Taking the tide of opportunity to save our oceans

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Taking the tide of opportunity to save our oceans

So, the human world was stopped on its axis not by war, asteroid or cybercrime, but by a microscopic bug to which as yet we have no answer.

That we can be so wholly exposed by an act of nature, albeit inspired by our own actions, should now mentally arm us in the fight against the gathering storm of the climate crisis.

No doubt fossil fuels are returning, power stations firing up around the world as lockdowns ease. But there is a growing clamour for this to be the start of a new era.

The United Nations special envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson, in his accompanying article, writes: “If there were ever a tide in human affairs that should be taken, this is it.” A return to the old ways simply resumes a deadly course, he argues.

It is a timely exhortation drawn from the Shakespeare play Julius Caesar, where Brutus says to Cassius: 

“There is a tide in the affairs of men, 

Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune…” 

Brutus is actually talking about the ideal time to strike in battle, but the message is clear: first recognise, and then seize the opportunity.

Brutus’s stoic philosophy emanated from ancient Greece in the third century BC. This ancient thinking emphasised the inevitability of the laws of nature and saw the success of humanity bound up in understanding and following those laws. 

Science now accepts we have been overstepping the boundaries of nature’s rules, and the consequences have been calamitous. From a zoonotic pandemic which is killing hundreds of thousands from every walk of life, to extreme weather and crashing biodiversity, with dire consequences for millions, if not billions.

Fast-track solutions

The problem is how to harness the will for change, especially in the calendar voids wrought by COVID-19, postponing critical climate and biodiversity conferences. But things are moving. 

This coming week from June 1, the Virtual Oceans Dialogue will fill the space left by the UN Ocean Conference that was slated to take place in Lisbon, Portugal, focusing on how the ocean can be part of the solution in helping the global economy recover from the pandemic. 

Half the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) is dependent on nature, according to the World Economic Forum and more than 3 billion people rely on the ocean for their livelihoods.

The Dialogues have been designed for communities around the world to connect and exchange ideas.

Thomson says it is all about the road we must now travel: how we advance into sustainable food systems, build resilient cities, execute a rapid transition into renewable energy and protect our oceans, which provide us with every second breath of oxygen that we breathe.

“If we love our children, and theirs,” Thomson said, “if we love this planet, if we love life itself, then staying true to that course is the ultimate obligation.” 

Otherwise, as Brutus knew, the outlook is grim:

“There is a tide in the affairs of men,

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

On such a sea we are now afloat,

And we must take the current when it serves,

Or lose our ventures.”

Your environment round-up

1. Clean energy cars: French President Emmanuel Macron wants France to produce a million clean energy cars by 2025, making it Europe’s top producer.

2. Fifty billion years worth: That is how much cumulative evolutionary history scientists fear could be lost as humans push wildlife to the brink and “weird and wonderful” animals slide silently toward extinction.

3. Qatar’s birdlife is thriving: Watch stunning images of the skies darkening as cormorants come home to roost.

4. Cop26 delayed: The crucial climate summit will be postponed until November 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

5. ‘A plague’: India is dealing with its worst invasion of desert locusts in more than a quarter of a century.

The final word

We must take these currents while they serve, for through the fog of sadness, trauma and sacrifice this pandemic has brought upon us, we catch glimpses of the ways ahead. The joys of birdsong and the tolling bells of logic tell us to take the one that leads to a blue-green future.

Peter Thomson, UN Special Envoy for the Ocean & co-chair of Friends of Ocean Action

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nick Clark is the environment editor at Al Jazeera English.


@ NickClarkAlJaz



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‘Stop killing black people’: George Floyd’s death sparks protests in Minneapolis, Memphis, LA

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‘Stop killing black people’: George Floyd’s death sparks protests in Minneapolis, Memphis, LA

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Demonstrators gather on the corner where George Floyd died after being pinned to the ground by a police officer.

USA TODAY

Protesters clashed with police in Minneapolis. They chanted for justice in Memphis. They stopped freeway traffic in Los Angeles.

The death of George Floyd continued to ripple across the U.S. on Wednesday night as the calls became louder for the arrest of the white police officer who knelt on his neck for several minutes in a horrifying video that spread across social media this week.

Meanwhile on Thursday, Ben Crump, attorney for Floyd’s family, warned any instigators of violence in the Minneapolis protests: “We don’t need that. We need people focused on getting justice,” he said.

He is calling for an independent autopsy, saying he doesn’t trust the city of Minneapolis. “They offered him no humanity while keeping his knee on his neck. Members of the public were the only ones trying to de-escalate the situation. Not the police,” Crump told CNN on Thursday.

“Keeping the knee on the neck for over 8 minutes – that is unconscionable.”

George Floyd’s death: Another wound for Minneapolis’ black community

While hundreds of protesters took to the streets, police chiefs from coast to coast expressed their outrage with Floyd’s death.

“Do not defend the undefendable, attempt to justify the unjustifiable or excuse the inexcusable,” Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina said on Twitter. “George Floyd should be alive today.”

“The lack of compassion, use of excessive force, or going beyond the scope of the law, doesn’t just tarnish our badge – it tears at the very fabric of race relations in this country,” Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said in a statement posted to Twitter.

Minneapolis: Police, protesters clash; looters raid Target, Dollar Tree, other stores

Protests in Minneapolis devolved into chaos on Wednesday night. Reports of fires came from around the city and videos of looters inside of stores quickly spread on social media. Several people shared video of people taking products from a local Target. 

A Cub Foods, a Dollar Tree and an AutoZone store also showed signs of damage and looting, and windows of businesses in nearby strip malls were reported to be smashed out.

At least one person was killed. Police spokesman John Elder told USA TODAY that the department was investigating a homicide near the area where a reporter from the Star Tribune newspaper tweeted that a looter had been shot and killed by a pawn shop owner.

One person was in custody early Thursday, the Star Tribune reported, but police wouldn’t confirm if the victim was a looter.

“The facts of what led up to the shooting are still being sorted out. We are truly in the infancy of this investigation,” Elder said.

As the protests stretched into the evening, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo urged calm. In an interview with KMSP-TV, he noted the internal investigation as well as the FBI’s investigation of Floyd’s death and said they offer a chance at justice.

“Justice historically has never come to fruition through some of the acts we’re seeing tonight, whether it’s the looting, the damage to property or other things,” he said.

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Memphis: George Floyd’s death was ‘nail in the unfortunate coffin for America’

A silent demonstration to protest the death of Floyd, as well as Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, turned into verbal confrontations with Memphis police and counter-protesters.

The rally began with about 40 people holding signs reading “Black Lives Matter,” “Stop killing black people” and “Silence is violence.” Protesters were largely silent, with occasional chants of “no justice, no peace” and the names of black men and women who had been killed by police officers.

Passing drivers — and one ambulance — honked in support and waved or gave thumbs-up.

Opinion: Video of George Floyd pinned by Minneapolis cops is shocking but not surprising

Within an hour, however, the protesters were met by two counter-protesters, who identified themselves as members of the Facebook group Confederate 901.

Theryn C. Bond, a prominent local activist and former Memphis City Council candidate, confronted the counter-protesters, who occasionally jeered at the crowd to “go out for a jog” — a reference to Aubrey’s slaying.

“I was so impressed to see so many white allies,” Bond said. “Because sometimes we think, ‘Everybody doesn’t get it.’ And I think with the recent murder of George Floyd by police… I think this was the proverbial nail in the unfortunate coffin for America to really understand what we mean when we say, ‘Black Lives Matter.'”

Floyd’s death this week is the latest in a string of violence against black people. Taylor was shot and killed in her Kentucky home by officers executing a “no-knock” search warrant, while Arbery was shot and killed while jogging after being pursued by two white men who later said they thought he was a burglary suspect.

Floyd’s death this week is the latest in a string of violence against black people. Taylor was shot and killed in her Kentucky home by officers executing a “no-knock” search warrant, while Arbery was shot and killed while jogging after being pursued by two white men who later said they thought he was a burglary suspect.

Los Angeles: Protesters block 101 freeway, smash windows of California Highway Patrol cruisers

Hundreds of people protesting Floyd’s death while in police custody blocked a Los Angeles freeway and shattered windows of California Highway Patrol cruisers in a rally organized by Black Lives Matter.

Demonstrators gathered in the late afternoon on downtown streets and, eventually, dozens of them moved onto U.S. 101 despite police efforts to keep them from walking into the lanes.

‘A very sad event’: President Donald Trump to receive ‘full report’ on Minneapolis death of George Floyd

When a CHP patrol car arrived, demonstrators surrounded it. The car’s window was smashed and it jerked forward and moved away with several protesters who had jumped onto the hood. Television news footage showed one man finally hopping or jumping from the side of the moving car and then flopping onto the ground.

A second CHP car arrived and was attacked, with one demonstrator hurling what appeared to be a wooden skateboard through the back window before it moved off.

At its rally’s peak, hundreds of people gathered outside the Los Angeles County Hall of Justice. The demonstration was mostly peaceful and no arrests were immediately made, Los Angeles police Officer Mike Lopez said.

Contributing: Corinne S. Kennedy, Micaela A. Watts and Samuel Hardiman, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, Tenn.); The Associated Press.

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Hema Malini responds to backlash on KENT ad; says the views do not resonate her values : Bollywood News – Bollywood Hungama

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Hema Malini responds to backlash on KENT ad; says the views do not resonate her values : Bollywood News – Bollywood Hungama

Social media users have expressed their anger towards an advertisement for an atta and bread maker by KENT RO Systems for showing house helps in a bad light. The ad features actress Hema Malini and Esha Deol.

Hema Malini is a longtime ambassador of the company and has issued a clarification on the same. The ad reads: “Are you allowing your maid to knead atta dough by hand?” Referring to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the ad further reads, “Her hands may be infected. Choose KENT Atta & Bread Maker for hands-free kneading of dough. Let automation take care of hygiene this time!” The ad comes at a time when the country is dealing with the novel coronavirus and has raised several issues on the grounds of discrimination.

KENT

After the backlash, Hema Malini took to her twitter handle to issue a clarification on the matter. Views expressed by the recent advertisement of Kent Atta by @KentROSystems do not resonate with my values and are inappropriate, The Chairman has already tendered a public apology for the mistake. I hereby wish to put on record that I respect and stand by all sections of society,” she tweeted sharing an elaborate statement on the matter.

The company also issued an apology from their official twitter handle, “Please accept our sincere apologies for having published the Ad of Kent Atta & Bread Maker. It was unintentional but wrongly communicated and it has been withdrawn. We support and respect all sections of the society,” it read.

ALSO READ: The Kapil Sharma Show: Hema Malini reveals Dharmendra was against Esha Deol’s debut in Bollywood

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Catch us for latest Bollywood News, Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release & upcoming movies info only on Bollywood Hungama.



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Best of cartoons, May 29, 2020

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Best of cartoons, May 29, 2020

Best of cartoons, May 29, 2020

8 Images

The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists.

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Illustration: Cathy Wilcox

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Illustration: Matt GoldingCredit:Matt Golding

3/8

Illustration: Andrew Dyson

4/8

Illustration: Matt Golding

5/8

Illustration: Jim PavlidisCredit:Jim Pavlidis

6/8

Illustration: Oslo Davis

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Illustration: Matt GoldingCredit:Matt Golding

8/8

Illustration: John Shakespeare

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Book review: Factfulness – A way to help us cope with the Coronavirus?

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Book review: Factfulness – A way to help us cope with the Coronavirus?

In this time of great uncertainty amid national lockdowns and the dangers presented by the Coronavirus, may I invite you to pause, breathe, and consider adding one powerful stress-reducing habit to your arsenal of self-care practices. This habit is factfulness: the practice of only carrying opinions for which you have strong supporting facts. But not “facts” from a thrice-forwarded Whatsapp message, or a scaremongering Facebook post from Karen down the road!

Enter “Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think”, authored by Swedish public health expert Hans Rosling with his son Ola Rosling and daughter-in-law Anna Rosling Rönlund, published in April 2018. The three authors are founders of the Gapminder Foundation, which promotes increased use and understanding of statistics about social and economic development around the world. You might have seen Hans Rosling’s TED talk, featuring an animated bubble chart to explain the development of countries through history. (If not, look it up online – it’s worth your time.)  

In this book they identified a rapidly spreading new disease, specifically a flu-like one transferred through airborne droplets, as the first and most dangerous of five risks facing the world. Yes, very similar to the novel Coronavirus!

Are we burdening ourselves with overblown negative beliefs?

And while “Factfulness” is indeed partly about what is worthwhile worrying about, it starts with the idea that we are very likely unnecessarily burdening ourselves with overblown negative beliefs. To highlight this, it commences with a series of 13 multiple-choice questions about the state of the world. For example: how many people have some access to electricity – 20%, 50% or 80%? Rosling posed these questions to nearly 12,000 people, and reports that the results suggest massive and widespread ignorance about global development, at all levels of society. The results were even worse than if people had guessed at random.

The authors attribute this systematic ignorance to what they call the “overdramatic worldview”. This is our tendency to think that things are bad, and that they are getting worse. This worldview does not come from facts that we learned in school and are now outdated, or from exposure to fake news, or from media manipulation. It is the product of something that should be very familiar to investors: the biases and heuristics that our brains evolved to help us to survive and thrive in the environment our distant ancestors faced, surrounded by predators and other dangers. 

These biases and instincts are still useful to us; they assist us to live successfully in a fast-moving, information-rich world. It isn’t practical for us to have to interrogate every input and analyse every decision in detail – that would be paralysing. But, as in all things, moderation and self-control are required. There are times when we need to put the brakes on our tendency to leap to conclusions based on insufficient data. In many cases there is sufficient data, and it is freely available. An example of the kind of data I’m referring to is the many sources of free statistics collected by global institutions such as the World Health Organisation, the United Nations, and other global agencies. (Check out the Gapminder website for more.)

10 simple rules of thumb for cultivating a fact-based worldview

The remaining chapters of Factfulness identify and describe 10 simple rules of thumb for cultivating a fact-based worldview. The authors’ explanation of these heuristics is supported by charts, illustrations and an informal and straightforward writing style. It is the tenth rule of thumb, relating to “the urgency instinct”, that is most challenging for us to grapple with in this moment of history. This is the instinct that makes us want to act now in the face of a threat, and the same one that prompts us to buy something we don’t need because it’s on sale, today only! 

We are surrounded by prompts to panic, and sifting out the true signal from the noise isn’t easy. That said, the chapter about the urgency instinct concludes with a list of the five global risks that we should worry about. These are problems that are likely to occur at some point, and that have the potential to cause massive suffering, either directly – by killing or harming many people, or indirectly – by arresting human progress for an extended period of time. These risks are the ones that we simply must handle correctly, otherwise nothing else we do will matter. And yes, the first and largest one the authors point to is a global pandemic. 

Now more than ever we need a reminder of how to think clearly about the world. Promoting a fact-based worldview, complemented by rigorous efforts to interrogate and counter our own biases, prejudices and assumptions, can be (as Hans Rosling says), an “inspiring and joyful” and “useful and meaningful” way to live, despite the sobering challenges of today.



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Will the U.S. Soon Treat Hong Kong Like China? Much Is at Stake.

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Will the U.S. Soon Treat Hong Kong Like China? Much Is at Stake.

Hong Kong risks becoming collateral damage in the growing rivalry between China and the United States.

Chinese leaders have moved to extend Beijing’s grip over the former British colony. In response, officials in Washington are considering whether to strip away the special status they have long afforded the semiautonomous territory, which has helped it build its status as a global financial hub and as a critical gateway between China and the United States.

Should the United States revoke that designation, Hong Kong’s status as a business capital will be in jeopardy.

The United States has long had a special relationship with Hong Kong, despite the fact that the former British colony is part of China.

Britain, which initially claimed the territory during the Opium Wars, handed it back to China in 1997. Beijing in turn pledged that Hong Kong would keep a high degree of autonomy under a “one country, two systems” understanding. Even though it is part of China, Hong Kong operates under its own laws that include economic and civil freedoms that cannot be found in mainland China.

The special status that Washington grants Hong Kong acknowledged this difference. Under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, Hong Kong is treated differently by U.S. law when it comes to financial transactions, immigration and trade.

That status has allowed annual trade between the two to grow to some $38 billion.

China’s Communist Party has been frustrated by the anti-Beijing protests that erupted in Hong Kong beginning last year. On Thursday, Chinese leaders approved a plan that would include drafting a new law expected by September to suppress terrorism, support national security and quell calls for Hong Kong independence from China.

It is not yet clear what the new law would include. But diplomats and business leaders worry that the legislation will politicize immigration, infringe on Hong Kong’s free speech and the free flow of information online, and lead to meddling with financial market regulations.

China last week signaled it would approve the plan, and American officials have expressed their dismay. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday declared that he no longer considered Hong Kong to have a high degree of autonomy from the mainland, paving the way for punitive measures that could bring Washington’s special economic relations with the territory to an end.

Under the special status, the U.S. dollar can be freely exchanged with the Hong Kong dollar, which makes the city a particularly attractive place for American companies to do business. Hong Kong gets preferential treatment on trade, meaning little to no tariffs or other costs. The United States and Hong Kong enjoy visa-free travel, making it easy for business executives to come and go.

If the United States removes Hong Kong’s special status, all that could come to an end.

Depending on Washington’s response, the removal of the special status could lead the United States to treat Hong Kong the same way it treats any other Chinese city. That would mean higher tariffs, including those enacted amid the trade war between the United States and China. Movement between the two places would be restricted as well. Many American businesses may choose to leave.

Removal of the special status could lead to greater scrutiny of investments in the United States by Hong Kong companies, too. In recent years, Washington has made increasingly hard for Chinese companies to invest there.

Hong Kong is considered a special administrative region of China, or S.A.R., but “the S in S.A.R. is only special in that the rest of the world treats it differently from the mainland,” said David Webb, a former banker and investor in Hong Kong.

President Trump can change the status by himself, through an executive order.

Congress, however, has increasingly pressed him to act. Last year, Mr. Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act after it was approved in both the Senate and the House by wide margins. The act requires government agencies to review Hong Kong’s autonomy from mainland China each year.

Removing the status carries political risks. It would make Mr. Trump look tough on China ahead of November’s election, an approach he has taken to divert attention away from the U.S. government’s stumbles in addressing the coronavirus outbreak. But it could also jeopardize his trade war truce with China, one of the major accomplishments of his administration.

On paper, the United States exports much more to Hong Kong than it imports. Making business tougher in Hong Kong could also drive the territory’s population, which has broadly expressed sympathy with the pro-democracy demonstrators, closer to Beijing.

“The harder the U.S. hits us in terms of cutting our ties, what will happen is that will drive us towards mainland China, won’t it?” said Regina Ip, the leader of the pro-Beijing New People’s Party in Hong Kong.

But Washington may calculate that the damage will be painful enough to China to make its objections clear. Chinese companies, including state-owned enterprises, use Hong Kong as a place to raise money. It is home to complicated but essential financial plumbing used by Chinese companies and individuals, who are limited in how much money they can move in and out of China because of Beijing’s tight limits over financial flows past its borders. Ending its special status could severely weaken those benefits.

Hong Kong is also the regional headquarters for many of the world’s biggest companies. China’s vast economy remains a big draw. But if Hong Kong loses its transparency and openness, those companies may decide to set up shop elsewhere.

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#Azerbaijan – from battlefield to the hub of inter-regional projects

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#Azerbaijan – from battlefield to the hub of inter-regional projects

 

“To find yourself, think for yourself” – this is how great philosopher Socrates described the freedom and independence almost 2,500 years back. This aphoristic sentence provokes potentially limitless debates on determinism between the independence of nations, and their development, achievements and contributions to the humanity. History of nations is full of proves for supporters of such a determinism, but the price paid for national pride, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity differs by geographic regions, as well as by countries – writes Fuad Isgandarov Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the EU 

Fuad Isgandarov Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the EU 

Fuad Isgandarov Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the EU 

Azerbaijan, located at the meeting point of Europe, Asia, Middle East and circled by regional and global scale important actors like Russia, Turkey and Iran, historically has been a fault zone and battlefield between imperial powers. The strategic importance of this relatively small country is inversely proportional to the size of its modern territory which comprehends only 0,06 percent of total land area of the Earth. Imperial wars and fierce competition of middle ages over its territory has intensified after the discovery of vast oil reserves in the 19th century. This deadly rivalry had continued in the course of the WWI and culminated with Operation Edelweiss, a Nazi German plan to capture the oil fields of Baku during the WWII.

However, there is a period of 23 months at the beginning of the 20th century that occupies a glorious page in the history of Azerbaijan. In the brief moment between the collapse of imperial Russia and the establishment of the Soviet Union, on May 28, 1918 independent Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was proclaimed. Though short-lived ADR was the first parliamentary democracy in the Muslim world who demonstrated unprecedented track record of reforms granting equal political, social and economic rights to all its citizens regardless of nationality, religion, class, or gender. Being the first republic in the Islamic world to empower women by extension of suffrage, Azerbaijan was way ahead of many modern democracies in the world. In a September 1919 speech, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson recalled his meeting with the Azerbaijani delegates representing the ADR at the Paris Peace Conference with following words: “I was talking to men who talked the same language that I did in respect of thoughts and ideas, in respect of conceptions of liberty, and in respect of rule of law and justice”.

 

Bolshevik military intervention resulted in the termination of independence of Azerbaijan in April 1920, leaving 70 years of forced break until 1991, when Azerbaijan proclaimed its independence again. Despite the first years of independence has brought considerable economic and social hardships doubled with the devastating humanitarian crisis caused by the Armenian aggression and occupation, the signing of 7.4 billion USD worth oil agreements with international companies in 1994 paved a new way to turn Azerbaijan into a modern, powerful state with sustainable economic development. This strategy, which was the first major indication that Azerbaijan has started to think for himself again, launched the process of fundamental transformation of the political, economic and social reforms.  Successful construction and commissioning of Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan and Baku-Supsa oil pipelines, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline has also showcased Azerbaijan as a reliable and committed partner of the EU contributing to pan-European energy security and beyond.  Now Azerbaijan is a key enabler of another inter-regional project – Southern Gas Corridor – which will help increase European energy security by bringing Caspian gas resources to markets in Europe for the very first time.

 

Yet there is another strategic area of cooperation emerging for Azerbaijan. COVID-19 crisis proved one more time the national security component of diversifying the international supply routes and sources. At this point, the territory of Azerbaijan which plays a natural bridge role between the East and West, North and South comes to help. When some of the countries implement restrictions, Azerbaijan kept open all its transit/transport corridors connected to different parts of the world. There were not been implemented any restrictions on any international freight crossing Azerbaijan through land, water and air corridors. The geographic coverage of those trade corridors spans across but not limited to China, Afganistan, Central Asia, Persian Gulf / Iran and India, Caspian Sea, Georgia, Ukraine, Turkey and wider Black Sea basin with coastal member states such as Romania and Bulgaria, as well as Poland, Austria, and the Baltic countries. Newly commissioned Baku – Tbilisi – Kars railway is becoming an imprtoant link in this regard.

 

In order to successfully support and develop those inter-regional trade corridors, it is necessary to achieve a solid political and macro-economic stability in the country. Azerbaijan has proved itself in that regard back few years ago when it provided a favorable, liberal investment regime for foreign companies in oil-and-gas industry. It is keen to do so again, this time in trade-logistics sector by creating a Free Economic Zone in Alyat, around the new and still expanding Port of Baku. Its goal is to facilitate trade across Europe and Asia and, in so doing, to revitalize the idea about ancient Silk Road by applying modern instruments of trade facilitation and investment promotion. The potential for that is enormous. Basically, Free Economic Zone in Alyat has a potential to bring to Azerbaijan and in a domino-effect to the region what once the Contract of the Century gave back in 1994. This time, it will be all about going non-oil and boosting a drive to diversify away from hydrocarbons. Offering a maximum available liberal investment and fiscal regime to local and foreign investors, producers, traders or logistics operators, this Zone will also contribute to a gradual shift to more innovative governance platforms in various fields of economy. It basically will push for a mushroom effect of regional logistics-trade zones, thus connecting several ports and trade routes. It is expected also to give rise to a green and digital hub concept across the region.

 

For Albert Camus freedom is nothing but a chance to be better. Without doubts, the one who is ever ready to take the initiative, he is always confident of finding a way out of difficulties.

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Newly Renovated Medical Suites Available

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Newly Renovated Medical Suites Available

Newly renovated Medical Suites available at Airside Shopping Centre, Swords, Co. Dublin with a full medical permit.

Suitable for GP Practice (GMS & Private); 3 consulting rooms, disability access, reception/waiting room, tea room; washrooms include regular & disabled amenities.

This location would suit many due to the high footfall, prime location & free parking.

There is a large concentration of both residential & business located nearby. The area size is approximately 1,750 square feet.

The premises is available for long term rental.

 

Contact us on (01) 524 0265 or by email on info@airsidemedical.com

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Tucker Carlson Calls Protests Against Police Violence ‘A Form Of Tyranny’

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Tucker Carlson Calls Protests Against Police Violence ‘A Form Of Tyranny’

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday railed against protests in Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, calling them “a threat to every American” and “a form of tyranny.”

The “Tucker Carlson Tonight” personality showed footage of the demonstrations against police brutality, which began peacefully on Tuesday but escalated into violence and looting in some areas. Protesters clashed with police, who were seen deploying tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.

Demonstrators were calling for justice in the death of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who died Monday after a police officer kneeled on his neck while he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe.

“So that’s what rioting looks like,” Carlson announced. “It happened last night, as you can see, it’s happening right now.”

He insisted he wasn’t showing the videos to defend the behavior of Minneapolis police involved in Floyd’s death, but because he was calling out rioting and “defending society itself.”

“Ugly opinions, police brutality, officious birdwatchers, rude entitled ladies walking their dogs in big city parks ― all of that is bad, but none of it is nearly as bad as what you just saw,” he said.

“The indiscriminate use of violence by mobs is a threat to every American of all colors and backgrounds and political beliefs,” he continued, adding: “Democracy cannot exist when people are rioting. Rioting is a form of tyranny. The strong and the violent oppress the weak and the unarmed. It is oppression.”

Carlson, who routinely gives airtime to white nationalist talking points, also accused CNN of encouraging tensions by referring to “protesters,” not “rioters,” in its coverage. He claimed the network works hard to “fan racial resentment to make different groups distrust and hate one another.”

Carlson’s comments follow weeks of protests across the country from largely white groups ― with some armed with assault rifles and bearing Confederate flags and swastikas ― demanding governors lift stay-at-home orders imposed to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus that has now killed more than 100,000 people in the U.S.

Commentators have noted the markedly milder police reaction to those protests ― none saw police arrive in riot gear or disperse crowds with tear gas. By contrast, the police appeared from the outset in riot gear in Minneapolis, where protesters were unarmed.

“This is America. We’re allowed to disagree with what our leaders do however we like,” Carlson said of the anti-lockdown protests at the time. “And we’re allowed to express that disagreement in public. That’s our birthright.”

Carlson’s comments about Minneapolis were met with swift condemnation online. 



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Quadrivalent flu vaccine available for season start

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Quadrivalent flu vaccine available for season start

IMO is seeking discussions with the HSE on the delivery of the population-based vaccines

The 2020/2021 influenza season is to commence in September and a vaccine is to be made available then, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has confirmed.

Quadrivalent influenza vaccine is to be supplied by the HSE for the 2020/21 influenza season.

The flu clinics are to adhere to the Covid-19 Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) national guidance for relevant healthcare settings. This guidance is being developed and updated on an ongoing basis, adds the HSE.

The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) is seeking to hold discussions with the HSE about the delivery of population-based vaccines for the flu season later this year.

While Dr Tony Cox, Medical Director of the Irish College of General Practitioners said: “The planning for the winter flu vaccination season is the responsibility of public health. The Irish College of General Practitioners will liaise with public health on the rollout of vaccinations in the coming months.”

According to the HSE, the flu vaccine is to be administered by a spectrum of healthcare professionals including GPs, pharmacists, and occupational health.

Ireland switched over to egg-based quadrivalent vaccines from trivalent vaccines last year for the 2019/20 flu season.

The World Health Organization recommendation for the composition for the Northern Hemisphere 2020/21 flu vaccine has been backed by the European Medicines Agency.

The recommendation for the composition of the egg-based quadrivalent vaccine for 2020/21 influenza season is an A/Guangdong-Maonan/SWL1536/2019 (H1N1)pdm09-like virus; an A/Hong Kong/2671/2019 (H3N2)-like virus; a B/Washington/02/2019 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus; and a B/Phuket/3073/2013 (B/Yamagata lineage)-like virus.

For the 2020 flu season, free vaccination has been extended, the vaccination to all children aged from two to 12 years inclusive. All of those in the HSE-defined at-risk groups, aged from six months to 69 years inclusive are eligible to access the vaccine without charge. All persons older than 70 already have access without charges.

During the week, May 11 to 17, no deaths in notified influenza cases were reported to the HPSC.

During the 2019/2020 season to date, 104 deaths have been reported to the HPSC in notified influenza cases, according to the latest “Influenza Surveillance in Ireland – Weekly Report”.

valerie.ryan@imt.ie

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