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$2 trillion in exports by 2030 sounds like a lot but this will get India in 2030 to where its at about 8% share in world trade. This will be the point at which India can move forward to get a share of world trade that is closer to its potential and to its role as the largest economy by population, which meets the rising aspirations of its young population.

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Efforts to build air defense systems for Guam, American base 1300 miles east of the Philippines. China has stockpiled missiles that could reach Guam, says this report in the WSJ. There are 150,000 American civilians in Guam, which is an island the size of Chicago. As Guam is entirely American the US can operate from Guam in a manner that it cannot do from Okinawa or other bases in the Pacific, or in South Korea. About 50,000 Americans are based at Okinawa, Japan. US has 22,000 military personnel on Guam island. Guam played a critical role in the early days of the Pacific War with Japan and after it was retaken from the Japanese.

This is becoming important as the US faces the prospect of being able to help protect Taiwan's independence, and protect free navigation on seas in the Indo-Pacific region that extends from Africa to India and Australia and to western US.

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Julian Tang, a clinical virologist and professor at Leicester University looks at the risks of coronavirus variants. Variants from South Africa, B.1.1.7 variant and a variant from Brazil have complicated efforts of the vaccination drive in Britain, US and Europe. 

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China's economic growth has slowed further to 6.1% for 2019 following trade tensions and tariff war with the U.S. Further decline in economic growth is expected.

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People in Japan are living longer healthier lives. So much so that people are working well into their 70's. In Nagano, Japan, people say that those in their 40's and 50's are like a child with a runny nose, and people in their 60's and 70's are in the prime of their careers. In this WSJ report, 38 years old Norohiro Aizawa is a part time farmer, who says he plans to work into his 70's like many farmers in Japan. Today his father in his early 70's is active and in charge. Sachiko Kobayashi runs a crafts business, has a job making box lunches, and a garden full of pumpkins and radishes. She is 65 and gets up at 3 am. In Nagano she is called by the term pre-elderly, not elderly. For elderly she has a long way to go. Japan has 29% of the population in under over 65 years group, Europe 21% and US 17%. Yet something else is happening. People are just taking better care of themselves and their health, and living, working longer. A 70 year old today in Nagano is in health status like a 60 year old one or two generations ago. Perceptions of what is elderly have changed.    Japan's White Paper on the Elderly in 2021 shows studies suggesting that many in the 65-74 year group do not share traits associated with the term elderly.  Only 6% require care by others. Half of 65-69 year olds hold jobs, and a third of those in their early 70's also hold jobs. Life expectancy in Japan stretches into the late 80's for women, and early 80's for men. This is almost 5-8 years more than countries like the UK with a strong national health service. In April 2021 a revised Employment Law took effect, telling big employers to offer work to workers until age 70, up from previously government sanctioned retirement age of 65 years. Government says it is meant to protect the right of people to work longer. There is even a term called late-elderly.  Oshima 82 of Nagano, leads a volunteer group that shoots video of community festivals and works late into the night, and is cited in this WSJ story as saying that even if people called him late elderly, his response is oh yeah? I don't care. It is all about living a full life, terms don't matter at all when one stays healthy.   ...

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Home design for remote work and how architects think about this is shown in this report. The key is to have multiple locations to work and have the small furniture arrangement that can be flexibly used in these multiple locations. Also add infrastructure meaning easy connectivity and other technical features. The idea is to have flexibility to work from many places in the house. It does not have to be an expensive house design, simple modifications throughout a single family home can be done to rearrange space to create these types of locations. Another part of the design is to also add small exercize equipment say a rower or bike or treadmill in different places in such a way that it takes minimal space and looks to the outside like a garden or a garden view. What this does is to create a home space just for the home owner where he can relax, work and sometimes combine work and relaxation for tasks that are suited, and provide a exercise place that is distributed. It can also include a meditation area in one or two locations that creates a soothing environment. Experimentation is ok and customizing it to one's preferences. ...

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Zambia's struggles with high debt and IMF assistance following an election that led to a change in government. Other countries in Africa facing similar economic problems are watching Zambia's progress.

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Getting to bed early by 9-10 pm and getting 8-9 hours sleep is becoming a trend for young people and young professionals. This is an effort to live healthy lives by getting better sleep. It means most professionals skip late dinners, winding up outside activity by 7 pm.