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The global minimum corporate tax will enable US, France, Germany, India and other countries to invest more in healthcare, education, infrastructure, in the years to come. Countries that helped tax avoidance shown in this graph in Live Mint are Netherlands, Cayman Islands, Britain, Ireland, Hong Kong, China. The biggest contributor to tax losses for advanced countries US, Europe and India is the Netherlands with $27 billion in tax that is diverted away, as shown in Live Mint.

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Germany will reach 85% of gas storage with Russian gas reduced to 10% of consumption by September 1, 2022. The next target is to get it up to 95% for German gas storage facilities by November 1, 2022. "The reservoirs are filling quicker than planned," German Economy Minister Habeck told Der Spiegel. The big part of gas supplies are now from Norway and Netherlands. And LNG supplies will come from France. 

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As daily cases come close to the 5000 mark in France August 24, Health minister Olivier Veran says that it is happening 4 times more for the 20 to 40 years younger population than for over 65 years population. Cross contamination is also increasing. Another total lockdown in France was ruled out.

The WSJ reports new thinking about total lockdowns and says it may not be the best way to respond today.

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In a sign that the trade negotiations with China are stalled even as negotiators met for talks, president Trump said China was slowing talks down in the hope of talking to ELizabeth Warren or Joe Biden, Democratic candidates for the elections in the U.S. in 2020.  President Trump also said China has not come through the way it said on agricultural imports from the U.S. He tweeted "that is the problem with China they just don't come through." Mr. Trump also took credit for the slowing down of China's economy from the tariffs war. Mr. Trump took credit for China's weakening economy, making some companies leave, the tariffs he has imposed on $250 billion of Chinese products causing enormous pressure. Chinese exports to the U.S. have dropped by 8.5% and exports to other countries up slightly. China's infrastructure investments are cushioning part of the shock from the tariffs war. No major stimulus is planned in China because it would worsen the debt already accumulated after the over stimulus conducted in response to the financial crisis of 2009. Both sides are willing to wait it out.   ...

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In a major move president Biden backs suspending IP protection for Covid vaccines, therapeutics and tests. In fall 2020 India and South Africa submitted a resolution to WTO to suspend IP protection for Covid vaccines, therapeutics and tests, From the Indian perspective this decision comes a bit late when India has already vaccinated over 1 billion people using the Astra Zeneca Oxford vaccine. The Oxford vaccine was made available to Indian manufacturing companies to make locally in a way the could be done at low cost to meet needs of over 1 billion people in India. From the perspective of pharmaceutical companies this is giving away technology even if this was a public health emergency, as shown in this editorial from WSJ.

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Applied Materials, a maker of machines that make computer chips, will invest $4 billion over 7 years in a new research center in Sunnyvale, California. Part of this investment comes from federal subsidies in president Biden's CHIPS Act to increase American semiconductor production inside the US. The investment will create jobs for 2000 engineers. The idea is to build an ecosystem for research and experimentation in Silicon Valley close to other research centers and universities so that the cost of production can be brought down with the access to latest technologies in usable form.

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Swedish word lagom means just the right amount, and it is deeply rooted in the Swedish culture, says a decluttering expert cited here in this report on how to clean up. Anything that you haven't used for a long time, set it aside, give it away, keep only the important things. Its called death cleaning here but it is more than that, just keep life simple, don't accumulate, and it makes it easier to enjoy life. All the clutter only comes in the way, more of a hindrance to living.

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Google AI tools Gemini is shown as failing when it comes to civics and democratic form of government. It is in these vital issues for a democracy that widely used tools can fail particularly in AI, and which makes them hazardous. Ai tools shown here are not able to differentiate between good leaders and bad leaders who caused major wars in the 20th century. Humans and human thinking process and sentiment are essential for democracies to function, for people to exercize their rights and fulfill their responsibilities so that a good state can serve its citizens.

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South Korea face population decline for the first time in its recent history. The lack of job opportunities for young people, the burden of providing an elite education that parents aspire to for children limiting families to one or two children, and women marrying later at age of 33 years instead of 29, are some reasons for the decline. The pandemic has worsened the situation creating more insecurity. 

With this trend comes an aging society as in Germany and Japan. Statistics Korea predicts average age of population will rise from median 43 in coming decades.

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This leader in The Economist reviews an essay in the magazine's October 8-14th, 2016 edition by U.S. president Obama. In it Obama points to the unfinished tasks of his presidency and what comes next as tasks to be done for the U.S. economy. The Economist points out the problems in the 2016 election campaign where there is a lack of discussion of economic issues as a serious problem. Obama lists as priorities efforts to improve conditions of people left out in the recovery, reducing inequality, offering more job opportunities, and increasing productivity.

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Benny Gantz puts forward a realistic plan for Gaza's future that is completely different from Netanyahu's, with provision for international responsibility with Palestinians to run Gaza and demilitarization of Gaza strip. He sets June 8 as the deadline. Gallant and Benny Gantz say Netanyahu's plan only has two outcomes that lead to endless conflict- Israeli control or Hamas control both having led to this disastrous situation for the people of Gaza and Israel and of Palestine.  This comes as US Defense Secretary Blinken plans visit to Israel.

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The investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller now looks into president Trump's business interests and efforts made to secure financing and permits to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. This comes from information provided by Mr. Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen. The timing of these contacts show this to be taking place about the time of the presidential campaign and earlier statements to be misleading.

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China trade pause deadline of Aug 12 and its renewal. US negotiators Bessent and Greer in Stockholm report back to DJT for a final decision on whether to extend the trade truce with China by 3 months. China wants to remove the duty related to fentanyl entering the US from origins of the chemicals in China of 20% imposed by DJT, yet trade negotiators say no significant improvements on cracking down on the chemicals used to make fentanyl are seen. Currently duties are at 50-55% and would go up to 80% without a truce. The UK, Japan and European Union, Indonesia, Vietnam have come up with trade agreements with the US by July 28, 2025.

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Closing the plant at Genk in Belgium cost Ford an estimated $750 million and years of difficulty with workers and the community. The plant employs 4300 workers and the cost comes to about $190,000 per worker. Many auto plants in Europe are operating at about 60% of capacity in 2013, and about 7-8 million units of car and light truck capacity remains idle, by some estimates. Ford was compelled to take this action because of billions of dollars of losses for Ford Europe as sales declined because of the eurozone financial crisis and austerity measures.

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As president Biden says a Russian attack on Ukraine could come at any moment and asks Americans to evacuate immediately, the Russians say that there is no such thing happening. The why the troops massed on the Ukraine border? Russia says normal military exercises, which is not so persuasive to Europe and America.

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The view from Germany on Trump's economic plan and the need for changes by his advisors. DW.com's Wenkel says Trump needs to understand that 80% of job losses in recent years have come from not from globalization, but automation and higher productivity, rationalization. He says higher tariffs on Mexico could backfire.

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The PCE personal consumption expenditures index of the US Commerce Department is likely to come down slower than the CPI index by October 2023. The US Fed prefers to use the PCE index and this could lead to the Fed staying with higher interest rates for longer, says the WSJ. Medical care costs are likely to accelerate by the end of 2023, as housing costs decline. The PCE has a larger weighting for medical care costs than the CPI index. 

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Showing how far Congress has fallen behind in making the laws that regulate the cryptocurrency companies to protect the public, the SEC relies on an old 1993 law written 30 years back. The SEC has come under criticism as more losses to investors take place and crypto currency companies collapse. Gary Gensler's efforts at the SEC and the failure to effectively regulate the industry and protect the public are the subject of WSJ reports this month.

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One of the surprises in this coronavirus pandemic is the decline in asthma among children. This is noted for India in the Indian Express. About 262 million children suffer from asthma in the world. The use of face masks, hand washing, and the lockdowns that limited the number of infections which lead to asthma attacks which come from school contacts with other children. Less pollution and better air quality during lockdowns also added to the improvement for children.

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In his speech to the Indian  parliament following the Motion of Thanks for the President's address Mr. Modi points to gains in infrastructure, in addressing the pandemic, building India's new role  in the world's supply chain,  Gati Shakti Master plan for development. He says this was a way to make Gandhi's dreams for India to come true by the 100th year of India's independence in 2047.

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This objective look at the situation of Black Americans comes from a American -Jamaican. Educated in the West Indies and in Britain, Patterson is able to bring another perspective to look what has happened and what is the way forward. Here he is interviewed by the Harvard Gazette. Patterson is a professor of sociology at Harvard. A separate Saturday Essay by Orlando Patterson appears in the Wall Street Journal on June 6, 2020. Patterson points out that the big problem is de-ghettoization is not happening. Progress is not about integration first, it is about successful de-ghettoization taking place first, says Patterson.  And here he faults white liberals for not putting their money where their mouth is. For this to happen black families have to be able to move into suburbs. Strict zoning laws and limits to building moderately priced housing in some of the most liberal parts of the country keep out families wanting to move to the suburbs.  It is the social contact even side by side in suburbs with a leap in quality of housing and neighborhoods, schools, that can change people's own perceptions of themselves and their interactions with the communities around them. A lot of whites Patterson says have liberal views but when it comes down to making the concessions needed to make black lives better they are not willing to do that.   Patterson offers his own experience in Britain walking down a street in Cambridge. He lived on Trowbridge Street. He enjoyed walking through the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. And while walking he observed the easy interaction of black kids and white kids, and realized how different this was from the 1960's and 1970's. Having this sort of interaction comes from a more integrated setting, so that people grow up not having that awkwardness or lacking social contact.      ...

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French president Macron tells his compatriots that he thanks them for supporting him through this difficult period. "I know I have a duty towards them in the years to come." His health minister Oliver Veran said frankly- "We have also heard the people's message. There will be a change of method. The French people will be consulted."  Macron faced three crises, the pandemic, cost of living increases and war in Europe, as he fought back in the last weeks of the campaign to win the a second term for the first time in 20 years, since Jacques Chirac.

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Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is shown to be 90% effective in results from Phase 3 trials. The findings come from a preliminary look at the first 94 infections in a group of 44,000 people in the trial. The vast majority of the cases received a control instead of vaccine. A vaccine is considered effective if it works on 50% of cases. The Pfizer vaccine is based on an experimental "mRNa" technology.

Britain has ordered 5 million till the end of 2020 and another 20 million for 2021. In total Pfizer plans to make a billion doses of the vaccine by 2021.

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This title is a classic example of how to lie with statistics. Specifically the idea of 50% increase. 99 Irish citizens deported in 2025, a 50% jump over 2024, when one hundred thousand Irish citizens live in the US. The title could have read one tenth of one percent of Irish citizens living in the US were deported in 2025. Kennedy, Biden, Reagan were Irish in origins, most Irish are law abiding citizens, most are integrated into American society. The law applies equally to all- it only goes to show that the law applies to the Irish also and that it is fairly implemented consistent with US Supreme Court decisions supporting Congress and the Executive when it comes to immigration to the US, Latin Americans and Irish alike are treated equally under the law.

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US policy is to end war as soon as nuclear threat is over- DJT on Iran war on March 31 2026. When the US feels Iran 'won't be able to come up with a nuclear weapon, then we'll leave,' says DJT. US is self sufficient and exports oil to Europe. It doesn't need Iranian oil. DJT makes that clear to allies in Europe who have not taken a stand in the war and limited access to their airbases, saying as Starmer did yesterday that Britain did not want to expand the war. Really, the US does not want to expand the war. DJT's MAGA base does not want this war, and Biden's base does not want this war. US does not need Straits of Hormuz- it is Britain, Italy and EU countries, mainly China, Japan, South Korea that need the Straits of Hormuz. Speaking for the US DJT tells these countries in Europe to get the oil themselves in the Straits. He also tells China to get the oil from the Straits- if they need it and are so complacent as to get 90% of their imports from Hormuz after 40 years of disruptions and wars, as China does. DJT said- "If France or some other country wants to get oil or gas, they'll go up through the Hormuz Strait, they'll go right up there, and they'll be able to fend for themselves. What happens with the strait we're not going to have anything to do with, because these countries, China, China will go up and they'll fuel up their beautiful ships... and they'll take care of themselves. There's no reason for us to do it." "The USA won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!" ...