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Pictures from the lockdown in Paris, France, which has been tightened to reduce new infections in the pandemic. Unlike other countries with lax controls in lockdowns people in Paris are required to carry a document showing authorization to go outside, the place where a person is going, and show it to police on the street. 

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At this time of coronavirus exercize is ever more important. This report in NYT shows that some intensity in walking is needed for proper exercize which can be lost as people age and walk in a placid manner. To get this added intensity add hills or uphill walking to your exercize routine or add cycling or other forms of exercize.

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Yoga Day being celebrated with pictures of yoga being done in different parts of the country and in other Asian countries in the Times of India. This is the 7th International Yoga Day program. With huge significance today as a way to  wellness during the coronavirus. This year the theme is "Yoga for Wellness."

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A tropical cyclone hits large parts of Mozambique and other Southern African countries destroying electricity and communication grids. It shows that climate change and rapid urbanization can hit these countries at the same time. The Red Cross says 90% of the city of Beira with population of 600,000 has been destroyed. Wind speeds were upto 105 miles per hour.

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Just one day a week of work from home can boost productivity by 13%. Many companies are now planning to make this permanent to have workers not come to office every day of the week. Fujitsu in Japan, and digital tech companies in the U.S., service companies in law and accounting and other professions are also making the shift.

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The Robert Koch Institute reports rise in daily infections from around 500 to over 800 a day on one day last week.  This is seen as a second wave after the economy reopened. The reproduction rate is up to 1.08 from 0.93, so that on average one infected person passes the virus on to one other person. 

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The price of Brent crude oil drops 20% to $36.07 and global stock markets decline sharply. A price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia leads to the sharp drop in oil prices. The swing in oil prices and the increase in coronavirus cases in Italy, France, South Korea, and other countries leads to sharp decline in stock prices.

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Mikaela Shiffrin is now one of the best downhill skiers of all time. After she failed in four races in the Beijing Olympics she lost some of the spirit she had. Rachel Bachman describes a visit to Roger Federer's home in the Alps that helped restore Mikaela's spirit and gave her some important advice on longevity in sport. First it was time to take a look around you notice things and breathe it all in. As Federer put it- "You need to take the moments to look up and around you, to appreciate where you are, breathe it in." It is when you are in the depths of your career and it is difficult to do this, that when it is the most important to do this, Federer told Mikaela Shiffrin and her mother Eileen on that day at lunch in the Federer home in the Swiss Alps.

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Paul McCartney of the Beatles talks about the times he was asked to write an autobiography. In a new book he writes about how some of the most well known songs he had written came to him in his imagination. The Times shows glimpses of McCartney's song writing skills putting on the words on thoughts in his life and imagination, on his surroundings in London and Liverpool, England. 

Shown here are actual handwritten notes of the lyrics, amazing to see for songs such as Let it Be that are some of the best music singles of all time nd the song Yesterday. Others include Penny Lane.

'Yesterday' and 'Let it Be' come from memories of his mother who died in 1956. The lyrics for 'Yesterday' were written years later in 1965 and for 'Let in Be' in 1969.  

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The WSJ Editorial Board on the predawn vote on February 14th 2024 with a vote of 70-29 approving US aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. A lot of the investment is in the US in Patriot missiles built in Arizona and defense equipment in Alabama as the president pointed out in his message to House Republicans shown alongside saying history is watching. WSJ reminds readers that Arthur Vandenburg of Michigan helped president Harry Truman setup the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for the defense of Eastern Europe falling into Soviet hands- the danger seen in Greece and Turkey in the 1947 and the Berlin Blockade 1948-49. The Truman Doctrine was announced on March 12, 1947. People forget that Truman asked Congress for $400 million in military and economic aid to Greece and Turkey. With it Greece, the mother of western democracies was able to stave off defeats from Soviet supported forces by 1950.

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg offers some advice to young people- In a marraige she says it helps sometimes to be a bit tone deaf. To ignore that remark someone made or comment which if reacted to would only make one feel worse. Who knows it was not meant that way, and maybe did not reflect the whole way that person felt, or even was transitory, This advice she got from her mother in law. Another piece of advice was from her father in law, to stop worrying and find a way to manage, find a way to do it, for something you want to do but are not sure you can. Something she learned from her colleagues in the court including Justice Scalia, was to get over it, not to spend time thinking about comments that are made or some things that happen in the course of one's daily life that one thinks shouldn't have happened.

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Labor party in UK gets 35% of the vote with Conservatives at 26% and Liberals at 20%, in Britain's local council elections. Other parties including the Greens gained 19% of the vote. There isn't much the Conservatives have done to help the British people meet the cost of living crisis. The economy is in worse shape and the country is not prepared to take on the climate change crisis. Britain gets closer to a general election.

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Energy tax cuts that would save Germans 900 euros a year are a good idea says this WSJ editorial opinion, and something the US should consider. One of the taxes energy levy EEG added 3.72 cents per kilowatt hour to household electricity bills is a tax started 20 years ago. The EEG is being phased out. Other tax changes in Germany to help households tackle inflation are the increase in tax allowance making the first 10,347 euros of annual income tax free.

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The fight against misuse of aid funds from donor countries is an important fight for Ukraine. Success in the war to defend Ukraine depends on winning the confidence of the European Union and the US that donor funds to rebuild Ukraine are going for that purpose. There is also the need to maintain the confidence of the Ukrainian people including millions displaced or refugees within the country, and the millions of other Ukrainians who are now intolerant of the corruption that used to be.

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McGurn looks at a time when population growth was seen as an existential threat in China. China's population declined by 850,000 in 2022. An accompanying article in the NYT by Hawon Jung describes the views of South Korean women, which also reflect views of Chinese and Japanese women, about the uneven burdens of raising children between men and women, the discrimination against married women with young children in the workplace, the other challenges women face that have led to a marraige strike.

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Eastern Oregon that lies on the other side of the Cascade mountains from Portland and western Oregon is mostly rural and feels a world away from Portland. Here farmers have organized a secessionist movement to join the neighboring state of Idaho which is closer to them on cultural issues. The NYT's Across the Country series of articles looks at ways in which America has become different in different states and regions across the country and how local people see what impacts their lives.

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This report in the NYT looks at the problem facing America and president Biden in renewable energy supply chains. 70% of the renewable energy supply chain for solar and other renewable energy comes from imports  and much of it from China. Biden says it is about jobs, jobs, jobs. For this to happen the Biden administration has to take up the challenge of building an American supply chain for renewable solar and wind energy so that jobs are generated for American workers. 

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The Biden $1.9 trillion aid package that cleared the US Congress on March 10, 2021 sets the stage for an economic rebound by 2022. OECD forecasts now show the US economy by the end of 2022 to be larger than forecast before the pandemic. In trade and other business policy the Biden administration is quietly following the changes made under the Trump administration to make the US position stronger in international trade and manufacturing, and remaking supply chains to meet US interests.

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The $1.2 trillion spending bill to cover the budget for 2024 for defense, health and human services, education and other parts of the US government passed the Senate 74-24 with Republicans joining Democrats to pass the bill. It came in the wee hours of the morning just after the midnight deadline for funding the US government. Disagreements on funding programs between the 2 parties led to this situation of delay till the last minute as each side sought to improve its position. 

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A UN Security Council ceasefire resolution passes with the US abstaining. It passed 14-0 including Algeria the only Arab country in the Security Council vote. It calls for immediate ceasefire and immediate release of all hostages. The other countries in the non permanent 10 members included Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Slovenia, Guyana, Mozambique. This resolution supports the US efforts through working with Qatar and Egypt to reach a solution with a ceasefire and humanitarian assistance to the civilian population.

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Issues of war an peace, food supplies, climate change and renewable energy transition, world health, and other issues that relate to the wellbeing of people in the world can only be met by broadening the membership of the UN Security Council. US president Biden favors broadening the membership of the UN Security Council. Ministers of the G4 countries, Germany, India, Japan and Brazil met this week to push for reform of a UN Security Council that is now not working or dysfunctional. 

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Cost of living action on oil and food prices, and wage gains by workers, the overall economic expansion and jobs, will play a role in Northampton County, Saginaw County and Hillsborough County, in the states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Hampshire. Other counties in Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin affected by the same issues and hurt by the demanufacturing in the US from the Reagan era, the sense of falling behind in places like Bethlehem, Pennsylvania will determine the direction of the US in 2024.

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FR24 gives details of the Gaza Truce proposals under Paris negotiations. A 40 day ceasefire Truce is proposed with one hostage released for 10 Palestinian prisoners.

All Israeli hostages, including women and children to be released.

In exchange for 40 hostages 400 Palestinian prisoners to be released.

Humanitarian aid- 500 trucks per day, 60,000 caravans, 200,000 tents. Rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, supply of fuel and other services. Necessary equipment to clear rubble.

 

 

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The Biden administration informs the WHO that it no longer supports the approach taken by previous administrations from Bush through Obama and Trump of not regulating Tech companies. Tech companies Google, Facebook and Apple have through heavy lobbying written the regulatory framework of no regulations. This has resulted in monopolistic behaviours, suppressing competition, ignoring customer needs, not considering privacy of information and other problems. Farah Stockman of the NYT traces how this happened and why the Biden administration is taking action.

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Canada's oil sands is an oil patch with strong climate change effects. As big oil companies under pressure from different groups leave this oil patch, other local companies are stepping in. This WSJ report says these local companies in Canada are pumping more oil from this patch in third quarter 2021 than in the same period in 2020. As long as it is profitable to do so these companies will operate in this patch of Canadian oil sands in Alberta, says the WSJ.