NASA’s Parker Solar Probe swings through Venus ‘tail’ in flyby today

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A daring sun-grazing NASA spacecraft turns its focus to Venus today (July 10) with a critical flyby that will pass through the planet’s weird “tail.”

The Parker Solar Probe, which NASA launched in August 2018, is designed to swoop through the sun’s super-hot outer atmosphere and help scientists understand the way our star shapes the solar system. But in order to complete its seven-year mission, the spacecraft needs to adjust its speed by swinging past Venus a total of seven times. It’ll do so for the third time tonight at 11:22 p.m. EDT (0322 GMT on July 11).

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NASA’s Curiosity rover starts Red Planet road trip up Martian mountain

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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover captured this view, which was stitched together from 28 different images, from “Greenheugh Pediment” on April 9, 2020. In the foreground is the pediment’s sandstone cap. At center is the “clay-bearing unit,” and the floor of Gale Crater is in the distance. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS)

Like many Americans this summer, NASA’s Curiosity rover is embarking on a road trip — but on Mars.

The nearly eight-year-old mission will be guided through a traverse roughly 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) long that will see it climb farther up a mountain to learn more about the planet’s history — and whether it could have been habitable for microbial life in its ancient past.

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Can energy be sucked out of a black hole?

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A rotating black hole is such an extreme force of nature that it drags surrounding time and space around with it. So it is only natural to ask whether black holes could be used as some sort of energy source. In 1969, mathematical physicist Roger Penrose proposed a method to do just this, now known as the “Penrose Process.”

The method could be used by sophisticated civilizations (aliens or future humans) to harvest energy by making “black hole bombs.” Some of the physics required to do so, however, had never been experimentally verified — until now. Our study confirming the underlying physics has just been published in Nature Physics.

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League City, Texas Mayor Discusses Sharp COVID-19 Spike In His County

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The number of coronavirus cases is soaring in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott shut the state back down two weeks ago. NPR’s David Greene talks to the mayor of League City, Texas, Pat Hallisey.



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Philippine Congress Officially Shuts Down Leading Broadcaster

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MANILA — Philippine lawmakers on Friday formally shut down the country’s largest broadcast network, the latest major blow against the news media as President Rodrigo Duterte cracks down on outlets that have been critical of his leadership.

After 13 hearings, a committee of the House of Representatives — most of whose members are allied with Mr. Duterte — voted by an overwhelming majority to deny ABS-CBN’s application for renewal of its broadcast franchise. The network had been forced off the air in May, after the franchise expired.

“We remain committed to public service, and we hope to find other ways to achieve our mission,” said Carlo Katigbak, ABS-CBN’s president and chief executive, in a statement on Friday. He said the network was “deeply hurt.”

The president’s spokesman, Harry Roque, sought to distance Mr. Duterte from the decision.

“The palace has maintained a neutral stance on the issue as it respects the separation of powers between the two coequal branches of government,” he said. “Much as we want to work with the aforesaid media network, we have to abide by the resolution of the House committee.”

Mr. Duterte has accused ABS-CBN of bias, including favoring a political opponent in the 2016 election, and had earlier warned that he would not allow the renewal of its franchise.

The president’s critics say he has gone after media outlets that closely documented his drug war, which has left thousands of people dead since he took office in 2016.

ABS-CBN ceased operations of its free TV and radio channels by government order after its 25-year franchise expired in May. ABS-CBN still operates a cable channel and internet sites, but the company has told its 11,000 employees that they could be let go by August if its broadcast franchise was not renewed.

After the network went off the air, there was a backlash from millions of Filipinos who rely on it for news, forcing the lower house of Congress to rush hearings on the franchise renewal.

The government has accused ABS-CBN of illegally operating a cable channel, as well as hiding behind what it called a “corporate veil” that allowed foreign investors to own part of the firm. ABS-CBN has denied the allegations.

Fourteen lawmakers who sponsored bills backing the network argued that the hearings had not proven that ABS-CBN broke any regulations that warranted its closure.

“Seventy million Filipinos tune to its programs weekly,” they said in a joint statement. “Now more than ever, in the time of a pandemic, we need a vibrant and independent source of information and news to tell the people what is going on.”

Nonoy Espina, who heads the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said that lawmakers who were seeking to block the franchise renewal had “gripes” to settle. By voting to shut down ABS-CBN, Mr. Espina said, the House “has lost all claim to represent the people and our interests.”

The congressional hearings did shine a light on some shortcomings of big media networks, including unfair labor practices and a lack of self-regulation, analysts said.

“But legislators have no business to say how media should operate,” said Danilo Arao, a journalism professor at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. ABS-CBN, he said, “is being singled out.”

Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, called the decision a “grievous assault on press freedom,” adding, “This move solidifies the tyranny of President Rodrigo Duterte.” The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines said it was a “profoundly dark day for journalists.”

As the leading broadcaster in the country, ABS-CBN was known for its prime time flagship news program, “TV Patrol,” as well as soap operas and afternoon variety TV shows.

Along with the online news site Rappler, ABS-CBN has been at the forefront of coverage of Mr. Duterte’s violent drug war.

Recently, a Manila court convicted Rappler’s chief executive, Maria Ressa, and a former staff writer of cyberlibel. Ms. Ressa, an award-winning former CNN journalist, is out on bail while the case is on appeal, but she could face up to six years in prison.

Mr. Duterte has often gone after members of the press that he dislikes. He has called journalists “sons of bitches” and warned that they were not exempt from the possibility of physical attacks.

He has accused Rappler of being funded by the Central Intelligence Agency, though he has never offered evidence for that. This week, he accused Ms. Ressa of being a “fraud” and said a new case could be filed against her. He did not elaborate.

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Views on recovery are impacting the debate over extending unemployment benefits

To hear President Trump tell it, the coronavirus will soon disappear, jobs are coming back, and Congress needs to let a $600 weekly unemployment benefit expire July 31, which he calls a “disincentive to work.”

But even with some jobs lost to the pandemic beginning to return, over 30 million people are still receiving the unemployment assistance and some fear the president’s rosy assessment could leave them destitute if it goes away.

Depending on the state they live in, recipients could lose well over half of their income overnight.

Katherine Henry, a 37-year old Massachusetts resident who lost her job as a trainer for a professional rugby team due to the pandemic, told NBC News the weekly $600 payments have been a “lifesaver” so far.

But with gyms and live sports among the industries hardest hit, and her wife’s food truck struggling to regain business, Henry’s been looking for other jobs but says the situation is bleak. She’s been writing and calling local lawmakers asking them to renew the $600 benefit.

“My industry is just shuttered at this point,” she said. “I’d have no trouble working at our local Starbucks, but they aren’t hiring. Republicans say it’s an excuse not to go back to work, but there isn’t any work.”

The benefit was included in the CARES Act passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump in March when the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic became clear.

But it’s now become the subject of an intense partisan debate that is in some ways a proxy fight over how each side views the state of the recovery.

President Trump, pointing to a net gain of 2.5 million jobs in May and 4.8 million in June, has called the economy a “rocket ship” and his advisers are touting a “V-shaped recovery” in which workers will be able to rapidly return to their jobs as the economy re-opens.

“Today’s announcement proves that our economy is roaring back, it’s coming back extremely strong” Trump said after the June numbers came out.

To many Republicans, the $600 payments are simply too generous and will discourage recipients from quickly returning to the labor force.

In particular, critics complain that the $600 weekly benefit means many low-wage workers are making more than what they were before the pandemic. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that 5 out of 6 recipients would make more from unemployment than they could expect to earn from work if the payments were extended.

Michael Simpson is one. The 45-year old Delaware resident was furloughed from his job at a women’s formal wear company in March when the pandemic struck. But now, between state unemployment assistance and the $600 weekly federal aid, he’s earning $150 more per week than he did at his job.

“I can see the argument that you’re just soaking it up, that you’re making more money from unemployment than from working. But trust me, I’d much rather be working than sitting around doing nothing,” Simpson told NBC News.

Democrats point to a worsening pandemic and dire long-term forecasts that suggest many Americans will be unable to safely go to work or find a new job and will require further aid to make rent and put food on their table.

“If we fail to renew the $600 per week increase in UI, millions of American families will have their legs cut out from underneath them at the worst possible time — in the middle of a pandemic when unemployment is higher than it’s been since the Great Depression,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said last week.

Given the persistence of the virus, economists are increasingly worried about a “checkmark-shaped recovery.” In this scenario, the economy would see an initial wave of job growth as businesses reopen and adapt to the crisis, but millions would still be left out of work once the wave recedes. Recent gains still aren’t close to overtaking the more than 20 million jobs lost in April. Even last month’s strong jobs report included 588,000 new layoffs that were permanent, rather than temporary furloughs.

The Federal Reserve projects unemployment will remain over 9 percent at the end of the year, and that estimate came before the recent surge of cases in states like Arizona, Texas, Florida, and California that’s prompted officials to pause or roll back reopening plans.

Fed chairman Jay Powell and many economists have warned that a potential prolonged “second wave” could dampen the recovery. The latest jobs report only covered the period up to the week of June 12, before the latest rise in cases, which prompted analysts like banking giant Goldman Sachs to lower their growth forecasts.

While some businesses are reopening, others have closed or laid off workers, perhaps permanently. Since the jobs report, over 1.3 million people have submitted new applications for unemployment benefits every single week, still far above normal levels. Small businesses may also begin to exhaust federal loans and grants soon that were designed to keep workers on payroll, potentially setting off a new wave of layoffs.

Workers could face new headwinds in the fall as well. Many schools are unlikely to return full-time, cutting off a crucial source of child care that will make it difficult for parents to find and maintain a job.

“We know the economy is not going to return to full potential until the virus is gone, there are going to be jobs that people simply cannot do,” Martha Gimbel, manager of economic research at Schmidt Futures, said. “If we screw this up, it’s about whether or not people will be able to feed their kids.”

Trump in recent days has demanded schools fully open, threatened to cut off funding to those that don’t, and criticized his own administration’s safety guidelines as too “tough” and “very expensive.”

While Republicans and Democrats debate the best course ahead, neither side denies that enhanced unemployment benefits, along with other CARES Act provisions like business loans and stimulus payments, have had an enormous impact on Americans’ livelihoods so far. In many ways, they’ve shielded families from a Great Depression-level collapse.

Personal income actually rose 10.5 percent in April as much of the country was shut down to fight the pandemic, and Americans also managed to save 33 percent of their earnings, a rate far higher than normal.

The benefits were especially helpful to lower income Americans: One study by Columbia University researchers credited the CARES Act with keeping the poverty rate nearly the same as it was before the pandemic, even as tens of millions have been forced out of work.

But some businesses, which are required to bring back workers to fulfill the conditions of their own federal aid, have also complained that their employees are reluctant to return given the benefits. Republicans see this as a sign benefits have overshot the mark.

“Right now our policy is we’ll give you $600 a week only if you don’t work, but if you do work, you don’t get it,” Stephen Moore, a White House adviser, told NBC News. “That’s a stupid policy. Don’t pay people for not working.”

Instead, Moore favors temporarily suspending payroll taxes, which would boost incomes for workers and business owners — but not the unemployed.

President Trump has also talked up the idea of cutting payroll taxes, along with a variety of targeted breaks for different industries affected by the pandemic. Last week, he told Fox Business News that while he is open to a new round of stimulus payments as well, he wanted a “great incentive to work.”

In the Senate, McConnell has said lawmakers should continue “adequate” benefits for those who can’t work, but the $600 weekly payment was a “mistake” that encouraged people to remain unemployed. Some GOP lawmakers have suggested legislation that would pay bonuses to employees who return to work.

Adding to the stress on the unemployed: Other provisions to protect them could be running out at the same time.

Millions of renters are also protected from eviction under the CARES Act, but that measure is set to expire on July 25. A recent analysis by Urban Footprint warns that without some government assistance, upwards of 7 million renters are vulnerable to losing their home. Some similar measures at the state level are already expiring.

“It should be really clear this week that forcing people into homelessness is not in the public interest or our health interest,” Shamus Roller, executive director of the National Housing Law Project, told NBC News.

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Rachel Maddow: Trump’s COVID-Spreading Rally Circuit Is ‘Worst Road Show’ Ever

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Rachel Maddow slammed President Donald Trump on Thursday as a kind of modern-day Typhoid Larry, helping to spread COVID-19 wherever he chooses for his campaign rallies.

The Trump reelection campaign rally season kicked off last month with a lackluster crowd in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But there were still plenty of jam-packed, yelling, maskless Trump fans to contract coronavirus in the arena — particularly after campaign workers removed seat stickers encouraging social distancing, noted the host of MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show.”

The rally “likely” contributed to a dramatic surge in Tulsa coronavirus cases, according to the local health director.

Trump campaign staff working on the rally tested positive for the virus. And former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is still in the hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19 soon after attending the event — without a mask.

Trump then stumped at a megachurch in Phoenix packed with 3,000 young people, almost all without masks. At least eight Secret Service agents preparing shortly afterward for a visit to the city by Vice President Mike Pence holed up in a Phoenix hotel battling symptoms of COVID-19.

Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle tested positive for COVID-19 last week, shortly she was scheduled to appear with the president at another mega event at Mount Rushmore.

She skipped the appearance, but spent the days leading up to the rally tirelessly campaigning for Trump — without a mask — in Montana and South Dakota. Montana GOP gubernatorial candidate Rep. Greg Gianforte suspended in-person campaigning last week to self-quarantine after his wife, Susan, was exposed to Guilfoyle.

“This is the national roadshow that the president is doing right now. There aren’t any other big congregant events indoors for thousands of people of any kind … anywhere in the country. It’s just events for the president,” said Maddow. “And so far it’s not going great.”

Next on Trump’s list: A rally Saturday in New Hampshire, one of only two states in the U.S. where cases of COVID-19 are decreasing.

“But now,” said Maddow, “the president’s coming to town.”

Maddow blasted Trump’s “viral campaign” as the “worst road show in the history of America.”

Check it out in the video above.

A HuffPost Guide To Coronavirus



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Rajasthan govt hauled up for violating RTE Act on pre-primary admissions

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The Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has said the Congress-ruled has violated the Right to Education (RTE) Act in the new norms it has recently issued for admissions to pre-primary classes in private schools.


In a letter sent to the secretary of Rajasthan government’s department of school education on Thursday, NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo has sought an explanation on the issue within seven days.



Kanoongo recommended that the re-examine its recent guidelines and make necessary changes in light of the Act, 2009.


The NCPCR chairperson also asked the that it issue “necessary directions to ensure that there is no loss to the children or their education due to implementation of faulty guidelines by the department”.


Ironically, it was the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government that had piloted the Right to Education (RTE) Act, which Parliament passed in August 2009. Now, the Ashok Gehlot-led government in Rajasthan is found to have contravened the law.


The law, via the 86th Constitution Amendment, made education a fundamental right under Article 21A for children between 6 and 14 years. It also provided for 25 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in government-aided private schools.


The new guidelines recently published by Rajasthan government’s Department of Elementary Education have exempted private schools from 25 per cent reservation for EWS students in their pre-primary classes for the academic session 2020-21.


The NCPCR chairperson, in the letter sent to the Rajasthan government, pointed out that the Act specifies that schools will admit, at least 25 per cent of the strength of that class, children belonging to weaker sections and disadvantaged groups in the neighbourhood and provide free and compulsory education till its completion.


What is more relevant to the new norms of the Rajasthan government, Kanoongo pointed out that the Act also states that where such a school imparts pre-school education, the provisions shall apply for admission to such pre-school education as well.


“Hence, the point 1 of Chapter 2 of the Guidelines issued by Department of Elementary Education, Rajasthan is in contravention to the provision under the Act, 2009,” Kanoongo stated.


The NCPCR chairperson pointed out other inconsistencies between the Rajasthan government’s guidelines and the RTE Act.


Kanoongo said the RTE Act empowers governments to issue notifications and make rules for carrying out the provisions of the Act. “Therefore, the guidelines or rules issued by the appropriate government should be for carrying out the provisions of the Act. While issuing guidelines or framing rules, any deviation or change in the provision under the Act amounts to violation of the Central Act,” Kanoongo stated.


The NCPCR chief said the Rajasthan government’s guidelines violate the provisions of the RTE Act, “and by doing so the state is not only violating the basic provisions of the Act but also misinterpreting the role and powers of the Appropriate Authorities under the Act”.



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Coronavirus has changed travel in European cities for good — here’s how

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This article was originally published by Sarah Wray on Cities Today, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates follow Cities Today on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, or sign up for Cities Today News.

At a recent Cities Today Institute roundtable, cities across Europe told a consistent story – public transport ridership is down between 60 and 90 percent on pre-coronavirus levels and capacity is reduced due to social distancing, while private car usage is beginning to climb once again.

With revenues from media, parking and other taxes also slashed, this is adding up to a perfect storm of looming congestion and decimated budgets.

The International Association of Public Transport (UITP) estimates that urban and local public transport will face €40 billion (US$45 billion) in farebox revenue losses by the end of 2020. Several delegates reported projected deficits of between tens and hundreds of millions of euros.

Cost-cutting alone won’t be enough to address this but suggestions put forward at the online event went beyond this to include flexible road charging models, public-private funding, blended financing and more.

Counting the financial cost of COVID-19

Mattias Lundberg, Head of Transport Planning, City of Stockholm, detailed how car traffic in the Swedish capital is only ten percent lower than last year’s levels but public transport use has dropped by 60 percent. At the same time, home delivery services have risen sharply by 50-70 percent.

The municipality’s projected revenues have also been hit hard during the pandemic by a fall in income from sources such as certain business leases, parking fees and fines, including reductions and waivers for key workers.

“We foresee a continued decline in our revenues the rest of the year,” Lundberg said, adding that he expects “a very tight budget for next year,” amid ongoing trends such as recession and increased unemployment, a continuation of home-working and insecurity about using public transport.

Raimund Brodehl, Deputy Director-General, Ministry of Transport, Hamburg, similarly described how in the German city car traffic is now close to pre-coronavirus levels again, after a 30 percent drop, and transport ridership remains reduced by half.

“This isn’t only a financial challenge but also one for cities’ climate change and air quality efforts,” Brodehl said, noting that public transport plays a fundamental role in addressing these.

He expressed his deep concern that these trends will last for a long period and while suffering revenue losses, cities will be expected to provide a greater supply of transport than before to support social distancing.

Toll tipping point?

Giuseppe Grezzi, Councillor for Sustainable Mobility, City of Valencia, highlighted how his municipality, which has also seen a 90 percent drop in public transport passengers, is considering several measures to mitigate the economic uncertainty and ensure continuity and quality of transportation services. These include pushing for government grants and exploring bank financing.

Gabriel Makki, Product Manager, Kapsch TrafficCom, stressed that it’s key for cities to find solutions which address their revenue challenge and simultaneously support sustainability targets and minimise congestion and pollution. This, he said, requires a balance of strategies which tightly integrate the management of both supply and demand for the “scarce resource” of urban road capacity.

Demand management tactics he put forward include incentive schemes such as car-pooling, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, congestion charging and access restrictions, while supply-side measures encompass traffic management (e.g. arterial optimisations) and supporting multi-modal mobility services like mobility-as-a-service (MaaS). These can be underpinned by solutions such as intelligent routing, dynamic kerb management and dynamic pricing for urban mobility services.

Although they have typically been controversial, Makki said he believes that in the current landscape, cities and transport operators are reaching a “tipping point” for the implementation of interventions such as access restrictions and congestion charges.

Transport for London (TfL), for instance, recently temporarily increased its congestion charge by 30 percent, as well as the number of hours it operates, to mitigate both traffic levels and the financial crisis the organisation is facing due to COVID-19.

Several other cities in Europe are now looking at city tolling and higher parking fees to reduce congestion and increase revenues, Makki said.

“What we’re seeing is cities accelerating their plans towards addressing congestion and pollution, with the added element of raising revenue,” he added.

Lundberg pointed out, though, that congestion charges are not a silver bullet as some high-income residents are “price-insensitive” to Stockholm’s toll and they continue to drive even if the levy is increased. Further, he said, the revenues from this system are already earmarked for transport investments in the region so will not address the coronavirus-induced shortfall.

Equitability is also sometimes raised as an objection to congestion charging and zonal fees but Makki noted that modern systems can help cities ensure measures are applied to support inclusivity and other goals – for instance, enabling exemptions for certain residents or electric vehicles, or allowing charging to be switched on only when pollution hits a certain level.

Another emerging trend, Makki said, is mileage-based charging, which can be implemented using GPS and geo-fencing technology, and can be a more acceptable option for citizens since it’s based on impact.

On the matter of incentives, participants in the discussion agreed that they are reluctant to introduce new discounts or pricing offers to encourage citizens back to public transport when it’s safe to do so. Most argued that they can’t afford their revenues to take any more of a hit at the moment.

Tapping tech

Artur Perchel, Deputy Director, Europe, UITP, which represents around 1,800 public transport operators, authorities and suppliers globally, highlighted the increasing importance of public transport being complemented by new forms of micromobility and active modes of travel, although he said systems must be designed to ensure that mass transit such as buses, trams and trains remains the “backbone”.

Valencia, for example, with its flat landscape, good weather and good bicycle network, is seeing a “boom” in bike mobility and electric scooters, Grezzi said.

Perchel stressed, too, that it’s now more essential than ever that transport providers “catch up” and capitalise on big data, contactless, cash-free technologies and mobile ticketing to ensure operations and safety are optimised.

“It’s extremely important to move in this direction,” he said.

Perchel also urged cities and transport operators to think creatively beyond grants and farebox revenues. For example, he said UITP members are considering strategies such as tapping private investment for lower-emission services such as electric and hydrogen buses, blending private loans with public grants and exploring joint procurement with neighbouring cities to boost efficiency.

Green shoots

Despite the steep challenges they face, several cities said the COVID-19 crisis has helped to advance some of their mobility goals.

One city, for example, reduced the available amount of green time for traffic and increased it for pedestrians city-wide to cut wait times at crossings and take some capacity out of the system. Its car traffic is now at around 75 percent of pre-lockdown levels and “we intend to maintain that as long as long as possible,” said the transport official.

Grezzi detailed, too, how as Valencia’s traffic decreased during the lockdown, levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulates also fell 70 percent.

“It allows us to show to our citizens that there is a correlation between the massive use of motorised vehicles and levels of pollution. So it’s helping us also to go forward with more measures to reduce car lanes and to give them over to people for walking and cycling,” he said, reflecting a trend in cities throughout the world to install new pop-up and permanent cycle tracks and footpath extensions.

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Dataminr helped police surveil BLM protestors using their tweets

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The end of tourism? – podcast

The pandemic has devastated global tourism, and many will say ‘good riddance’ to overcrowded cities and rubbish-strewn natural wonders. Is there any way to reinvent an industry that does so much damage? By Christopher de Bellaigue



How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know

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