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The 71 metre tall Leshan Buddha in August 2020 as the river Yangtse rises and the water level reaches the toes of the Buddha. This is a UNESCO heritage site and Chinese visitors light incense at the Buddha's feet.

It is carved out of the rockface of hills near Chengdu in the 8th century AD. Buddhism made its way to China and then Japan from India with Bodhidharma (Daruma in Japan) in the 6th century AD. Hsuan Tsang a Chinese Buddhist monk in Chengdu, Sichuan province made his way to Nalanda in India 627 AD to 643 AD for a 17 year trip to find the original Buddhist texts and teachings. He called India In-tu the place of the shining moon because of it being a spiritual place, and birthplace of the Buddha.

The last time the water reached the Buddha's feet was in 1949. Today after the pandemic pilgrims burn offerings at the Buddha's feet in 2020. 

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This important WSJ report shows how the CDC labs failed to come with the test after contamination of a component and failure of the third part of the three part test components. In the absence of a working test from CDC where delays cost three weeks of February the private labs all over the country and state labs could have developed their own test, yet HHS and FDA required approval for these labs to develop their own test and use it. From Feb. 8 when state and city public health labs detected problems with the CDC test to Feb 29 when solutions were developed including simply excluding the third part of the three component test, and letting labs around the country do their own test, were 3 crucial weeks that let the virus spread out of control. The CDC, HHHS, and the FDA and their managers and heads of departments bear responsibility for these errors. Week after week the delays continued, instead the two component test which detects if the genetic material in the sample is coronavirus material, could simply have been approved at the outset instead of the approval for this given weeks later. The third component of the test checks if the virus mutated, according to this report. There is no explanation why the labs all over the U.S. were not allowed to go ahead on February 9 itself or within a few days after that to develop their own tests once it was clear the CDC test did not work on that day. CDC officials failed to recognize that there was a possibility that they may not be able to fix the faulty third component of the test and the risks if they gave false reassurances. There is also no explanation of why a German designed test was not used once the CDC test failed on Feb. 9, which would be a proper way for action considering that this pandemic had already shutdown parts of China by this time. Alarming also is the mention in this report that on Feb. 22 a FDA official in charge of lab diagnostics  flies to Atlanta where the CDC Respiratory Diagnostic lab which developed the test is located. His boss FDA medical device center director is cited from later information as describing the lab as "filthy" meaning the lab had the potential to contaminate, and going so far as saying that if it had been any other lab it would have been shut down. Considering that investment in public health has deteriorated over the last two decades and that there has been a massive misallocation of capital in the country away from public infrastructure this is appalling. The thought of critical labs for emergency health needs as not being up to high quality standards in the U.S. as a result of two decades of misspending, that this shows, is very disturbing.  This WSJ report is based on interviews with people who know about the testing crisis, and undisclosed emails, correspondence on the issues involved. Community transmission began in January 2020 in the U.S. These delays were costly in February and could have been prevented either by going with the German design on Feb 10 or asking labs across the U.S. to develop their own test, and letting other labs immediately use the modified 2 component test of CDC that worked instead of doing this action weeks later. Mardi Gras on Feb 25 and other places where large crowds gathered in sports stadiums could have been stopped had testing gone forward and shown the true extent of the community transmission in these critical weeks.  First China delayed a U.S. team of experts coming into the country for weeks, and then the CDC, FDA, HHS, failed to get testing started, creating  a false sense of complacency. Two crucial errors outside and inside the country that caused so much damage to America and the world.   ...

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It is not clear why the British furlough scheme already cost about 35 million pounds when the German furlough scheme for 12 months cost is 9 million pounds. The British scheme set the amount at 80% of earnings up to 2500 pounds per month, higher than the German furlough scheme which started at 60% and went up to 70-80% if 50% of working hours were lost.  As a result of the cost difference of the two schemes Germany is able to extend its scheme to 24 months while the British scheme ends in October having cost more in a short period 35 million pounds than the 2 year German furlough scheme's cost of 18 million pounds. This means German workers are better protected than British workers. Schemes for furlough in Anglo-Saxon countries Britain and the U.S. have traditionally lagged behind ones in other countries in Europe with resulting job losses and hardships for workers. Could the schemes in Britain and the U.S. be better designed to get more done at similar cost as in Germany with joint worker, company and government cooperation? France is extending its furlough scheme to 24 months. The National Institute for Economic and Social Research says extending the British furlough scheme till July 2021 would cost 10 billion pounds and could pay for itself. A estimated loss of 2 million jobs in Britain from the ending of the furlough scheme in October 2020 maybe be too high a price to pay. ...

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Germany's furlough scheme is called Kurzarbeit. About 10.1 million workers are signed up for the scheme with about 5.6 million actually using it because they are working shorter hours than normal. Under the scheme about 60% of workers earnings are normally replaced with government aid with contributions from companies. For the pandemic the German government increased benefits to cover 70%-80% of lost earnings if a worker has lost over 50% of working hours. It cost about 9 billion euros and payments are made by the German Employment Agency. This scheme is being extended from the initial 12 month period to 24 months. A similar scheme in Britain that ends in October covered 80% of earnings for workers lost earnings up to 2500 pounds a month, at a cost of 35 million pounds up to August for 9.5 million employees at the peak. The British scheme is not being renewed. The U.S. has its own program of payments and unemployment insurance, yet unemployment is higher in the U.S. In Germany it was 6.3% in July, a moderate increase.  ...

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French effort to "systematically" require use of face masks in office and work environments. The High Council for Public Health is asking the government to make it mandatory for face masks to be used in all office spaces starting in September to cut the rising coronavirus cases which have reached 3000 a day. They are already mandatory in public transport and in shops. There is a clear link in the contaminated air and the rise in cases.

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PSG's effort to enter the finals of the Champions League soccer after its win over Atalanta scoring 2 goals in the final minutes. It meets Leipzig just as Paris battles a second wave of the coronavirus after reopening.

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Walmart's e-commerce business doubled from last year. Walmart expanded availability of delivery and used its large supply chain to push ahead.

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For the first time a political convention that is virtual. The Democratic National Convention opened with speeches from Bernie Sanders and others for nominees Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The convention uses pretaped speeches, live speeches and videos for this mostly virtual event.

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New cases per day in U.S. drop to 35,000 and in India to 55,000 for August 17, 2020. India increased testing to 900,000 per day. Most of these tests are RtP PCR tests with some antigen tests. ICMR's goal is to reach 1 million tests per day. The positivity rate has dropped to 8.62% with the increased testing. There are about 1400 labs in India doing testing.

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Japan's GDP fell by 7.8% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with previous quarter. By comparison for U.S. economy GDP was down 9.5% for that quarter. In Japan the increase in the national sales tax from 8% to 10% in October 2019 had already caused a contraction in the economy. It is uncertain how much the second wave of the pandemic will affect the economic recovery.

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How virus containment failed at its origin in Wuhan with politics overriding the agency setup to tackle pandemics. Dr George Gao an Oxford trained virologist was in charge of China's agency for pandemic disease control. This story shows how his effort ran in to problems from authorites in the province and other problems. Scientists in U.S. and Britain and in China say had the effort to control the virus started 3 weeks earlier by December 1, 95% fewer cases would have happened in China. With additional steps to control pandemic spread such as air and rail, auto travel restrictions this also means the virus could have been contained within China with only a limited and better controlled spread overseas. The bungled response in China shown here affected first China, then the whole world.

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Philip Lefebvre organist for Notre Dame Cathedral says about the extraordinary quality of the organ that is now being restored after a fire in 2019, that it makes the stones sing.  The equipment related to 8000 pipes have to be dismantled for the restoration work to happen. For the huge cathedral the organ is still a delicate music instrument. 

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The peace agreement between Israel and the UAE comes with Israel agreeing to not annex further any Palestinian territories. 

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Contrary to a lot of what is written Mr. Bolsonaro has regained popularity in Brazil with a new poll showing him with an approval rating of 37% (Datafolho), and a sharp drop in disapproval ratings. Bolsanaro has pushed for keeping lockdowns to a minimum and reopening the economy. Brazil has a large informal economy making it very difficult for people  in lower income situations dependent on work to survive. The aid of 600 reals a month ($110 a month) for the coronavirus relief is making him popular with aid recipients and the poor. 

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Villages in East Java band together to ensure food, security and public health.

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Independence Day celebrations on August 15 will be scaled down because of the coronavirus cases reaching about 2.5 million, third largest after U.S. and Brazil. Because of its large and diverse population early effective action has helped control the pandemic with a high recovery rate of between 70-90%, the prospect of an early vaccine from ICMR and proactive steps at a state and federal government level.