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Wonder who makes the Lysol and Dettol so common in the U.S. and Europe, India, other parts of Asia. It is a British Company Reckitt & Colman, going back to 1817, founded in Lincolnshire, and based in Slough, that merged with Benckiser of Netherlands in 1999. It operates in 60 countries with 40,000 employees and 3.5 billion pounds in sales last quarter. Dettol soap is a household name in India and its push for better hygiene can be seen in ads on Indian television. A 32 million pound fund was set up to promote better hygiene after sales increased by double digits.

This fits in with prime minister Modi's effort for good sanitation, toilets for 1.2 billion people, and the Clean India or Swacch India campaign that is helping India in the fight against coronavirus today.

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A group in the Tory party of prime minister Johnson sees a bigger risk for Britain in allowing 35% content in nonsensitive parts of Britain's 5G network as approved earlier. Tory views have changed since the coronavirus crisis and after the U.S. government decision on May 20 to require a government approval before U.S. companies can sell any semiconductors made abroad with U.S. technology. The use of other alternatives increases the risk for Britain, say Tory MP's. The National Security Council met to reconsider the earlier decision and called for a reassessment.

Britain would be left out of the Five Eyes Club of intelligence sharing with the U.S. if it does not also exclude Huawei from 5G networks. Mr. Trump says the U.S. will not share intelligence with Britain if it continues with the earlier decision.

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The European Commission hits Google with a $4.3 billion fine for antitrust violations on the Android operating system used in smartphones.

The company that created Android was founded by Andy Rubin and Rich Milner in 2003, and acquired by Google in 2005 for $50 million. This article gives a timeline for Android's development. The original Android went through modifications after Apple developed a keyboardless smartphone and introduced it in Jan. 2007. The original Android was a keyboard system like that of Blackberry. Google modified the system to come up with its own smartphone in September 2008 made by HTC in China called HTC Dream. Within 2 years in 2010 Android was used in 33 million smartphones surpassing Nokia at 31 million devices. From Jan. 2007 to 2010 in the space of 3 years the Android system changed the world of mobile phones. 

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Of the 12 regions in the UK the highest vote for Brexit Leave was from the West Midlands region with 59% of the vote for Leave.  This report shows the sentiment in this manufacturing hub is still strong for Leave even though people here are most likely to be hurt by the downturn in the economy. Studies by University of Sussex show a loss of 30,000 jobs or 1.2% of those employed even with asoft Brexit because of supply chains linked to Europe. An outsize hit of 4% is expected with a sudden Brexit. Aircraft workers in Flyde, auto workers in Stratford, workers in the northeast and other regions would also be affected. Risks spook people in Tamworth  where auto plants are located.

Feelings against immigration, for helping the poor and vulnerable, or accomodating British citizens first, were reflected in opinion in the West Midlands.

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Nigeria's president Buhari is reelected with a margin of 4 million votes. Delays, accusations of fraud and bits of violence marred the election but not to the extent of previous elections. Despite the accusations of manipulation independent observers say the problems were not so frequent that they would affect the outcome. The 76 year old president won with a large margin even though Nigeria faced a deep recession which increased unemployment and the northeast faced insurgency of Islamic militants. 

Buhari campaigned on spending for large infrastructure projects, social welfare programs and fight against corruption. The 2015 election provided a peaceful transition from president Goodfellow to Mr. Buhari from a different party. The competing candidate Mr. Abubakar was a wealthy businessman in the logistics sector. Voters preferred the continuity and Mr. Buhari mobilized effectively with the governing All Progressives Party.

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In areas such as elderly care facilities Japan leads the world in designing such robots for staff and for aging seniors. Robots are also seen as useful for housecleaning services, simple yet complex tasks as washing dishes, cleaning rooms, vacuuming, are tackled by robots as the number of workers available for such tasks is small. Robots are also used at the entry of buildings. With low immigration and resistance to immigration, Japan prefers to use robots. The robots will be in display for the Olympics with Toyota having a special set of welcoming robots. 

Japan leads the way in making robots human, cuddly and friendly, and are presented in this way in popular culture. A big difference from the way robots are used in manufacturing by U.S., Taiwan, South Korea and China, and how robots are seen in other countries.

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The transcript of the call between president Trump and Ukraine president is not  word by word account. It comes from notes taken on the call by key aides. No complete recordings or transcripts exist. The practice is for the National Security Advisor, in this case John Bolton, to be present or in the West Wing, and a few key aides.

After the unauthorized release of calls Trump made to the Mexican president early in his administration in which he said it was OK if Mexico did not pay for a wall as long as it looked like Mexico was paying, the circle of people involved is limited to a few aides. Because of this some of the calls were transferred to a separate server which was considered highly confidential. This is now the subject of an impeachment inquiry in the U.S. Congress.

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PM Modi closes the 100th episode with the words- "Charaiveti, charaiveti, charaiveti, chalte raho, chalte raho"- from the Vedanta and Buddhist period in India is about life's endless journey and to keep moving, to keep moving, a whole country and about a billion and a half people on the move. Ideas become popular movements and the radio talk show every month by prime minister Modi takes on new meaning for hundreds of millions of young people in India. Ideas about "Swachh Bharat" or Clean India Mission, about the environment, health, about technology and education to transform the country, about women becoming a part of the economy, about the dignity of workers, about starting small business that creates jobs, about renewable energy. 

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Adriana Kugler a Labor economist at Georgetown is president Biden's nominee for the Federal Reserve Board. In 2021 she was nominated as Executive Director at the World Bank. Her work is on how labor and social policies can improve the lives of working people, help create jobs, and help the less well off get education and training. Asked about Biden nominating labor economists to top jobs she says-"This is the key issue of our time. This is what we need to fix." As the first Latina in this position at the World Bank, Kugler who is a Colombian-American says, "they view me differently," and have a sense of being heard by someone who understands what it is like ot grow up in a developing country.

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This Guardian report looks at the Post Office Travel Money City Cost Barometer, a travel survey of cost for 35 European cities. Nazia Parveen does a good job of comparing many cities across Europe showing what the cost comparisons are for a city break this year. While other European cities cost of hotels and restaurants are up steeply Athens and Lisbon, Porto, Lille, Bordeaux, Budapest, Zagreb, Warsaw,  remain good destinations for the cost conscious. Amsterdam, London, Geneva, Berlin, Venice Florence, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Edinburgh and Dublin are costly destinations. In general smaller cities as in Germany cities such as Dresden, Leipzig, Bremen and Cologne, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Weimar, Erfurt, offer culturally very rich and yet less costly destinations. 

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This is Zelensky's second visit to Germany, after the first visit in February 2022 just days before the Russian invasion. Meeting German president Steinbrenner is important as the SPD leaders Steinbrenner and Scholz were seen as closer to Russia during the Merkel period. Scholz visited Ukraine in June to see first hand the damage to civilians with Macron and Italian prime minister Draghi. A settlement to the war in Ukraine could depend on Ukraine making gains with its counteroffensive with German, UK and American military assistance. Germany UK and US have expanded their assistance to Ukraine. Before the trip to Germany Zelensky visited Pope Francis. China has also sent its top diplomat to France, Germany and Russia to come up with a solution. 

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It is true carrots are good for eyesight and to prevent macular degeneration. Sunglasses help prevent ultraviolet rays from affecting the eyes. Reading without taking your eyes off the page is not conducive to good eye health- take time out every 20 minutes to look outside for at least 20 seconds. It is a good idea to relax the eyes by looking at Nature, what is good for mental health is also good for the eyes. Move the eyes to the left the right and draw large imaginary visualization circles with the eyes, large squares, for 30 seconds as away to exercize the eyes. Closing the eyes and concentrating on an imaginary visualization candle is a form of meditation that is also good for resting the eyes. 

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Inflation of 40%, a currency that has collapsed, debt at $58 billion or 105% of GDP that takes up one third of the country's budget just for dept payments, this isn't some economically weak African country. This is Ghana today, similar to about 54 countries in the Global South in even worse shape. Just before the pandemic in 2018 it recorded 6% growth. It is an agriculturally rich country with cassava and plantain production, the second largest cocoa producer in the world, and and oil producer.  Ghana has accepted a $3 billion loan from the IMF. The pandemic hit Ghana hard, followed by the Ukraine war and costly oil imports as Ghana lacks refinery capacity. 

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Did you know that 2.3 billion cycling tourism trips are taken in Europe each year according to the European Parliament? French cycling enthusiast and sports writer Claude Droussent, 65, puts together Cycling Atlas Europe, a book showing 350 one day cycling trips one can do in Europe. This follows Cycling Atlas North America also published by Rizzoli that he did with Greg Le Mond. It is intended to give people a chance to discover new places in a short few hours bike ride from where they are in a nature setting along mountainous terrain or along the coast. It is both adventure travel and discovery that is becoming popular after Covid. An app Strava provides an opportunity to talk to people who know about each ride.

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Of these letters mostly all commend the remarkable efforts of Joe Biden. One by Stanley Saulny stands out. He commends president Biden for his remarkable stamina during the Air Force Academy graduation. He says saluting 921 times and shaking hands 921 times as Biden did that day could not be done without considerable arm and shoulder pain, yet Biden did no complain or boast of his feat, as he wanted to do this for every graduating student. Mr Saunlny is a physician and graduated years ago from the same Air Force Academy where he attended this event as father of a graduating student. He tripped and the media distorted reality as there was a sandbag placed in a trippable way that could not be seen.  

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After losing 100 ships in the Irish Sea in 1859 to storms Britain setup the Shipping Forecast in 1861 under Admiral FitzRoy. This was the first storm warning system on which British ships depended for the next 100 years and most of the period Britain ruled the high seas. In 1925 the first long wave transmission of Weather Shipping went out from the Air Ministry in London. Millions depended on the forecast. For eons says Grace Linden in NYT there was nothing but stars and estuaries, the wind and the shore. The old supply chain of the Industrial Revolution in Britain was based on shipping, and on the shipping forecast, and too the realms of exploration all the way to the new continent of Australia, so a national treasure.

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The US Supreme Court will soon make a decision on the power of president Biden to take action on student loan forgiveness for millions of borrowers when Congress has failed to take action. 43 million people in the US holding $1.6 trillion in student debt would get some form of forgiveness under president Biden's $400 billion plan. Arguments will be made at the Supreme Court with a 6-3 Trump appointed majority of Conservative justices and a decision expected in June. Congress has failed to resolve this matter of debt affecting a large part of the US population leaving it to president Biden to offer some form of relief before a larger resolution is backed by Congress. A ruling will be made by June.

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The trillions of dollars in debt taken on by local governments in China acts as a barrier to economic growth. WSJ shows a third of China's cities are struggling to pay the interest on the debt they owe. This will slow growth for years to come.The debt built up during the pandemic as costs of lockdowns and covid testing were borne by cities. Revenues from land sales dropped with the slowdown in construction worsening finances. Wuhan, Dalian and Guangzhou have cut medical benefits because of strained city finances. Teachers in Shenzen are affected by cuts in bonuses a major part of their pay. And in rustbelt parts of the northeast there are impending cuts to heating after power companies failed to get help from the local government.

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Extreme German dependence on Russian oil and gas that happened under the administration of Angela Merkel and the high oil prices today from a a lack of development of alternative renewable energy resources created the situation that provided the financing for Russia's war in Ukraine. This is now unwinding as the European Union and the US set a price cap of $60 for Russian oil. This cap will in future reflect the cost of production of oil in Russia among other factors, and the lower demand for fossil fuels as renewable energy production is accelerated quickly, and the inflation fighting efforts of the US central bank. Gradually the mechanisms and environment is being created for an end to the conflict in Ukraine.

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US housing prices are seeing a decline in 2022 as a result of the Fed's interest rate increases even though there is no extra supply of housing. Renters are staying away from high mortgage payments at the higher rates, and families with a 3% mortgage are staying put rather than risk making larger mortgage payments for a new home. Fed's Jerome Powell has this to say- "You had housing markets go up at very unsustainable levels and overheating. Now the housing market is going through the other side of that and hopefully coming out at abetter place." This is more like the drop in demand for housing in 1979 which revived in 1983 after the Fed eased up on increasing rates, says the WSJ.

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48 storey Rittenhouse and 47 storey Arthaus are new condo development high rises in downtown Philadelphia. Highs in storefront occupancy, hotel occupancy, return to work pushed by Comcast and other companies are giving a new resurgence to the city center in Philadelphia. It shows that the city centers that have locals living in the area are doing better than city centers dependent mostly on commuters for activity. One advantage of Center City, Philadelphia is that there are 70,000 residents compared to mostly commuters in midtown Manhattan, Boston Financial District, Chicago Loop downtown areas. This means that even with remote work people are up and about in the city. 7000 workers for Comcast in office towers in Center City are also encouraged to come to the office.

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India UK trade has been neglected over the years. In 2021 India accounts for less than 2% of total UK trade. During the period before the pandemic 2010 to 2019 UK exports declined by 3%. During that time the US increased exports to India by 79%, Canada by 62%, and France by 58%, says this report in The Guardian. This happened even though India is the leading country in the British Commonwealth and one would expect much stronger trade ties. This is one reason UK prime minister Boris Johnson is putting a high priority on building up trade with India during his visit to India. UK Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan seeks to double the current 22 billion pounds trade between India and the UK by 2030.

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French president Macron takes office for a second term saying that "the French people did not prolong his previous mandate." "This new people, different from five years ago, gave a new president anew mandate." Macron now faces a challenge in parliamentary elections from parties on the left led by Jean-Luc Melenchon. The left vote is now consolidated behind Melenchon and he could be the next prime minister under Macron, bringing in new voices into the Macron administration that were missing in the first term leading to a fracturing of French society and politics. This will be needed to unite France and tackle problems of loss of manufacturing to China, and surging inflation hurting middle and lower class households finding it hard to meet essential needs.

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Jay Powell and the US Fed have less to worry about from China's increasing demand for oil in 2023 that could keep oil prices high, says this column in WSJ. China says Taplin, has over 50% of oil demand coming from the construction industry, heavy industry and the trucking that backs it up. The construction industry has problems from years of overexpansion, and heavy industry, manufacturing, faces lower demand for Chinese exports from the US and Europe in 2023. This means oil demand will not increase enough to keep oil prices high, says Taplin. This puts the Fed in a better position to tackle inflation, just as the decline in global shipping and spare capacity in shipping, supply chains returning to normal is helping the Fed.

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WSJ offers some useful advice in its Invest in Yourself series. Its a good idea to separate this investment into three baskets, your career or professional, the personal- what passions you have and interests you enjoy, and the health- the food and exercize habits that keep you healthy and vibrant. Overinvesting in one financially or in time can lead to hurting the others. For this reason keep a good balance so that you do not burnout and enjoy aspects of the personal and health at the same time as you accomplish your goals for professional growth. Staying motivated and healthy in all the ways possible, doing things you enjoy and are excited about gives you the ability to get to where you would like to be.