks to challenge the blackout order, Reuters reported.

Human rights group Amnesty International called the shutdown “heinous and reckless” and warned it could put the people of Myanmar at risk of human rights violations.

The military has not commented. It temporarily blocked access to the internet following the coup.

On February 6, protesters – including factory workers and young students – called for the release of those detained by the army, including elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

They marched through the streets of Yangon as city buses sounded their horns in support.

Bystanders flashed the three-finger Hunger Games salute, which has become a symbol of defiance against authoritarianism, while residents clapped or banged pots and pans on their doorsteps.

Police with riot shields used barbed wire to block roads and water cannon were put in place in some areas as a precaution, but the demonstration reportedly remained peaceful, with no attempt by protesters to pass police lines.

Myanmar Coup: Aung San Suu Kyi Charged with Breaching Import-Export Laws and Others

Myanmar Military Coup After Aung San Suu Kyi and Leaders Detained

Demonstrators gave police roses and bottles of drinking water, calling on them to support the people not the new regime.

Another demonstration took place in Myanmar’s second city, Mandalay.

Myanmar – also known as Burma – has remained mostly calm in the aftermath of the coup, and there were no immediate reports of violence after Saturday’s protests. More demonstrations were expected to be held later.

The military authorities are hunkered down in the capital, Nay Pyi Daw, and have so far avoided direct engagement with the protesters.

Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest, according to her lawyer. Police documents show she is accused of illegally importing and using communications equipment – walkie-talkies – at her home in the capital.

The coup took place as a new session of parliament was set to open, following November’s landslide election win by the NLD party.

Many Burmese watched the events unfold in real time on Facebook, which is the country’s primary source of information and news. But three days later, internet providers were ordered to block the platform for stability reasons.

Following the ban, thousands of users were active on Twitter and Instagram using hashtags to express their opposition to the takeover. By 22:00 local time on February 5 access to those platforms had also been denied.

There was no official word from the coup leaders but AFP reported it had seen an unverified ministry document that said the two social media sites were being used to “cause misunderstanding among the public”.

3 Simple Ways to Express Sympathy

Kathryn R. Bown
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3 Simple Ways to Express Sympathy

When someone you care about loses someone they love, the feelings that the death can dredge up can be extremely difficult to manage and highly complex. You are likely to feel highly helpless, as the person you care about may be in a great deal of pain, leaving you feeling utterly helpless to help them. It’s important to remember that you aren’t supposed to be able to remove that individual’s grief, only be there for them as best you can. As such, here are three easy ways to express sympathy to someone who lost someone.

Gift Baskets

If you feel compelled to buy something for this person who lost something, sympathy gift baskets from Hickory Farms may be the perfect present. After all, these gift baskets can be useful on many levels. These baskets can be customized to be more than just a thoughtful thought, as they can contain a variety of useful foods or presents that may be able to bring a smile to the face of someone who is in pain. However, more importantly, it is a gesture that shows you care. These gift baskets are high end presents designed to help someone in pain. It is an extremely thoughtful gesture, one that the individual in question is sure to appreciate.

Get A Service

Someone who lost someone is likely to be overwhelmed by the array of newfound responsibilities in front of them. They now have to plan for a funeral, arrange for an estate to be disposed of, and embrace a whole new array of responsibilities that they had never previously used. That’s why the nicest thing to do for the person you care about may also be the simplest: Get them a service that they can use. Arrange for a handyman to take care of any of their needs. Get a chef to cook them meals for a couple of weeks. Call a housekeeper and buy them a month’s worth of visits. Just do something that will ease their burden and make their lives easier, particularly during the adjustment period, as they figure out how to live a new life.

Ask

Sometimes, the simplest thing to do is also the best. As you can, talk to the person who lost someone, and ask them a very simple question: What do they need? Or, more specifically, what do they need help with? They may reveal that they want everyone to go away and let them grieve in peace. They may also say that they have a few specific items that they need help with, like arranging the funeral home or disposing of the possessions of the deceased. Regardless, there’s only one way to find out what they truly need: Ask them.

When someone you care about loses someone they love, it can be a nightmare. The best thing you can do is help that person by getting them something thoughtful or asking them how you can be most helpful.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Regrets QAnon Posts

Diane A. Wade
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Says She Regrets QAnon Posts
Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has expressed regret for past incendiary comments and support for the QAnon conspiracy claims.

Her comments at the House of Representatives come as lawmakers gather for a vote today on whether to strip her of committee assignments.

She said: “I was allowed to believe things that weren’t true.

“And that is absolutely what I regret.”

However, Marjorie Taylor Greene, 46, stopped short of an apology, and cast blame on the media.

She said: “The media is just as guilty as QAnon for promoting lies.”

The Qanon conspiracy theory claims that former President Donald Trump was waging a clandestine war on a cabal of child-abusers.

Before taking office, Marjorie Taylor Greene liked posts calling for violence against Democratic lawmakers, claimed that school shootings and the 9/11 terror attack were staged events, and suggested Muslims should not serve in government, among other comments online.

Just hours before the Republican took to the floor, Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was “profoundly concerned” by Republicans’ “acceptance of an extreme conspiracy theorist.”

“If any of our members threatened the safety of other members, we’d be the first ones to take them off a committee,” Nancy Pelosi said.

Twitter Bans 7,000 QAnon Accounts and Shuts Down Topics Related to Conspiracy Theory

On February 4, Marjorie Taylor Greene sought to distance herself from some of these past remarks, saying they were made before she ran for office.

“I want to tell you 9/11 absolutely happened,” she said.

“I do not believe that it’s fake.”

“These were words of the past. These things do not represent me,” she said.

Marjorie Taylor Greene said she had been “upset about things” happening in the US and did not trust the government when she came upon conspiracy theories online in 2018.

However, she did not specifically apologize for past rhetoric widely seen as racist and anti-Semitic, or for comments suggesting support for violence against Democrats.

Marjorie Taylor Greene doubled down on other beliefs about abortion and immigration, expressing disgust at the “millions of Americans…murdered in the womb”, and saying that her friends had had loved ones “murdered by illegal aliens”.

Nancy Pelosi said the House would proceed with a vote on February 4 to expel Marjorie Taylor Greene from the education and budget committees.

The measure requires a simple majority to pass.

Committees assignments are typically the job of party leaders and are a vital channel for lawmakers to advance legislation. There’s also the symbolic value: veteran lawmakers may be rewarded with a position on the more prestigious committees.

Republicans condemned Marjorie Taylor Greene’s past comments but warned that Democrats were setting a dangerous precedent by sanctioning a lawmaker for things said and done before she entered Congress.

Dogecoin Jumps 50% After Tip by Elon Musk

Clyde K. Valle
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Dogecoin Jumps 50% After Tip by Elon Musk

Dogecoin has jumped in value by 50% after inventor Elon Musk dubbed it “the people’s crypto”.

Cryptocurrencies such as Dogecoin and Bitcoin are generated by computers. Their supposed value comes from the finite number that can be computed.

Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency which started off as a joke, uses a Shiba Inu dog as its mascot and is based on a meme featuring the animal.

The currency has risen more than 800% in the year so far.

After reaching a high of $0.058, each dogecoin is currently changing hands for about $0.046, suggesting a total value for all 128 billion coins of about $5.89 billion.

According to an interview with Vice, dogecoin was created in 2013 by a pair of software workers after one of them made a joke about the next big cryptocurrency.

However, with no intrinsic value like gold or land, and no ability to generate an income like a company or bond, cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and can crash as fast as they rise.

This makes them hard to value and makes their prices susceptible to tips from backers or sudden panics.

Critics point out that while any given cryptocurrency may have a finite supply of units, the number of cryptocurrencies is ever-growing and potentially limitless.

People have lost large amounts of money in steep drops in the value of cryptocurrencies and in hacks and corrupted or lost hard drives.

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Bitcoin’s value dropped by $5,000 on January4 to about $29,000 before recovering the lost ground. On January 11, it dropped $9,000 to $32,000.

Because the cryptocurrencies can pass international borders quickly and are not regulated like cash or regular investments, investigating thefts is hard.

Last month, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a stark warning to investors in so-called cryptoassets.

The financial watchdog said investors should be “prepared to lose all their money” should their investment’s value collapse.

Myanmar Coup: Aung San Suu Kyi Charged with Breaching Import-Export Laws and Others

Diane A. Wade
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Myanmar Coup: Aung San Suu Kyi Charged with Breaching Import-Export Laws and Others

Several charges has been filed against Myanmar’s elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi following February 1 military coup.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been remanded in custody until February 15, police documents show.

The charges include breaching import and export laws, and possession of unlawful communication devices.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s whereabouts are still unclear, but it has been reported that she is being held at her residence in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw.

Deposed President Win Myint has also been charged, the documents show – in his case with violating rules banning gatherings during the Covid-19 pandemic. He has also been remanded in custody for two weeks.

Neither the president nor Aung San Suu Kyi have been heard from since the military seized power in the early hours of February 1.

The military coup, led by armed forces chief Min Aung Hlaing, has seen the installation of an 11-member junta which is ruling under a year-long state of emergency.

The military sought to justify its action by alleging fraud in last November’s elections, which Auung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won decisively.

The accusations are contained in a police document – called a First Initial Report – submitted to a court.

The document alleges that Aung San Suu Kyi illegally imported and used communications equipment – walkie-talkies – found at her home in Nay Pyi Taw.

She was remanded in custody “to question witnesses, request evidence and seek legal counsel after questioning the defendant”, the document says.

Myanmar Military Coup After Aung San Suu Kyi and Leaders Detained

President Win Myint is accused, under the National Disaster Management Law, of meeting supporters in a 220-vehicle motorcade during the election campaign in breach of Covid-19 restrictions.

Activists in Myanmar, also known as Burma, are calling for civil disobedience.

Many hospital doctors are either stopping work or continuing but wearing symbols of defiance in simmering anger over the suppression of Myanmar’s short-lived democracy.

Protesting medical staff say they are pushing for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

They are wearing red, or black, ribbons and pictured giving the three-fingered salute familiar from the Hunger Games movies and used by demonstrators last year in Thailand.

Online, many changed their social media profile pictures to one of just the color red.

A Facebook group has been set up to co-ordinate the disobedience campaign.

Jeff Bezos Stepping Down as Amazon CEO

Clyde K. Valle
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Jeff Bezos Stepping Down as Amazon CEO
Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Jeff Bezos is to step down as chief executive of Amazon, the e-commerce giant that he founded in his garage nearly 30 years ago.

The Amazon founder will become executive chairman, a move he said would give him “time and energy” to focus on his other ventures.

Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, will be replaced by Andy Jassy, who currently leads Amazon’s cloud computing business.

The change will take place in the second half of 2021, the company said.

In a letter to Amazon staff on February 2, Jeff Bezos said: “Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it’s consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it’s hard to put attention on anything else.”

“As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions.”

“I’ve never had more energy, and this isn’t about retiring. I’m super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have,” he added.

Jeff Bezos, 57, has led Amazon since its start as an online bookshop in 1994. The firm now employs 1.3 million people globally, and saw its already explosive growth skyrocket last year, as the pandemic prompted a surge in online shopping.

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Amazon reported $386 billion in sales in 2020, up 38% from 2019. Profits almost doubled, rising to $21.3 billion.

In announcing the plans, Jeff Bezos said he would continue to focus on new products and early initiatives.

“When you look at our financial results, what you’re actually seeing are the long-run cumulative results of invention,” he said.

“Right now I see Amazon at its most inventive ever, making it an optimal time for this transition.”

The move comes as Jeff Bezos has taken on an increasingly public profile.

He has endured a public divorce, become a target for labor and inequality activists, and got involved in other businesses, such as space exploration firm Blue Origin and the Washington Post newspaper.

Amazon also faces increasing scrutiny from regulators, who have questioned its monopoly power. And its dominance in cloud computing is being increasingly challenged by other tech firms, such as Microsoft and Alphabet, parent company of Google and YouTube.

Jeff Bezos’s decision to hand over the day-to-day operation of the company came as a surprise. But investors appeared unfazed, with little change in the company’s share price in after-hours trade.

Andy Jassy, a Harvard graduate, has been with Amazon since 1997 and helped develop Amazon Web Services, which has long been seen as the profit engine of the company.

Alexei Navalny Sentenced to 3.5 Years in Jail Despite Protests

Roy Siemens
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0
Alexei Navalny Sentenced to 3.5 Years in Jail Despite Protests

Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail for violating the conditions of a suspended sentence, a Moscow court ruled on February 2.

The prominent Putin critic has been in detention since returning to Russia last month. He had been treated in Germany for a near-fatal nerve agent attack against him in August.

Thousands of supporters have rallied across Russia in support of Alexei Navalny.

His suspended sentence for embezzlement has been converted into a jail term.

Alexei Navalny has already served a year under house arrest which will be deducted from the total.

He greeted the news with a resigned shrug. In court he called President Vladimir Putin a “poisoner”, blaming him for the attack.

Alexei Navalny’s supporters called for an immediate protest and tried to gather outside court but the whole area was overrun with riot police. More than 300 have been detained, according to monitors.

His lawyer said they would appeal against the ruling.

Strong international reaction to the sentence came quickly, with the Council of Europe – the continent’s leading human rights body – saying the judgement “defied all credibility”.

The council’s human rights commissioner, Dunja Mijatovic, said in a statement: “With this decision, the Russian authorities not only further exacerbate human rights violations as already established by the European Court of Human Rights, they also send a signal undermining the protection of the rights of all Russian citizens.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for Alexei Navalny’s immediate and unconditional release, and said he would work closely with allies to hold Russia accountable for “failing to uphold the rights of its citizens”.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded by telling Western countries to focus on their own problems.

She said on Russian TV: “You should not interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.”

Alexei Navalny has been accused of breaking the terms of a 2014 suspended sentence for embezzlement that required him to report regularly to Russian police. His lawyers say the accusation is absurd as the authorities knew he was recovering in Berlin from the nerve agent attack that nearly killed him in Russia.

Addressing the court before the sentencing, Alexei Navalny said the case was being used to frighten the opposition: “This is how it works: they send one to jail to intimidate millions.”

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On the Novichok chemical attack, Alexei Navalny said: “Using the FSB [Federal Security Service of Russia], Putin attempted to commit murder. I’m not the only one – many know this already and many others will. And this is driving the thieving little man in the bunker crazy.

“No matter how much he tries to look like a geopolitician, he took offence at me because he will go down in history as a poisoner.”

His return to Russia on January 17 triggered mass protests in support of him, many of them young Russians who have only ever experienced President Vladimir Putin’s rule.

The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the attack on Alexei Navalny, and rejects the conclusion by Western experts that Novichok – a Russian chemical weapon – was used.

Alexei Navalny accuses President Putin of running an administration riddled with corruption, and recently released a YouTube video featuring an opulent Black Sea palace which, he alleged, was a Russian billionaires’ gift to the president.

On January 30, Arkady Rotenberg, a billionaire businessman close to President Putin, said he owned the palace and had bought it two years ago.

On January 31, some protesters brandished gold-colored toilet brushes, a symbol of their anger about the palace. For a second weekend, crowds defied bitter cold and a massive deployment of riot police, and more than 5,000 were arrested, according to OVD-Info group.

OVD-Info says it is an independent Russian media project, which gets crowd-funding in Russia and its donors include the Memorial human rights group and the European Commission.

Alexei Navalny is already serving a 30-day sentence in connection with the embezzlement case, which he denounces as politically motivated.

In recent days police have arrested many of Navalny’s top aides, who assist him in his Anti-Corruption Network (FBK).

Sputnik V: Russian Vaccine Shows 92% Protection Against Covid-19

Kathryn R. Bown
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Sputnik V: Russian Vaccine Shows 92% Protection Against Covid-19
Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The Russian coronovirus vaccine showed around 92% protection against Covid-19, late stage trial results published in The Lancet reveal.

Sputnik V vaccine has also been deemed to be safe – and offer complete protection against hospitalization and death.

The vaccine was initially met with some controversy after being rolled out before the final trial data had been released.

However, scientists said the Russian vaccine’s benefit has now been demonstrated.

Sputnik V joins the ranks of proven vaccines alongside Pfizer, Oxford/AstraZeneca, Moderna and Janssen.

It works in a similar way to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine developed in the UK, and the Janssen vaccine developed in Belgium.

Sputnik V uses a cold-type virus, engineered to be harmless, as a carrier to deliver a small fragment of the coronavirus to the body.

Safely exposing the body to part of the virus’s genetic code in this way allows it to recognize the threat and learn to fight it off, without risking becoming ill.

After being vaccinated, the body starts to produce antibodies specially tailored to the coronavirus.

This means the immune system is primed to fight coronavirus when if it encounters it for real.

The Russian vaccine can be stored at temperatures of between 2 and 8C degrees (a standard fridge is roughly 3-5C degrees) making it easier to transport and store.

But unlike other similar vaccines, Sputnik V uses two slightly different versions of the vaccine for the first and second dose – given 21 days apart.

They both target the coronavirus’s distinctive “spike”, but use different vectors – the neutralized virus that carries the spike to the body.

The idea is that using two different formulas boosts the immune system even more than using the same version twice – and may give longer-lasting protection.

As well as proving effective, it was also safe with no serious reactions linked to the vaccine during the trial.

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Some side effects to a vaccine are expected but these are usually mild, including a sore arm, tiredness and a bit of a temperature.

There were no deaths or serious illness in the vaccinated group linked to the Russian vaccine.

As well as Russia, Sputnik V is being used in a number of other places, including: Argentina, Venezuela, Hungary, UAE, Iran, Palestinian territories.

The authors of the Lancet paper pointed out the analysis only included symptomatic cases of Covid, and more work would need to be done to understand whether it stops even asymptomatic cases, and prevents the virus from being passed on by vaccinated people.

France Approves AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Only for People Under 65

Kathryn R. Bown
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France Approves AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Only for People Under 65
Image source: Wikimedia Commons

France has restricted the use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine to people under age of 65.

The move is the latest recommendation from an EU member state approving the vaccine with such restrictions, citing insufficient data on its efficacy for older people.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA), the EU drugs regulator, has approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for all adults, but it is up to each member to set its own rollout policy.

Germany and Austria have already recommended the vaccine be limited to under-65s.

There has been criticism of the slow pace of vaccinations in the EU and the campaign has been hit by delays to deliveries of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, among others.

The European Commission – the EU executive – was caught up in a row with AstraZeneca last week, after the company said it could not supply the expected doses on time.

The president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in particular, has been under fire for her own handling of the rollout, but she defended her stance on February 2.

Ursula von der Leyen told France’s Le Monde: “I am convinced that the European strategy on vaccination is the right one.”

AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Approved for EU Market

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also backed the EU’s approach in a TV interview.

France’s health regulator said there was still not enough data about the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine for patients over 65 years of age.

“These data will arrive in the coming weeks. In the meantime we recommend its use for people under 65 years old,” it said.

It recommended the vaccine for health workers and vulnerable people between the ages of 50 and 65.

More than 1.5 million people have received a Covid vaccine so far in France.

Last week Germany’s vaccine commission said it could not recommend the use of the vaccine in people aged over 65.

On February 2, health authorities in Sweden and Poland made similar announcements and Belgium’s health minister said the vaccine, for the moment, would only be given to people below the age of 55. Italy’s medicines agency on Saturday also approved the jab for all adults under 55.

In a study yet to be formally published, scientists at Oxford University have said the vaccine could lead to a “substantial” fall in the spread of the virus.

Individual EU countries are free to decide who vaccines should be given to once they have been approved at EU level.

In her TV interview on Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said “every vaccine is welcome in the European Union”, adding that good data had emerged for the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

In her interview with Le Monde, Ursula von der Leyen admitted that the EU had made missteps.

She said: “When you make urgent decisions – and in this year of crisis we’ve taken around 900 – there’s always the chance of missing something.”

However, Ursula von der Leyen said 18 million vaccine doses had been delivered across the EU so far and many more would follow over the next two months.

No-one who received the Oxford vaccine in trials was hospitalized or became seriously ill due to Covid-19.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine is given via two injections to the arm, the second between 4 and 12 weeks after the first.

When it approved it last week, the EMA noted that most participants in test studies were under 55 years of age.

The agency said that while there were not yet enough results to show how well the vaccine will work in older people, “protection is expected, given that an immune response is seen in this age group and based on experience with other vaccines”.

AstraZeneca has said a US study will shortly provide additional data on the vaccine’s efficacy in older adults.

Screech: Saved by the Bell Actor Dustin Diamond Dies from Lung Cancer

Sonia Pantiss
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Screech: Saved by the Bell Actor Dustin Diamond Dies from Lung Cancer
Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Actor Dustin Diamond, who played Screech in the popular sitcom Saved by the Bell, has died from cancer at the age of 44, his representative has said.

Dustin Diamond had recently completed a first round of chemotherapy after being diagnosed with lung cancer last month.

The actor’s condition had deteriorated fast in the last week, said agent Roger Paul.

“Dustin did not suffer. He did not have to lie submerged in pain. For that, we are grateful,” he said on February 1.

Saved by the Bell, a sitcom about a high school friends and their headmaster, ran for four seasons from 1989 to 1993 and was a global hit series. Dustin Diamond played Samuel “Screech” Powers.

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Co-stars have been paying tribute.

Mario Lopez, who played AC Slater in the sitcom, said: “Dustin, you will be missed, my man. The fragility of this life is something never to be taken for granted. Prayers for your family will continue on.”

Mark-Paul Gosselaar, known to fans of the show as Zack Morris, tweeted that Dustin Diamond was “a true comedic genius” and said he “will miss those raw, brilliant sparks that only he was able to produce”.

Dustin Diamond reprised his role in follow-up series Saved by the Bell: The New Class, and Saved by the Bell: The College Years. But he did not appear in the recent revival series.

He was also a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother in 2013.

Dustin Diamond served three months in jail after he stabbed a man during an altercation at a bar in Wisconsin in 2014.

Myanmar Military Coup After Aung San Suu Kyi and Leaders Detained

Roy Siemens
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0
Myanmar Military Coup After Aung San Suu Kyi and Leaders Detained

Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratically elected leaders have been detained as the military seized power in the Asian country.

Troops are patrolling the streets and a night-time curfew is in force, with a one-year state of emergency declared.

President Joe Biden raised the threat of new sanctions, with the UN also condemning the coup.

The army alleges the recent landslide election win by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party was marred by fraud. She urged supporters to “protest against the coup”.

In a letter written in preparation for Suu Kyi’s impending detention, she said the military’s actions would put the country back under a dictatorship.

The military has already announced replacements for a number of ministers.

On the streets of Myanmar’s main city, Yangon, people said they felt their hard-fought battle for democracy had been lost.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by the armed forces until 2011, when democratic reforms led by Aung San Suu Kyi ended military rule.

Aung San Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years in detention between 1989 and 2010. She was internationally hailed as a beacon of democracy and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

However, her international reputation suffered severely following an army crackdown on the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority. Former supporters accused Aung San Suu Kyi of refusing to condemn the military or acknowledge accounts of atrocities.

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In the early hours of February 1, the army’s TV station said power had been handed over to commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested in a series of raids. It is not clear where they are being held.

No major violence has been reported. Soldiers blocked roads in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, and the main city, Yangon. International and domestic TV channels, including the state broadcaster, went off air. Internet and phone services were disrupted. Banks said they had been forced to close.

Later, the military announced that 24 ministers and deputies had been removed, and 11 replacements had been named, including in finance, health, the interior and foreign affairs.

A curfew is now reportedly in effect from 20:00 local time to 06:00.

The army takeover follows weeks of tensions between the armed forces and the government following parliamentary elections lost by the army-backed opposition.

The opposition had demanded a re-run of the election, raising allegations of widespread fraud that were not backed by the electoral commission.

GameStop: Elon Musk Questions Robinhood Founder Vladimir Tenev on Clubhouse

Clyde K. Valle
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0
GameStop: Elon Musk Questions Robinhood Founder Vladimir Tenev on Clubhouse
Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Elon Musk has grilled trading app Robinhood’s co-founder, Vladimir Tenev, about why it limited users to only being able to buy a small number of shares in some companies.

The move came after GameStop’s stock surged amid a campaign to cause hedge funds large losses.

Vladimir Tenev denied “conspiracies” that he was trying to help the hedge funds.

Instead he blamed a demand that Robinhood provide a $3 billion security deposit at short notice.

The interview was conducted on the audio-only social network Clubhouse.

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Tesla boss’ 90-minute appearance was a major coup for Clubhouse, which is currently in a “beta” testing phase and requires users to be invited to access its platform.

It allows people to join private rooms for conversations, but participants are capped at 5,000.

However, fans streamed the interview on YouTube and overflow rooms on the platform, as Elon Musk’s appearance attracted unprecedented attention.

Elon Musk also spoke about travel to Mars, Bitcoin and brain implants during his session.

Robinhood curbed buying of GameStop and some other shares last week.

Unlike most trading platforms, it does not charge a commission for letting users buy and sell shares. Instead it makes money by selling data on those deals to others before they go through.

Some hedge funds have lost out on the rise in GameStop’s shares because they had shorted the stock. This is where an investor tries to make money by betting a company’s share price will fall.

Elon Musk questioned to what degree Robinhood was “beholden to” Citadel Securities, which is its biggest client. Citadel has suffered losses as a result of an investment in a hedge fund that had taken a large short position on GameStop.

He has previously been critical of short selling, claiming it to be a “legal” scam.

Vladimir Tenev acknowledged that there had been “a rumor that Citadel or other market makers kind of pressured us into” putting restriction on trades, but added the claim was “just false”.

“Robinhood stands for, you know, democratizing access to stocks,” he said on Clubhouse.

“We want to give people the access… but we had no choice in this case, we had to conform to our regulatory capital requirements.”

Elon Musk asked in response: “Did you sell your clients down the river, or [did] you have no choice?”

Vladimir Tenev repeated that Robinhood had to comply with financial requirements.

He said this involved an order from the National Securities Clearing Corporation – a clearing house used by the company – to provide “around $3bn” to back up its trades. He added the demand was later reduced to $700 million.

Vladimir Tenev conceded, however, that Robinhood needed to be more transparent.

“We were able to open and serve our customers,” he said, adding that Robinhood had raised more than $1bn within 24 hours.

“When we do open [on Monday]… we’ll be able to kind of relax the stringent position limits that we put on these securities on Friday.”

Elon Musk also came out in support of Bitcoin, saying he thought it was on “the verge of getting a broad acceptance” by conventional finance.

Bitcoin has surged in value in recent months, but some experts say it is volatile and will crash soon.

Elon Musk also said human travel to Mars will be possible within five-and-a-half years – and outlined his vision to relocate some humans there from Earth.

He also said he believed he could get the journey time to the Red Planet down from six months to one month.

Another of Elon Musk’s projects, Neuralink, received attention in the interview.

The start-up explores ways to connect the human brain to a computer interface.

Elon Musk said he hoped the technology could be used, in early applications, for humans with serious brain injuries.

How To Avoid Injuries During Workout

Kathryn R. Bown
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How To Avoid Injuries During Workout

Regular workout and sport are essential for us. It keeps us physically as well as mentally fit. However, in these activities, there are some chances of getting hurt, which can be very critical at times. A study shows that around 41% of Gym users get injured while working out. But you can make sure to not become one of them by planning little and following simple things. What are they? Follow through the post and you’ll find out.

Have a Routine Checkup
You don’t have to be an Olympic-level athlete to go see a doctor for your fitness test. It’s essential to have a routine physical. It can minimize the chances of workout injuries to a minimum.

Hire a Personal Trainer
Many people ignore the importance of a personal trainer and find it unnecessary to hire one. Googling everything is good to an extent but taking assistance from the professional is another thing. So, don’t put your health at stake and if you’re just starting out the gym, get a good personal trainer for yourself. It surely would cost you additional bucks with the gym membership, but a qualified trainer would eliminate all the chances of workout injuries and help you achieving fitness goals fast, be it muscle building, weight loss, or merely fitness.

Don’t Miss the Warm-Up
One of the major causes of sports or workout injuries is not warming up well before starting out. You can see many people just start running on the treadmill or lifting weights right after entering the gym. This habit causes severe muscle and joint injuries in people. That’s why it’s essential to stretch the muscle and warm up the body a little before doing any exercise.

Workout Gears are Must
Lack of workout equipment causes most of the injuries that could’ve been avoided merely by wearing them. The safety equipment for sports includes clothing, protective guards, and most importantly, footwear. Yes, you heard it right. Footwear is a crucial part of the workout equipment that boosts performance and minimizes the risk of injuries during workouts. People usually go for cheap footwear due to high prices, but instead, you can use finish line discount codes to get huge discounts on the footwear of all the famous sports brands.

Don’t Exercise on Empty Tank.
It’s a very common myth that staying on an empty stomach is healthy and causes weight loss. Many people follow this myth in the gym routine, which is very harmful to the body. You need to fuel your body for exercise, which also includes water intake. Because during workout our body burns the calories and lose fluids through sweat. However, one should workout immediately after eating. There should be a minimum hour or more gap between the last meal and workout.

Remember to still take care of your body post workout too. A protein shake is a fast and easy addition at the end of your training so that you cannot only provide your body the necessary nutrients to build muscle and strength but to also recover quickly after a workout or injury.  Look for a high quality, pure supplement like Naked Whey Grass Fed Protein Powder  which is completely free of additives, artificial sweeteners and only one ingredient – grass fed whey protein. 

Respect your Body
Our body communicates with us through the pain. One must not idolize giving extreme pain to the body for any fitness goal. Pain doesn’t necessarily mean gain. Workouts can be hard, but they should never ever in pain. When you’re feeling extreme pain during a workout, it’s your body asking, giving your signal about the injury, and you should listen to your body. This intense pain can cause permanent injuries to the body internally. If you feel any sort of pain, leave the workout and rest until your body gets ready to handle the stress again.

AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Approved for EU Market

Kathryn R. Bown
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AstraZeneca Covid Vaccine Approved for EU Market
Image source: Wikimedia Commons

The use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for people aged over 18 has been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The EU’s drugs regulator said the AstraZeneca vaccine was about 60% effective in the trials on which it based its decision.

The move comes amid a dispute over whether Anglo-Swedish drug-maker is breaking its vaccine delivery commitments to the EU.

The European Commission has published its contract with Astra-Zeneca, hoping to show a breach.

Last week, AstraZeneca said vaccine supplies would be reduced because of problems in one of its EU factories.

The shortfall is expected to be about 60% in the first quarter of 2021. The EU has also received fewer than expected doses of the two other vaccines it has approved – from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

Single-Dose Janssen Vaccine Shows 66% Effectiveness Against Covid-19

Pfizer Vaccine Can Target New Covid Variant

The EU has said AstraZeneca must honor its commitments and deliver the doses it ordered by diverting doses manufactured in the UK. However, the company said its contract for UK supplies prevents this.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told German radio on January 29 that the EU contract signed in August contained “binding orders”, and called for an explanation.

The commission later said it had agreed a plan to introduce export controls on coronavirus vaccines. It means individual member states will decide whether to allow the export of vaccines produced in their territory. It will be in place until the end of March.

A European Commissioner said it was being introduced to enhance transparency and to ensure that all EU citizens had access to vaccines.

Germany’s vaccine commission said this week that it could not recommend the use of AstraZeneca vaccine in people aged over 65, citing a lack of data on how it affected this age group.

The UK has been using the AstraZeneca vaccine in its mass immunization program for weeks now, and public health officials say it is safe and provides “high levels of protection”.

Confirming it had approved the vaccine, the EMA said that most participants in the test studies were between 18 and 55 years old. It said that while there were not yet enough results to show how the vaccine will work in older people, “protection is expected, given that an immune response is seen in this age group and based on experience with other vaccines.”

Individual EU countries can still decide who vaccines should be given to, once they have been approved.

Single-Dose Janssen Vaccine Shows 66% Effectiveness Against Covid-19

Kathryn R. Bown
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Single-Dose Janssen Vaccine Shows 66% Effectiveness Against Covid-19

Janssen’s single dose Covid-19 vaccine is 66% effective, the Belgian company has announced.

However, nobody needed hospital treatment or died from coronavirus after the vaccine took effect in the international trial.

Crucially, the trial looked at giving just one dose of the vaccine, which makes it significantly easier to roll out than those requiring two.

Although there are also signs the vaccine is less effective against the new variant that is spreading in South Africa.

The news comes shortly after Novavax announced their vaccine was 89% effective overall in the UK and 60% in South Africa. Both new vaccines will need to be reviewed by regulators before they can be used.

Janssen, a pharmaceutical company owned by Johnson & Johnson, is also investigating whether giving two doses will give either stronger or longer-lasting protection.

The fact the vaccine works as a single dose and can be kept in a standard fridge, while others need super-cold storage, means the vaccine could have a significant role around the world.

Joe Biden Raises Vaccination Goal to 1.5M a Day

Pfizer Vaccine Can Target New Covid Variant

Dr. Paul Stoffels, the chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, said: “A one-shot vaccine is considered by the World Health Organization to be the best option in pandemic settings.”

He added the vaccine could “potentially protect hundreds of millions of people from serious and fatal outcomes of Covid-19”.

Janssen is aiming to make one billion doses in 2021.

The Janssen vaccine uses a common cold virus that has been engineered to make it harmless.

The vaccine then safely carries part of the coronavirus’s genetic code into the body. This is enough for the body to recognize the threat and then learn to fight coronavirus.

This trains the body’s immune system to fight coronavirus when it encounters the virus for real.

This is similar to the approach used by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.

Dr Mathai Mammen, from Janssen, said: “A single dose regimen with fast onset of protection and ease of delivery and storage provides a potential solution to reaching as many people as possible.

“The ability to avoid hospitalizations and deaths would change the game in combating the pandemic.”

The results are based on nearly 44,000 people who took part in the trial and 468 cases of Covid-19.

However, the Janssen vaccine was just 57% effective in the South African part of the trial, where a new version of the coronavirus is spreading, compared with 72% in the US.

GameStop Stocks Fall 60 Percent After Restrictions

Clyde K. Valle
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0
GameStop Stocks Fall 60 Percent After Restrictions
Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Amateur investors are responding with outrage after trading platforms restricted buying of shares in GameStop and other companies.

The moves by Robinhood and Interactive Brokers follow days of frenzied trading that led to massive gains for some stocks.

Shares in GameStop dived by as much as 60% after the restrictions.

It is the latest twist in a battle that has pitted amateur investors against Wall Street giants.

Major hedge funds had bet billions of dollars that GameStop’s shares would fall.

They have faced major losses after amateurs, swapping tips on social media sites such as Reddit, drove up the share price by more than 700% in a week.

Other firms, such as AMC Entertainment, Koss Corp and BlackBerry, also saw sharp gains. They were embraced by day traders after hedge funds bet against them.

The activity has drawn questions from regulators, who are monitoring trading amid fears of illegal actions.

But the amateur investors say they are just playing Wall Street at its own game.

In online forums they discussed legal action and accused Robinhood and other brokerages enacting their own form of market manipulation by restricting purchases of certain shares.

Why have GameStop shares surged?

Key to what’s going on is “short selling” or “shorting”, where a big investment company such as a hedge fund tries to make money by betting that a company’s share price will fall.

The hedge fund borrows shares in a company from other investors (for a fee) and sells the shares on the markets at, for example, $10 each, waits until they fall to $5, and buys them back. The borrowed shares are returned to the original owner, and the hedge fund pockets a profit.

GameStop – which saw heavy losses last year and was described as “failing” by one big investor – is the most shorted stock on Wall Street. Some 30% of its shares are thought to be in the hands of hedge fund borrowers.

However, in the last week, amateur investors who follow the Wall Street Bets forum on Reddit have poured money into buying the company’s stock with the aim of pushing up the price.

If the price rises dramatically, short sellers face big losses and they need to buy back the shares they have borrowed quickly to prevent bigger losses – a process known as covering.

However, buying back the shares only adds to demand for the stock and pushes its price higher still.

Amateurs aren’t the only ones getting in on the action.

This week, for example, private equity firm Silver Lake Group, which had loaned money to AMC Entertainment, converted its bonds to shares after the surge in the firm’s prices, a swap worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

In the US, anger over the trading restrictions united politicians whose stances typically sharply diverge.

Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who is taking over as chair of the banking committee, said he would hold a hearing about the “state of the stock market”.

He said: “People on Wall Street only care about the rules when they’re the ones getting hurt.”

What is GameStop?

GameStop is an American high street shop that sells games, consoles and other electronics.

With fewer people out shopping due to the Covid-19 pandemic and most games being sold online, things weren’t looking great for GameStop.

People who buy and sell stocks often bet on which companies won’t do well in the future.

They borrow shares in the company and sell them, with a promise to buy them back at a later date.

If you’re sure the company will lose value, you’d make a profit when you buy them back and the price has fallen.

This is a massively simplified explanation of something called shorting, or short selling – words you might’ve seen cropping up in your feeds in the last few days.

GameStop was one of the companies that loads of hedge funds (companies who do these bets) had bet on to lose a lot of value.

More than four million people are on Reddit, usually discussing stocks and shares and where they’re going to invest money.

But huge numbers of people in the wallstreetbets Reddit forum swapped tips and bought shares in GameStop.

The demand raised its share price massively, which nobody saw coming, and everyone who had banked on it dropping in value had to buy their shares back.

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Enjoy Greater Comfort at Home with a Well-Maintained Crawl Space

Kathryn R. Bown
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Enjoy Greater Comfort at Home with a Well-Maintained Crawl Space
Image source: Florida Foundation Authority

When people spend time at home, it is only natural that they want to feel relaxed and comfortable. This is a place where you get to spend time with loved ones, enjoy some downtime, and shut yourself away from the noise and stress of the outside world. This is why you need to ensure your Myrtle Beach home is comfortable and provides a setting where you can chill out whenever you want to.

There are some things that can have a big impact on your comfort levels at home, and this includes issues that may arise from your crawl space. For those who have a crawl space under the home, it is vital that this is looked after in order to help ensure a comfortable home environment. You can enlist the help of a specialist in crawl space repair in Myrtle Beach if there is any damage that needs to be addressed. In addition, you should waterproof the space and keep it clean in order to reduce the risk of issues in your home.

How Caring for This Space Can Benefit Your Comfort Levels

Given that most people do not spend time in the crawl space, you may be wondering how crawl space maintenance can make your home more comfortable. Well, there are lots of issues that can affect your main home if you do not look after the crawl space. By maintaining the space, it will help you avoid these problems, which means a more comfortable home environment.

One of the ways in which caring for your crawl space can benefit your home environment is by reducing the risk of mold and dampness in your home. When these problems occur, you could find that many of your rooms are affected, which can create a home setting that is unpleasant to look at. It can also affect air quality in your home, increase the risk of health issues, and result in a setting that is cold and difficult to keep warm.

Another thing you have to keep in mind is that a crawl space that is damp and in poor condition can heighten the risk of pest infestations in your home. If your home is overrun with pests, it means that you will be in an unhygienic setting and a home where pests could cause a huge range of serious issues. Pests can result in a lack of hygiene and they can also spread disease to those in the home. They can also cause bad smells in the home as well as a lot of stress for people in your property.

There are lots of ways in which the state of the space under your home can affect your actual home. This then impacts everyone in the property and can result in a home setting that is not pleasant to spend time in. By looking after your crawl space, you can avoid major issues that could impact your life quality at home.

President Joe Biden Holds First Call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin

Roy Siemens
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President Joe Biden Holds First Call with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin
Image source: Reuters

President Joe Biden has raised election meddling in his first call with Russian Vladimir Putin, the White House says.

The phone conversation also included a discussion about the ongoing opposition protests in Russia.

A Kremlin statement did not refer to any points of friction, saying the call was “businesslike and frank”.

Both sides reportedly agreed to extend the countries’ last remaining nuclear deal during the call.

Former President Donald Trump sometimes undercut his own administration’s tough posture on Russia and was accused by some of being too deferential to Vladimir Putin.

However, Donald Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama – under whom Joe Biden served as vice-president – was also criticized for failing to check Russia as it annexed Crimea, supported rebel forces in eastern Ukraine and backed the government of war-torn Syria.

Vladimir Putin Thanks President Trump for Helping to Foil Acts of Terrorism on Russian Soil

President Donald Trump Denies Working for Russia

Trump-Putin Summit: Donald Trump Defends Russia over Claims of Election Interference

The White House said in a statement: “President Biden made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to actions by Russia that harm us or our allies.”

The two presidents also discussed the massive SolarWinds cyber-attack, which has been blamed on Moscow; reports that the Kremlin placed bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan; and the poisoning of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny.

According to the Kremlin statement, the Russian president had “noted that the normalization of relations between Russia and the United States would meet the interests of both countries and – taking into account their special responsibility for maintaining security and stability in the world – of the entire international community”.

Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin also discussed the New Start treaty, an Obama-era accord that limits the amounts of warheads, missiles and launchers in the two countries’ nuclear arsenals.

The treaty had been due to expire on February 5, but both sides reportedly agreed to extend the treaty during January 26 call.

The Trump administration, however, had refused to sign it and talks over an extension stalled.

On January 27, the Russian parliament ratified a five-year extension of the treaty. President Putin said the move was a “step in the right direction” to reducing global tensions.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon Gets $10M Pay Cut for Malaysia 1MDB Scandal

Clyde K. Valle
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Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon Gets $10M Pay Cut for Malaysia 1MDB Scandal
Image source Wikimedia

Goldman Sachs CEO David M. Solomon will get a $10 million pay cut for the bank’s involvement in the 1MDB corruption scandal.

1MDB was an investment fund set up by the Malaysian government that lost billions due to fraudulent activity.

The global fraud and corruption scheme led to a 12-year jail term for Malaysia’s ex-PM Najib Razak which he is appealing.

Goldman Sachs called its involvement in the scandal an “institutional failure”.

It helped raise $6.5 billion for 1MDB by selling bonds to investors, the proceeds of which were largely stolen.

Prosecutors alleged that senior Goldman Sachs executives ignored warning signs of fraud in their dealings with 1MDB and Jho Low, an adviser to the fund. Two Goldman bankers have been criminally charged in the scandal.

David Solomon’s pay would have been $10 million higher but for the actions its board of directors took in response to the 1MDB saga, Goldman Sachs said on January 26.

While disclosing Solomon’s salary had dropped to $17.5 million for 2020, the bank stressed that its CEO was unaware of the corruption.

Goldman Sachs Bankers Charged in Malaysia 1MDB Scandal

1MDB Scandal: $4 Billion Stolen from Malaysian State-Owned Fund

Malaysia: Former PM Najib Razak Barred from Leaving the Country

David Solomon was not “involved in or aware of the firm’s participation in any illicit activity at the time… the board views the 1MDB matter as an institutional failure, inconsistent with the high expectations it has for the firm”.

His package consists of $2 million in cash base pay, a $4.65 million cash bonus, and $10.85 million in stock-based compensation.

In October, Goldman Sachs agreed to pay approximately $3 billion to government officials in four countries to end an investigation into work it performed for 1MDB. The bank collected $600 million for arranging the bond sales in 2012 and 2013.

It has spent years being investigated by regulators across the globe including those in the US, UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. In total, Goldman’s dealings with 1MDB cost the bank more than $5 billion.

Despite the costs and fines from the fallout from the 1MDB scandal, 2020 was a bumper year for Goldman’s businesses with annual revenue of $44.6 billion, its highest since 2009.

Goldman Sachs got a huge boost from the recovery in global stock markets from the depths of the coronavirus recession.

Joe Biden Raises Vaccination Goal to 1.5M a Day

Diane A. Wade
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Joe Biden Raises Vaccination Goal to 1.5M a Day
Image source: Getty Images

President Joe Biden has said he expects the United States will soon be able to vaccinate 1.5 million people a day after critics said his original goal was not bold enough.

The new president had announced last week that 1 million vaccines would be administered daily in the first 100 days of his presidency.

However, some media noted the US had already nearly reached that target under the Trump administration.

President Biden also renewed Trump-era Covid bans on January 25, adding South Africa.

In the first time formally taking reporters’ questions during his presidency, President Biden said on January 25 that he hoped they would be able to get to 1.5 million vaccinations administered daily.

He said: “I think with the grace of God… we’ll be able to get that to 1.5 million a day.”

Adding: “I hope we’ll be able to increase as we go along so we’ll get to 1.5 million. That’s my hope.”

Joe Biden Sets 100M Covid Vaccinations Goal for First 100 Days

Some media had questioned whether President Biden’s target of one million shots per day was ambitious enough.

Last week, at the tail-end of the Trump administration, the US had already reached an average of around 980,000 vaccine doses administered daily.

On January 25, the Biden administration renewed Trump-era Covid-19 travel bans on non-US visitors from Brazil and most of Europe, including the UK and Ireland.

The White House also imposed a new ban on South Africa over its virus variant.

Former President Donald Trump had ordered the bans to end on January 26 as one of his final acts in office.

The new travel restrictions came as Minnesota recorded the first US case of the Brazil variant from a resident who had recently travelled to that country.

The unnamed patient lives in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area, said the department.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the decision to continue the restrictions on foreign travelers on January 25.

All international travelers must also present a negative test within three days of air travel to the US.

Travel restrictions have been in place since mid-March.

Harriet Tubman to Take Over $20 Bill under Biden Administration

Nancy Clayson
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Harriet Tubman to Take Over $20 Bill under Biden Administration
Image source: Library of Congress

The White House is seeking to push forward a plan to make anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman the face of a new $20 bill.

A note featuring Harriet Tubman, who was born a slave in about 1822, was originally due to be unveiled in 2020.

The US Treasury said Harriet Tubman would replace former President Andrew Jackson, a slave owner.

The effort was delayed under former President Donald Trump, who branded it “pure political correctness”.

Now President Joe Biden has revived the project, with White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki telling reporters the Treasury was “exploring ways to speed up” the process.

The move would make Harriet Tubman the first African American to appear on a US banknote, and the first woman for more than 100 years.

Jen Psaki said on January 25: “It’s important that our notes, our money – if people don’t know what a note is – reflect the history and diversity of our country, and Harriet Tubman’s image gracing the new $20 note would certainly reflect that.”

The women last depicted on US notes were former First Lady Martha Washington, on the $1 silver certificate from 1891 to 1896, and Native American Pocahontas, in a group image on the $20 bill from 1865 to 1869.

However, given the complexities of redesigning and producing US banknotes, the bill is not expected to be released any time soon.

In 2019, President Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said the redesign would be delayed until at least 2026. At the time, he said he was focused on redesigning bills to address counterfeiting issues, not making changes to their imagery.

New $10 Bill to Feature a Woman

Donald Trump, an admirer of his populist predecessor Andrew Jackson – whose portrait hung in his office – expressed opposition to the redesign.

While campaigning in 2016, Donald Trump suggested that Harriet Tubman be put on the $2 bill instead.

Born into slavery in about 1822, Harriet Tubman grew up working in the cotton fields in Dorchester County, Maryland. She was the fourth of nine children born to two enslaved parents, Benjamin Ross and Harriet Rit.

As a teenager, Harriet Tubman was hit in the head by an iron weight thrown by an overseer, leaving her severely injured.

She escaped from a slave plantation in 1849, fleeing north to the neighboring state of Pennsylvania.

In the years that followed, Harriet Tubman returned multiple times to Maryland to rescue others, conducting them along the so-called “underground railroad”, a network of safe houses used to spirit slaves from the south to the free states in the north.

Harriet Tubman is estimated to have made some 13 missions to rescue more than 70 enslaved people, including family and friends, using the network.

Later, she became a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War, a prominent supporter of the women’s suffrage movement, and a famous veteran of the struggle for the abolition of slavery.

After the war, Harriet Tubman toured eastern cities giving speeches in support of women’s suffrage, drawing on her experiences in the fight against slavery.

Harriet Tubman died in 1913, aged 91, surrounded by her family.

Asia Argento Accuses Rob Cohen of Assault

Lisa.Felice
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Asia Argento Accuses Rob Cohen of Assault
Image source Wikimedia

Asia Argento has accused The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen of assault.

The actress told Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera that Rob Cohen abused her and made her drink GHB, a drug associated with sex attacks.

A spokesperson for Rob Cohen called the actress’ claim “categorically false” and “bewildering”.

Asia Argento alleges the assault occurred while filming action movie xXx in 2002.

“At the time, I really didn’t know what it was. I woke up in the morning naked in his bed,” she told the Italian publication.

The accusations are also included in Asia Argento’s autobiography Anatomy of a Wild Heart, which will be published in her native Italy on January 26.

#MeToo Accuser Asia Argento Accused of Assault Herself

The statement issued by Rob Cohen’s spokesperson described the pair as having “an excellent working relationship and Mr. Cohen considered her a friend, so this claim dating back to 2002 is bewildering”.

Asia Argento was one of the first to accuse convicted Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of assault in an interview in the New Yorker with Ronan Farrow back in 2017.

President Biden’s Chief of Staff Criticizes Trump Administration’s Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout

Diane A. Wade
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0
President Biden’s Chief of Staff Criticizes Trump Administration’s Covid-19 Vaccine Rollout

The Trump administration’s rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine calling it “chaotic” and “very limited”, President Joe Biden’s Chief of Staff Ron Klain has said.

Ron Klain said there was no plan in the federal government for the distribution of vaccines across the United States.

President Joe Biden, who took office on January 20, has promised 100 million vaccine shots in his first 100 days.

The US has now reported more than 25 million Covid-19 cases.

About 417,500 deaths have been linked to the new coronavirus. In recent weeks, the daily number of Covid-linked deaths in the US has, on some days, exceeded 4,000.

President Biden signed a raft of new measures last week, including boosting vaccinations and testing. He has urged Americans to wear masks and warned that the death toll could get much worse.

His efforts follow widespread criticism of the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic and of the vaccination program.

Vaccines have been distributed to states, and states and cities are carrying out the inoculations. But some have complained they are struggling with supply.

According to the CDC, about 41 million doses had been distributed by January 23 across the country, but only 20.5 million had been administered.

Speaking to NBC News, Ron Klain said: “The process to distribute the vaccine, particularly outside of nursing homes and hospitals out into the community as a whole, did not really exist when we came into the White House.”

He said it was a “complex” process but that the Biden administration would set up federal vaccination sites to help states without enough places.

Covid- 19 infections have spiraled in recent months – with a jump in new infections after Thanksgiving and Christmas, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

Hospital numbers hit their highest levels during the pandemic earlier this month but are slowly starting to drop alongside daily cases.

President Joe Biden to Sign 10 Executive Orders to Boost Fight Against Covid-19

Dr. Anthony Fauci said on January 21 that rolling average data appeared to show infections leveling off.

Although the national picture has stabilized slightly, he warned the country remained in a “very serious situation”.

The CDC is particularly concerned that new variants could accelerate the virus spread.

The strain has been detected in 20 states, Dr. Fauci said January 21, but warned the country had “limited ability” to track its spread through the population.

President Biden has already enacted a raft of executive measures to combat the virus and he wants Congress to pass a $1.9tn package of economic relief funding.

He is hoping to get bipartisan approval for his broad stimulus agenda, but the proposal has already been met with skepticism and resistance by some Republicans.

Another one of the new president’s key promises is to oversee 100 million vaccinations in his first 100 days in office, but some have criticized this policy as not ambitious enough.

The current approved suppliers – Moderna and Pfizer – have pledged to deliver 200 million doses by March. Dr. Fauci has also suggested emergency approval of a third vaccine, a single-dose jab by Johnson & Johnson, could be just weeks away.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was appointed chief medical adviser by the new president, has expressed hope that if 70-85% of the US population is vaccinated by the end of summer, the country could “approach a degree of normality” by autumn.

Covid-19: Israel Expands Vaccination Campaign to Teens Aged 16-18

Kathryn R. Bown
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Covid-19: Israel Expands Vaccination Campaign to Teens Aged 16-18
Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Israel has expanded its Covid-19 vaccination campaign to teens aged 16 -18, in an effort to enable them to sit exams.

More than 25% of Israel’s population of 9 million have received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine since December 19, the health ministry says.

Israel started with the elderly and others at high risk, but people aged 40 and over can also now get the vaccine.

It hopes to start reopening its economy in February.

The inclusion of 16 to 18-year-olds – with parental permission – is meant “to enable their return (to school) and the orderly holding of exams”, an education ministry spokeswoman said.

The matriculation exams that Israeli students sit at the end of high school play an important role in deciding where they will go to university. Their results can also affect their placement in the military, where many young Israelis do compulsory service.

However, the education ministry has said it is too early to say whether schools will reopen next month.

Covid-19 Vaccine: Israel Leads the World in Vaccination Rate

Israel started its rapid vaccination drive – the fastest in the world – in on December 19, reaching 10% of its population by the end of 2020.

The country has recorded more than 596,000 cases and 4,392 deaths with Covid-19, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

On January 24, the government said it would ban passenger flights in and out of the country from January 25 for the rest of the month, in an effort to halt the spread of new virus variants.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Other than rare exceptions, we are closing the sky hermetically to prevent the entry of the virus variants and also to ensure that we progress quickly with our vaccination campaign.”

Foreigners have largely been blocked from entering Israel during the pandemic.

Plastic Surgeons Report a 60% Increase in Business During COVID-19

Dana R
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Plastic Surgeons Report a 60% Increase in Business During COVID-19

You would expect certain businesses to thrive during a pandemic lockdown. Things like Dropbox and Zoom are more useful and more used than ever. Food delivery services are thriving as well.

It is somewhat unexpected that the plastic surgery industry would experience a mini-boom, but plastic surgeons are reporting an increase of about 60% in business.

There were over 18.1 million cosmetic procedures performed in 2019, with 1.8 million cosmetic surgical procedures and 16.3 million cosmetic minimally-invasive procedures. Neither of these numbers was a significant increase from 2018’s stats. However, we’re poised to see a notable spike when 2020’s numbers are released.

The Zoom Boom

One of the leading factors in this new wave of plastic surgery is the emergence of daily video calls. Millions of people are logging into Zoom every day. Many spend a lot of that time looking at their own faces and wondering if they need a cheek lift or a hair transplant.

People are also wondering if they need a liposuction procedure, as they start to see double chins emerge on Zoom calls, and they deal with the so-called Quarantine 15.

At the same time, people with longstanding insecurities about some part of their appearance are now being forced to face it from new and unflattering angles during video chats. They’re now armed with enough impetus to get the rhinoplasty procedure they have always wanted.

A Shift in Attitudes

An eye-opening survey by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons revealed that a startling number of people are now thinking about getting plastic surgery. Roughly 49% of respondents said that they are currently open to getting their first procedure.

This is particularly surprising when you consider that a similar survey in 2014 revealed that only 17% of respondents were open to getting their first procedure, while 49% were firmly against the idea.

An Unexpected Opportunity

The COVID-19 crisis has also created a business landscape where an estimated 42% of the entire American workforce is now working from home on a full-time basis.

This actually creates the perfect opportunity for people to discreetly recover from surgery while working from home, without having to use vacation days.

It’s now possible for people to get a procedure on a Friday, take the weekend to recover, and then be back to work at 9 am on Monday without anyone knowing that they had surgery.

Cancelled Plans and Vacations

Almost half of all Americans had to cancel travel plans over the summer of 2020, with countless more also having to cancel winter/ spring vacations and destination weddings.

While most of these people are incredibly disappointed, many have decided to put their travel money towards a plastic surgery they have always wanted. They now have the means and the opportunity to finally treat themselves.

The most common plastic surgery in 2019 was the breast augmentation procedure and it has held the #1 position for several years in a row. However, experts are saying it’s entirely possible that the Zoom boom leads to the boob job being dethroned from the top spot by a facial procedure.

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