Karnataka new law to allow farmers to sell crop for best price (Ld)

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Karnataka new law to allow farmers to sell crop for best price (Ld)

Karnataka is amending the law to enable its farmers to sell their crop for the best price even outside the APMCs, said Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Friday.

“The Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs) Act is being amended to empower millions of our farmers to sell their produce for the best price in the APMC yard or outside it,” Yediyurappa told reporters here.

The state cabinet on Thursday decided to amend the APMC Act through an ordinance to lift restrictions on the sale of farm produce and allow farmers to sell their crop in the APMC yard or in private markets where they get the best price.

“The purpose of amending the law is to double the farmers’ income as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The new law will enable our farmers to sell their produce to whoever gives him the best price at the APMC yard or outside it in a free market,” asserted Yediyurappa.

Lakhs of farmers and growers of foodgrains, vegetables, fruits and flowers across the southern state suffered huge losses over the last 50 days, as they could not harvest or sell their produce due to the lockdown enforced suddenly on March 25 and extended twice till May 17 to contain the spread of coronavirus.

“The amended Act will benefit farmers in improving their income and reduce losses due to market fluctuations. Our intention is to protect farmers from volatile market trends. It will help farmers in doubling their income by 2022, as he wished by the Prime Minister,” Yediyurappa reiterated.

The amendment will not dilute the powers or work of the APMCs, as all marketing activities will be monitored by the state APMC director.

Clarifying that his government was not removing the APMCs or the Act governing their activities, the chief minister said only two sections of the law were being amended to enable farmers sell their produce in markets where they get the maximum remuneration.

“The new law will stop exploitation of farmers by market forces, middlemen and commission agents and prevent them from selling their produce in distress when prices fall. They can sell their produce to those who pay them the highest price,” pointed out Yediyurappa.

In this context, the chief minister announced that Rs 5,000 would be paid to each corn farmer to compensate for losses they suffered due to the lockdown and distress sales owing to excess production and supply.

“The state government has earmarked Rs 500 crore for compensating all corn farmers, including 50 percent of them who sold their crop in distress to avoid it from perishing in the hot summer season,” added Yediyurappa.

WhatsApp launches new campaign to curb fake news amid COVID-19

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WhatsApp launches new campaign to curb fake news amid COVID-19

Instant messaging platform WhatsApp on Friday launched a new “check it before you share it” education campaign, expanding its efforts to reduce spread of misinformation on its platform amid COVID-19 pandemic.

This campaign acts as a simple reminder that it is the responsibility of everyone to double check the facts before forwarding messages to flatten the misinformation curve, WhatsApp said.

It tries to inculcate behaviour that urges users to gain more information about the messages they receive through any of the many ways, like reaching out to the MyGov helpline to receive crucial updates or searching the web.

“This campaign helps convey our collective responsibility and the need to always verify before sharing information,” Shivnath Thukral, India Head of Public Policy for WhatsApp, said in a statement.

WhatsApp announced the MyGov helpline (+919013151515) last month.

To promote the MyGov helpline, the WhatsApp campaign conveys the precautionary measures that people should take to prevent the spread of COVID-19 like to cough in elbows, stay home, wash your hands, avoid touching your face, and to keep social distancing.

People will be able to see these ads on Facebook and Instagram, and message the helpline with just one tap, WhatsApp said.

In a bid to curb misinformation related to COVID-19, WhatsApp, which has 400 million users in India, last month said it would limit frequently forwarding messages to 1 chat at a time.

WhatsApp has faced scrutiny as rumours spread on the platform have been linked to several mob killings in India.

The instant messaging platform, however, said that 90 percent of messages sent are between two people and it has seen a significant increase in the amount of voice and video calling across India during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Paul Rudd: Ant-Man a little bit relatable

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Paul Rudd: Ant-Man a little bit relatable

Actor Paul Rudd feels it is fun to essay superhero character Ant-Man, and says he is wrestling with being a superhero and being a good parent.

“One of the fun things that was fun to play as Scott is that he is a guy who is very much a regular person who has been thrust into this world and so I think that when you watch him try to process all of, you know when you look at ‘Civil War’ and even in the ‘Ant-Man’ films,” Rudd said while talking about his character Scott Lang whose alter ego is the superhero Ant-Man.

“He is wrestling with being a superhero and being a good parent and that it becomes a little bit relatable because I feel like people might think ‘That is how I would feel and that is how I would react’,” he added.

After 2015’s “Ant-Man” and 2018’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp”, Rudd will be back as the superhero with a third “Ant-Man” movie.

Asked what’s been the highlight in the past decade, Rudd said: “I think everybody in that room was feeling that (while taking MCU class photo). You just look around that room and it was an overwhelming thing to take in.”

“There were so many things I think about but I did get to have a nice conversation for a while with Stan Lee when we were shooting the very first Ant Man. He was telling me how excited he was that they were making Ant Man into a film because you could capture scale in a way that you could not do in the comics and in the middle of the conversation, I just took a step back and thought ‘I am talking to Stan Lee about doing ant man’ and that is something I’ll never forget,” he added.

Rudd last appeared as Ant-Man in “Avengers: Endgame”, which will be aired in India on Star Movies on May 17.

Amy Jackson shares ‘pros and cons of working at home’

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Amy Jackson shares ‘pros and cons of working at home’

Actress Amy Jackson has shared the “pros and cons” of working from home amid lockdown.

Amy took to her Instagram Stories, where she shared an adorable black and white photograph of her newborn son Andreas and her partner George Panayiotou.

On the image, she wrote: “The pros and cons of working at home.”

Amy recently shared a photograph of herself along with her son and tagged him as her “lockdown buddy”.

Amy and her fiance Panayiotou became parents to a son and shared his image on social media on September last year.

Amy made her acting debut with the 2010 Tamil movie “Madrasapattinam” and has featured in several Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films apart from Tamil films.

Her last big release was the Rajinikanth-starrer “2.0” in 2018, which released in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu versions. Her Bollywood films include “Ekk Deewana Tha”, “Singh Is Bliing” and “Freaky Ali”.

https://www.instagram.com/iamamyjackson/

We could cut off whole relationship: Trump on China

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We could cut off whole relationship: Trump on China

US President Donald Trump has said that he “could cut off the whole relationship” with China, in one of his strongest comments against Beijing in the wake of the Asian giant’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the media reported.

“There are many things we could do,” Trump told Fox Business on Thursday, adding: “We could cut off the whole relationship.”

The Trump administration has been mulling avenues to possibly punish or seek financial compensation from China for what it sees as withholding information about the virus, which originated in the city of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, last December.

On Monday, the administration cut investment ties between US federal retirement funds and Chinese equities.

Speaking exclusively to Fox Business, the President raised the impact of ending relations, saying: “Now, if you did, what would happen? You’d save $500 billion if you cut off the whole relationship.”

Trump also said “right now I don’t want to speak to” his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

“They should have never let this happen,” Trump said. “So I make a great trade deal and now I say this doesn’t feel the same to me.

“The ink was barely dry and the plague came over. And it doesn’t feel the same to me.”

Although the pandemic originated in China, the US currently accounts for the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world.

According to the Johns Hopkins University, the number of COVID-19 cases increased to 1,417,889 on Friday, with 85,906 deaths.

We have to learn to live with COVID-19: Delhi Minister

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We have to learn to live with COVID-19: Delhi Minister

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said while earlier it was believed that the coronavirus will die with the rise in mercury, but even in countries with very high temperatures the infection is increasing and this shows that we have to learn to live with COVID-19.

Speaking to the media, Jain said while the cases are increasing, the rate of increase is just five percent.

“There was a time when we all thought that this pandemic will be over by May 1 due to the summer. But now we have seen that in the Latin American countries also the pandemic is increasing. The temperature of these countries is very high. This shows that we have to learn to live with COVID-19,” Jain said.

He also said that in the last two months, in the lockdown, we have learned various lessons from the COVID-19.

“If we wear masks, maintain social distancing and wash hands regularly then people will be 90-95 percent safer,” he said.

Jain said on Thursday, India’s growth rate of COVID was five percent and earlier there was a time when the growth rate was 20 percent. “I believe that the numbers should be seen in terms of the percentage increase.”

He said the new cases in Delhi are coming from the containment zones as well as from outside the containment zones.

“We have received various suggestions from the residents of Delhi and based on those we have sent our suggestions to the central government regarding the relaxation of the lockdown. The key suggestions from the people are that every person should wear a mask in public place and social distancing should be maintained all the time. People have also suggested that public transportation should start for example, buses and metros with limited capacity.”

Regarding the malls, he said people have suggested that in the limited capacity of either 25 percent or 50 percent the malls of the city should be opened. They have also suggested that the markets should be opened following either odd-even rules or only three days a week.

“The Delhi government believes that there should be a balance between the fight against COVID and economic activities. We are fighting against the COVID-19 with full effort, but now we have to start the economic activities, therefore, the measures should be followed. When the lockdown was imposed at that time we were not prepared to fight this pandemic, but now we are prepared to fight this pandemic.”

Regarding the issue of the migrant labourers, Jain said there are two kinds of people.
“One is the migrant labourer of Delhi and the second is the migrant labourer of other states who are passing through Delhi. For the migrants, the government has arranged stay and food across Delhi. Any such person you meet can be sent to the nearby shelter of the Delhi government. We are providing lunch and dinner to nearly 10 lakh poor people every day.”

2020 Chinese Grand Prix now slated for October 4

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2020 Chinese Grand Prix now slated for October 4

Formula One’s 2020 Chinese Grand Prix now looks set to take place on October 4, after the sport released its latest version of its 2020 schedule.

Originally slated for April 19, the Chinese Grand Prix was the first race of 2020 to be postponed as the country battled the COVID-19 outbreak, reports Xinhua news agency.

The global pandemic has decimated the F1 calendar, with the season’s first ten races having either been delayed or canceled outright.

F1’s revised calendar puts the Chinese Grand Prix as the 11th race of 19 scheduled and sees it coincide with the country’s week-long National Day holiday celebrations.

The race at the Shanghai International Circuit will take place one week before the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, which retains its original date of October 11.

In an unprecedented move, F1 hopes to start the season with two races in Austria at the Red Bull Ring on July 5 and 12, followed by two at Britain’s Silverstone Circuit on July 26 and August 2, as F1 looks to bulk out the calendar to make up for lost races.

Should these races go ahead as scheduled, it would represent the first time that a circuit has held multiple Grand Prix in a single season.

Elsewhere on the updated calendar, the first-ever Vietnamese Grand Prix has been rescheduled for November 22, though the Singapore Grand Prix looks set to be canceled after it was omitted.

The planned 19-race season will end with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 13, two weeks after its original slot of November 29.

F1’s plans are being adjusted on a regular basis as the COVID-19 situation develops and local regulations change, including bans on major events that currently run to September in several locations.

Urge PMO to amend Act to restart mining: Goa industry to Guv

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Urge PMO to amend Act to restart mining: Goa industry to Guv

Amending the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDR) by the Union cabinet could help to restart the mining industry in Goa at the earliest, the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry said in a petition to Governor Satya Pal Malik on Friday. They urged the Governor to take up the issue with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in order to bring them relief.

After meeting Malik, head of the GCCI, Manoj Caculo also told reporters, that the trade body had urged the Governor to press upon the PMO and the Union Cabinet to amend the Act and subsequently issue an ordinance to restart the state’s mining industry, which would help boost the local economy.

“We want the Governor to press upon the PMO and Central cabinet to take a decision to amend the MMDRA or whatever has to be done to revive the mining industry in Goa. The Goan economic situation is such that no industry is functional, tourism is shut so mining has to start,” Caculo told reporters outside the Governor’s residence.

Caculo also said that while Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has been talking to the top leaders and officials in the Central government to get the banned industry back on its feet in Goa, the “Governor’s word will have weight”.

The mining issue has been hanging fire in Goa, ever since the apex court banned extraction and transportation of iron ore from 88 mining leases from February 2018, while also directing the state government to reissue mining leases.

The Goa government has also filed a revision petition in the apex court, urging a relook at the order.

It was the second time in less than a decade that all mining in the state has come to a standstill. It was banned the first time in 2012 after a judicial commission exposed a Rs 35,000 crore illegal mining scam, indicting top mining companies as well as politicians and bureaucrats.

Till some months back, the state government had been actively contemplating the formation of a state-run mining corporation as a nodal body to relaunch and oversee mining operations in the state.

While the MMDRA, which was amended by the Central government in 2015, made it mandatory for auctioning of major mineral resources, mining magnates in Goa have argued, that a further amendment allowing for a renewal of the mining leases in case of Goa, followed by an ordinance to the effect, would put the mining industry back on track in the coastal state soon.

COVID-19: Australian Football League to resume in June

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COVID-19: Australian Football League to resume in June

Aussie sport fans received the news on Friday that the Australian Football League (AFL) will return to their screens as of June 11, after being suspended since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan told reporters that all 18 clubs would resume full-contact training as of May 25, with fixtures to be released in blocks of four to six weeks, reports Xinhua news agency.

Players and staff will be tested for the COVID-19 prior to returning to the field and will be educated in the rigorous ongoing protocols being implemented, including twice-weekly testing, which will also apply for umpires and key match-day staff.

“Strict protocols will be in place to protect players, officials, staff and the wider community,” McLachlan said.

“These have been developed with the advice of the Federal, State and Territory governments along with the relevant Chief Health Officers as well as the AFL’s own medical team and with a consultation with players, coaches and clubs.”

McLachlan thanked leaders and health officials for allowing matches to go ahead and stressed the need to remain “agile and flexible” to adapt to the changing COVID-19 crisis.

Four clubs from the states of Western Australia and South Australia will be relocated east, with players to be housed at two luxury golf resorts in the State of Queensland.

On Wednesday, SA officials denied a request by the league to allow an exemption from the mandatory 14-day quarantine for players returning to the state, prompting the temporary relocation arrangement.

“Families can go to join the players. They will be under the same protocols and under a strict set of protocols that have been worked through with the Queensland government,” McLachlan said.

US accuses China of stealing Covid-19 research

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US accuses China of stealing Covid-19 research

The Donald Trump administration on has accused the Xi Jinping government of stealing Covid-19-related research from the US, indicating further deterioration in their bilateral relationship between the US and China.

In a scathing attack on Beijing, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo late on Thursday tweeted that China, “the country where the virus originated and the pandemic was allowed to spread,” has refused to share information to help the world combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Instead PRC-affiliated actors are trying to steal COVID-related research from the United States,” he tweeted while warning the People’s Republic of China “to cease this malicious activity.”

Adding further salt to China’s injury, Pompeo said that the US welcomes Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) “intention to invest $12B in the most advanced 5-nanometer semiconductor fabrication foundry in the world”.

This deal, he tweeted, “bolsters U.S. national security at a time when China is trying to dominate cutting-edge tech and control critical industries”.

Meanwhile, the US has been continually building up military pressure on China. In the last few weeks, US Navy ships and Air Force B-1 bombers have undertaken missions to the region as a response to China’s attempts to flex its muscle in the South China Sea.

The US Navy Pacific Fleet on Wednesday announced that all its submarines in the region are at sea conducting operations “in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region amidst the pandemic caused by the coronavirus”.

London could be ‘coronavirus free’ by June: Analysis

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London could be ‘coronavirus free’ by June: Analysis

London could be “coronavirus free” by June, as new modeling has suggested that the UK capital was recording only 24 new cases a day, according to an analysis by the Cambridge University and Public Health England published on Friday.

The ‘R’ reproduction rate has fallen to 0.4 in London, with the number of new cases halving every 3.5 days, the Metro newspaper quoted the analysis as saying.

London was initially the hub of the pandemic in the UK and was considered to be weeks ahead of the rest of the country.

When the lockdown was imposed on March 23 it was being hit by around 200,000 new cases per day, but the new modeling suggested that it could be free of fresh diagnoses by next month.

But social distancing concerns were raised after pictures emerged this week of packed London Underground trains with many passengers not wearing masks.

Despite the analysis, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine warned that London’s true infection rate was likely to be “a little bit higher”, the Metro newspaper reported.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4, he said: “There is some variation around this and there is some uncertainty in this, but what we have observed in London is that case numbers and death numbers have come down faster than in other parts of the country � albeit from a considerably higher level.

“So I think it� well, I would say it is a little bit higher than that, but it is probably lower than the rest of the country.”

As of Friday, the number of COVID-19 cases in the UK has increased to 234,441, with 33,693 deaths, the current highest in Europe.

Typhoon Vongfong ravages Philippine islands

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Typhoon Vongfong ravages Philippine islands

Vongfong, the first typhoon of the season, has ravaged several islands of the Philippines, making landfall six times in the first 24 hours of its passage through the country and ahead of its expected arrival in Manila on Friday.

The typhoon is bringing with it destructive winds and intense rainfall, according to the latest bulletin of the weather service PAGASA.

The Met Office issued a tropical cyclone wind signal number 3, the third-highest on a scale of 1 to 5, in the southern provinces of Luzon Island and level 2 in the central region, where the Manila metropolitan area is located, reports Efe news.

Vongfong weakened slightly after making six landfalls with high-velocity winds and gusts that left the provinces of Samar Norte and Sorsogon without power and communication.

The Met Department recorded winds up to 125 kph speed and gusts between 165-180 kph on Thursday.

Despite weakening slightly, the typhoon’s wind speed may be fatal as it approaches Manila, a megacity where a quarter of its 13 million inhabitants live in overcrowded slums.

The typhoon, locally dubbed Ambo, entered the Philippines on Thursday through the town of San Policarpio on Samar Island, where some 400,000 people live in low-lying, coastal areas that are especially vulnerable to the passage of the storm, whose strength is equivalent to that of a Category 4 hurricane.

Vongfong is moving at a speed of 15 kph as it heads towards the northern Philippines, which it is expected to leave for Japan on May 18.

The Philippines is hit by between 15 and 20 typhoons each year during the rainy season, which usually begins in May or June and ends in November or December.

In November 2013, Haiyan, one of the most powerful typhoons ever to hit the Philippines, caused 6,300 deaths, with more than 1,000 people missing and 14 million affected.

Japan employers recommend 4-day work week

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Japan employers recommend 4-day work week

Japan’s main employers have recommended a four-day work week to reduce the chances of COVID-19 transmission as companies start to reopen.

The Japanese Business Federation, known as Keidanren, published guidelines on Thursday, including a reduction of the work week, a commitment to teleworking and a modification or rotation of schedules to avoid congestion on public transport, reports Efe news.

Some guidelines clash with Japanese social conventions, such as asking people who feel sick to rest at home, a rare occurrence before the epidemic, and for regular business card exchanges to be done online.

Keidanren recommended suspending all non-essential work trips and, if they must be carried out, recording which people, places and routes the worker has been in contact with.

It also asked companies to consider ways to hold meetings with shareholders, as well as interviews or seminars, without gathering in person.

Other recommendations are already widely applied in the country: maintaining a distance of 2 metres apart, frequent hand washing, wearing masks and ventilating offices at least twice an hour.

The document was published the same day the Japanese government announced the lifting of the state of emergency for 39 of the 47 prefectures of the country, which will allow the revival of economic activity in most provinces.

But the main business regions, such as Tokyo and Osaka, were still under the state of emergency.

Japan has registered over 16,000 COVID-19 cases, with 697 deaths, according to John Hopkins University.

girl gang raped in Alwar in Rajasthan

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girl gang raped in Alwar in Rajasthan

Even as Tonk simmers after a gang rape, another minor in Rajasthan was again similarly assaulted in Alwar by three youths who filmed the act and assaulted her threatening her against reporting the incident.

Relatives of the Class 9 student said the police took two days to register any complaint.

Officials confirmed that the offence was reported in Bhiwadi on May 10, but it was only on May 13 that the police filed the complaint, said the girl’s father.

In his complaint, the father said that his daughter went to her uncle’s house on May 10 at around noon. When she did not return for a long time, they got worried and started searching for her. In the meantime, they received a call that their daughter was admitted to a private clinic and they should take her back home.

After returning home, the girl revealed her traumatic experience and said that as she was going to her uncle’s place, three youths at a shelter home stopped her, bashed her up and took her to a deserted room where they gang-raped her and filmed the act.

When she protested and threatened them to get them booked, they banged her head to the wall after which she fell unconscious. She found herself in a private clinic after gaining consciousness.

Meanwhile, DSP Women Cell, Bhiwadi, Prem Bahadur said that the three accused have been detained.

Former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has condemned the incident. Raje tweeted: “After Tonk, the rape of a minor in Alwar reveals the fake claims made by the state government pertaining to women security in state.

“The deteriorating law and order situation in state shows that police and administration have lost their grip..”

A few days back, a minor was gang-raped in Tonk after which the National Human Rights Commission sent notice to state government on May 12. The role of many officials including a doctor is under scrutiny regarding misquoting of the victim’s age and commenting on her character.

Local MLA Kanhaiya Lal Chuadhary and MP Sukhbeer Singh Jaunpuriya staged dharna with Sara Samaj and submitted memorandum to SDM in the name of chief minister. Police then took her statements again in the presence of her sister.

Col Kirori Singh Bainsla has warned of staging a huge protest if the Tonk victim does not get justice. “Gurjar Samaj shall come out on streets if justice is not served to the victim. We want strict punishment against the accused. Why was the case registered a day later? he questioned.

Active COVID-19 cases in China fall below 100

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Active COVID-19 cases in China fall below 100

The number of active COVID-19 cases in China has fallen below 100 for the first time since January, the country’s National Health Commission said on Friday.

According to the Commission, there are 91 active coronavirus cases in the country, including 11 patients in serious condition, Efe news reported.

In the 24 hours until midnight, 14 more patients were discharged, bringing the total to 78,209, while two more cases were in serious condition.

The total number of cases fell despite four new infections Thursday, all of them by local transmission and all in the northeast province of Jilin, where in the last week a resurgence has been detected, with several dozen infected, said the Commission.

After Hubei province, where the pandemic originated last December in its capital Wuhan, northeast China has been the most contentious point for local authorities, who in recent weeks have been forced to close the border with Russia after detecting infections in Chinese citizens coming from Russian territory.

Although this focus was initially limited to Heilongjiang province, where another express hospital was built to combat the pandemic, new cases of local transmission have emerged in Jilin and neighboring Liaoning province in recent days.

The Commission did not report any new deaths, so the total number remains at 4,633 from the 82,933 infected patients officially diagnosed in China since the start of the pandemic, with 11 new asymptomatic cases, placing the total at 619.

Musk’s Boring Company completes digging Las Vegas loop tunnels

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Musk’s Boring Company completes digging Las Vegas loop tunnels

Elon Musks Boring Company has finished excavating the second of two tunnels planned for the Las Vegas Convention Centers underground loop transit system.

The first tunnel was finished back in February and the company will soon start working on above-ground passenger stations at either end of the tunnels, plus a third underground station in the middle of the loop, The Verge reported on Thursday.

The people-mover, which is being formally called the Convention Center Loop, is still scheduled to open to the public in January 2021 in time for the next Consumer Electronics Show (CES) but we still do not know if the event will actually take place owing to COVID-19 pandemic.

Travelling between various points of interest in Las Vegas will become a more convenient task with the help of the upcoming tunnel.

Earlier in May, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) said that the autonomous electric vehicles will ferry up to 4,400 passengers per hour at speeds of up to 249 kilometers per hour (155 miles per hour) inside two tunnels 40 feet below the surface.

Additionally, a pedestrian tunnel will also allow walkers to make the approximately 15-minute-long trek across the convention space, which spans 3.2 million square feet.

Las Vegas is one of five current cities where the Boring Company has projects either proposed, approved, or underway.

Swwapnil Joshi: My children refuse to believe it’s me on screen

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Swwapnil Joshi: My children refuse to believe it’s me on screen

Actor Swwapnil Joshi is enjoying the re-runs of the mythological shows “Uttar Ramayan” and “Shri Krishna”, where he was a child artiste, but he says his children refuse to believe that they are watching their father!

The actor started his career as a child actor on TV with the mythological show “Luv Kush” in 1989, followed by “Shri Krishna” in 1993.

Talking about watching the re-run of his own show Swwapnil said: “The lockdown takes a toll on the people and everyone needs their calm. Nothing calms you more than shows like ‘Ramayan’, ‘Mahabharat’ and ‘Shri Krishna’. There is nobody in the world who doesn’t know about Lord Ram and Krishna.”

Mentioning how he feels to see his old shows, the actor said: “This is an amazing opportunity for everyone to relive their childhoods, including me! Personally, I am enjoying the re-runs with my children.”

How are his children reacting to see their father on TV? “They refuse to believe that it’s me on screen. I was nine or 10 at that time,” Swwapnil laughed.

WeWork ‘inflexible’ in easing rent and lease terms, allege customers

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WeWork ‘inflexible’ in easing rent and lease terms, allege customers

Customers of WeWork have alleged that the co-working space company has been inflexible in giving them breaks on rent and easing lease terms in the COVID-19 times as they are unable to join workplaces.

You can understand why the co-working model would not be particularly appealing during a pandemic. But now that cases have exploded and lockdown orders across the country have prevented many people from even going in to work, many WeWork customers allege that the company has been inflexible in giving them breaks on rent and easing lease terms.

According to a report in the Slate, WeWork is keeping its locations open, declaring itself an essential business.

“Yet many members feel that the offices are unusable, particularly given that nonessential workers are expected to stay home and the fact that there have been positive cases at some WeWork locations,” the report said, quoting the customers.

WeWork said it is working with its 600,000 members on an individual basis to figure out compromises on rent during this time.

“But many members have been turning to media outlets to allege that WeWork has either offered unfair terms or completely refused to make concessions. (WeWork itself has stopped paying rent at certain locations),” the report added.

Some customers said getting in touch with “WeWork representatives at the corporate level was impossible because by March, when New York’s coronavirus infections were rapidly climbing, they were overwhelmed with tons of other move-out requests”.

Several customers have hired lawyers in an attempt to force WeWork to stop billing them and issue refunds for April and May.

“The firm Walden Macht & Haran is currently representing more than 20 small businesses located in New York, Los Angeles, and D.C. that initially found one another on social media and formed a group to protest WeWork’s practices,” according to the report.

WeWork was yet to respond to these allegations from its customers.

The co-working space company is struggling to solve its own internal issues, trying to stabilise its business following its failed attempt to go public last year and the departure of its CEO Adam Neumann. WeWork has named Indian-American real estate veteran Sandeep Mathrani as the new CEO of the company.

In early May, WeWork co-founder Neumann filed a fresh lawsuit in the US against the SoftBank Group for backing out of a $3 billion tender offer for shares of the co-sharing workspace company.

The lawsuit filed in Delaware Court of Chancery accused WeWork’s biggest backer of breaching of contract and as well as fiduciary duty, TechCrunch reported.

The lawsuit included a motion to consolidate his case with a previous lawsuit filed by a Special Committee of WeWork’s board last month.

The SoftBank Group cited the impact of COVID-19 on the business and alleged that several pre-conditions were not met before abandoning its $3 billion tender offer for the embattled co-sharing workspace firm’s shares on April 1.

Japan-based SoftBank last October announced the infusion of $5 billion into the struggling WeWork. It had said that it would provide up to $3 billion for the existing shareholders of WeWork.

SoftBank Group saw its quarterly profit being almost wiped out for a second straight quarter by losses at its $100 billion Vision Fund focused on tech companies like Uber and WeWork.

LA residents mandated to wear face coverings outdoors

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LA residents mandated to wear face coverings outdoors

Los Angeles County residents will be mandated to wear face coverings outdoors as it was moving forward with reopening plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities said.

“Masks are in fact mandatory across the entire county when you are outside of your home, not with members of your household, and in any kind of contact with other people,” Barbara Ferrer, director of the county’s Department of Public Health, said at a news briefing on Thursday.

“Any time you’re out and there are people around, whether it be at a trailhead, or a parking lot, or on a sidewalk, you will need to wear your cloth face covering.”

She urged 10 million Los Angeles County residents to wear face coverings because it was a very important step to protect other people as not everyone who was infected with COVID-19 has symptoms, reports Xinhua news agency.

County health officials said that they were working hard to put protocols into place to ensure more public spaces can reopen safely.

Children under two and people who are unable to put on or take off a face covering were not required to wear one, according to the county’s Department of Public Health.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Wednesday that all residents were required to wear protective face coverings when they leave the house.

Under California Governor Gavin Newsom’s four-phase guidelines, Los Angeles County, now in Stage 2, is moving to reopen sectors of its economy, rolling back restrictions on certain types of businesses and public sites.

A new health officer order was issued Wednesday by the county’s Department of Public Health that replaces the previous order and allows for lower-risk businesses and select recreational facilities and beaches to reopen with modifications.

Select recreational facilities including golf courses, tennis courts, shooting and archery ranges, equestrian centres, bike parks, and community gardens can also reopen, according to the new order.

Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation announced that it will begin reopeningtennis and pickleball courts, equestrian centres, BMX bike areas, trap, and skeet/archery ranges, model airplanes and community gardens, on Friday.

The County has reported 35,329 COVID-19 cases with 1,709 deaths.

Premier League clubs agree to extensions for out-of-contract players

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Premier League clubs agree to extensions for out-of-contract players

The Premier League has announced that England’s top-flight football clubs have been allowed to offer short-term contract extensions with players whose deals are due to expire on June 30.

The Premier League, which has been suspended since March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is planning a restart in June and the 20 clubs talked about issues of players’ contracts at Monday’s shareholders’ meeting.

“At Monday’s shareholders’ meeting, Premier League clubs unanimously agreed to be allowed to enter into short-term contract extensions with players whose deals are due to expire on 30 June of this year,” read a statement released on Thursday.

“As the UK Government indicated on Monday its willingness for live sport to return behind closed doors from June 1, the Premier League is exploring paths to resuming the 2019/20 season after this date.

“Clubs were concerned over expiring player contracts and registration issues posed by the potential of the 2019/20 season-extending beyond June 30. So, it was agreed by all shareholders that clubs and players can mutually agree to extend their contracts beyond 30 June until the end of the season,” the statement added.

Richard Masters, the Premier League chief executive said: “What we decided today is to ensure as far as possible that clubs complete the season with the same squad they had available prior to the suspension of the campaign.”

“Players can extend their contracts beyond June 30 until the end of the season, but it must be agreed by both parties.”

Clubs and players will now have until June 23 to agree extensions.

British elite and professional athletes are allowed to resume performance training under new guidelines published by the UK government on Wednesday.

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