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India now leads developing countries with one billion digital payments a month. The stage is set now one billion digital payments a day. The digital payments have moved rapidly compared to the slow progress before 2011. The spread of internet, digital infrastructure, the Modi government digital projects including bank accounts for all citizens, demonetisation accelerating digital progress, GST, and the joint efforts of the government, the central bank, and the private sector have helped accomplish this shift to digital transactions. 

What is remarkable about this is also that India developed its own system without copying the U.S. or China digital payments, avoiding the defects of the other existing systems.

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How do schools reopen during the pandemic. This report shows how schools and students struggle with reopening. The first part of the report looks at how one family in Wisconsin is coping with 3 children  2, 4 and 11 years old, from kindergarten to middle school. Only the middle school child is going back to school. Both parents work from home, have struggled to cope with kids at home. Lack of enough computer equipment restricts kids learning long distance, and concentration is also an issue. 

The rest of the report covers how schools are reopening in cities- Bangkok, Jerusalem, Tunis, Stockholm, Dortmund, Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro.

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Greece's minister for migration tells the Times that seven charities including one in London form part of a chain stretching from Somalia to Britain in which smugglers move migrants illegally.  One of the seven charities is in London and is seen as colluding with human traffickers who are putting lives of migrants at risk. Greece has 70,000 migrants living in squalid refugee centres. Of these 17,000 are on islands in the Aegean sea. Europe cannot cope with all these migrants illegally making the crossing, much less during this pandemic. It has also unsettled the countries where migrants are settled on a humanitarian basis as there is at the same time serious neglect of poverty stricken communities inside Europe who are not getting the assistance they deserve. The result is even less focus on the development needs, on infrastructure, education and healthcare of the countries in Europe where migrants are headed, with the attention diverted to the migrants issue. Economic progress in Europe and rapid development could not only improve the condition of people in all communities, it could also help finance more foreign aid development project assistance to Africa and other countries. This would if vigorously done keep people in their home countries and help fulfill their development aspirations there, which is the better way.  Chancellor Merkel of Germany should have opted for a better way by setting up a program for aspiring migrants in the countries of Africa with a generous visa program offering training and technological skills, which could then be brought back to the country in Africa where it could generate jobs and opportunities with the necessary capital from European and other financial institutions and governments. This effort made in alliance with Britain and France could be powerful in its impact. Instead a haphazard three years of migration led to internal divisions, loss of confidence in the CDU and the SDP, FDP parties in coalitions, ending up where it should have started in the first place- reducing the migration to a trickle, returning some migrants back to their countries, and focussing on bringing economic assistance and development assistance to African countries for opportunities in these countries and a brighter future so that no one would want to leave and drift on oceans in tiny boats in the first place. The condition of the people in Africa is not so hopeless that the best they can do is to send their young people to drift on boats on the high seas in the hope of refugee status. China has shown that the there is a path from famine during the years following the Great Leap Forward to the development of today. India is doing that now and can repeat that story. Japan and South Korea, Taiwan have done this after devastating wars and out of nothing. Imagine what the world would be like if all these people in Asia set out on small boats for Europe.       ...

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Israel's Moon Lander is the first private effort to land a spacecraft on the moon.

A small spacecraft called Beresheet was sent up from Cape Canaveral Air Force Space station in Florida using SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

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There is still a chance that the Oakland A's could come back to their glory days at a new location in Oakland, California - a new waterfront $12 billion development at the Port of Oakland's Howard Terminal is proposed and facing a decision. Public approval is needed. Four World Series title games were played in Oakland since 1968 and Oakland would like to keep this going.

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Slovenian cyclist Pogacar goes with his instincts and what his body is telling me leaving the riding to how he feels rather than loads of data. In today's world the ultimate compliment is what is said about him that he does not find it stressful, that he is having fun cycling. Jason Gay puts it- sort of like a kid merrily cycling on a paper route.

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Jonny Bairstow finds himself through people he trusts back in Yorkshire, and finds that staying still works for him rather than chase the ball. After a disappointing start with Australia in the Ashes Bairstow is now with Joe Root England's top two batters. This story in the Indian Express says how he found his game and is now having joy in the game of cricket.

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Malaria in India is a notifiable disease in 33 states. It is part of India's vision to be malaria free by 2027 and to eliminate the disease by 2030. Health Minister Mandaviya says it is a public social and economic challenge in India. And that India witnessed 85% decline in malaria cases in 2020 compared to 2019, and 84% decline in deaths during 2015-2022.

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A sense in Turkey that there were some things that Kemal Ataturk did for Turkey helped modernize the country and helped its people. That the years of the Erdogan administration have dragged on for two decades creating many problems that are becoming evident through the economy and the earthquake, with a sense of change in Ankara, Istanbul, among women and among people suffering from the cost of living crisis.

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Chip designer ARM co-founder Hermann Hauser tells BBC 4 why his business has decided against dual listings in London and New York Stock Exchanges for its IPO. He said-"The fact is that New York of course is a much deeper market than London, partially because of the Brexit idiocy the image of London has suffered a lot in the international community."

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The Guardian takes you on a three day pilgrimage by rail from Sundsvall rail station in Sweden to Trondheim in Norway. It follows the pilgrim's trail St Olav's Way for 287 miles along central Scandinavia. It is a deeply rural route that ends at the Trondheim Fjord and Nidaros Cathedral. The route goes back to a journey made by King Olav in early summer 1030.

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In a wide ranging interview with the WSJ Zelensky says China is a bigger and more powerful country than Russia that has a role in bringing about peace- "I would not want such a country to stand by and watch people die." He added that this is not a painting or a museum, this is a real war, with horrendous damage on all sides.

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Finance Minister Sitharaman says India's economic image and its macroeconomic fundamentals are not affected by the withdrawal of the Adani FPO. In the last 2 days alone she said, foreign exchange reserves had increased by $8 billion. She said Securities and Exchange Board of India has the authority and ability to see to it that "markets are regulated in prime condition."

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State finances in the US are in strong shape with the federal stimulus and rapid recovery, says this report in the WSJ. US states will hold 136.8 billion in rainy day funds. This is 12.4% of total spending. Healthy reserves make spending cuts and laying off workers for local governments and states unnecessary in an economic downturn. This is a good sign for the US economy.

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After coming down to $0.95 to the US dollar in September 2022 the euro is now back up to $1.07. A drop in energy prices and easing of recession fears in the EU is sparing a revival of the euro. A milder winter in Europe and an impressive effort in cutting gas consumption is helping the EU. The stronger euro also helps in tackling inflation in the EU.

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Addressing the European parliament president Zelensky of Ukraine says Ukraine is defending all of Europe and the Eruopean way of life. "We Ukrainians are together on the battlefield with you." To counter the Russian attacks Ukraine needs more assistance, Mr. Zelensky told the parliament. He called for action on the application to become a member of the EU by the end of 2023.

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A phone call took place between president Biden and pm Modi of India on a closer US- India strategic technology partnership following India's making the largest commercial aircraft deal in history for purchase of 470 planes from Airbus and Boeing. The White House says the sale will support over 1 million jobs in 44 states. It also deepens the ties between India and the US.

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More shale oil from the Permian basin in western Texas is making it way to markets in Europe in 2023. Shipments from the Gulf Coast of the US are estimated to be 1.53 million barrels a day in Jan 2023. Shipments to Spain are up 88%, with similar shipments to Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Natural gas shipments to Europe from the US have doubled in 2022.

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How arranging hybrid work on a 3-2 or 2-3 office and remote days arrangement involves looking at different aspects of its effect on people. Women's needs are different from men's, different individuals have different emotional reactions, getting work organized, setting up new offices so that they have appeal as workspaces, are all aspects of hybrid work that have to be addressed.

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How historically working class areas in Pennsylvania including Scranton vote in the midterms, and how Mr. Fetterman with his small town roots is able to attract such working class votes for his race against Republicans Mr. Oz, a TV talk host, is crucial to determining when and how working class families in America link up with Mr. Biden. This NYT report looks at Pennsylvania in late October 2022.

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Fed chairman Jerome Powell answered questions at a press conference yesterday and made it clear that America's central bank will not slacken its resolve in the fight against inflation saying "pausing has a ways to go." He said the level of interest rates is what will now be the focus of the Fed as it seeks a much higher level in 2023.

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Fitness and athleticism was on display as a key factor when this proved to outdo better playing skills of Spanish and German players in Japan's win over Germany and Spain. This was also evident for other smaller nations such as Morocco and Saudi Arabia. At one point Costa Rica led Germany 2-1, showing that fitness and determination plays a key part in soccer and all sports.

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Melenchon got the largest support from 24 to 34 yer olds, and ended up with 22% of the vote only a few points behind Le Pen. A lot depends on how his support base votes in the next round vote on April 24. Marie Le Pen got most of her support from people 50 to 59 years old, and Macron from people over 70 years, says this report.

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Work done by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne using short burst of photothermal energy on biomass to produce hydrogen yet keeping the carbon intact, is shown in this Science article in The Hindu. These experiments and others are looking at the use of hydrogen as a form of renewable energy. Hydrogen has an impressive energy storage capacity which makes it an attractive source for renewable energy.

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The Jan 6 Panel of the US Congress puts out its report on the efforts to overturn the election results of the 2020 election that elected Joe Biden as president. Social fracturing from decades of policy that misallocated capital away from education, communities and health, hollowed out American manufacturing, neglected American communities and infrastructure, increased the gaps in income and wealth in society, led to unintended consequences.