LyrArc Article Gist
Jupiter and Saturn appearing this close for the first time since the Middle Ages during Christmas. Can be seen at night with a pair of binoculars.

LyrArc Article Gist
Though the German public opposes a "transfer union," bailouts of EU countries, and fear a weakening of the euro, there is also support for the European Union. Most of Germany's political leaders and business elite see the euro as good for Germany. And nearly two thirds of Germans agree that Germany can only prosper inside a strong EU, according to the ARD poll. Yet the same proportion of Germans oppose bailouts of troubled countries such as Greece. This suggests that the way forward will have to be the development of mechanisms that ensure fiscal discipline throughout the EU to back up the euro currrency, and agreement on enforceable sanctions.

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Preet Chandi, does a solo trek across Antartica, skiing 700 miles for 40 days, doing about 17 miles a day. She had a 90 kilogram sled she pulled across sastrugi ridges in the hard snow and ice. Chandi says "I want people to push their boundaries and believe in themselves. No matter where your start line is, everybody starts somewhere." She trained on the icecap in Greenland and in ultramarathons in the Sahara to be able to do this. Preet Chandi is the first Asian woman- only a Swedish woman and another British woman have achieved this. Preet Chandi is a British army physiotherapist from Derby, England.

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Compared to 1971 Bangladesh has come a long, long way, on its 50th anniversary. From 80% of the population struggling with extreme poverty in 1971, Bangladesh now produces enough food for its 167 million population. The economy is only 13% agriculture with most of GDP coming from industrial production and services. Girls education is remarkable. 98% of children have attended primary school and there are more girls in secondary schools than boys. Norwegians and other European observers who visited Bangladesh in 1970's compare the situation with today and are astonished says this report in DW.com. By 2030 the GDP of $409 billion is expected to double, bringing the country close to 1 trillion dollar economy. The garment industry is the second largest after China, with $35 billion a year in exports. It has changed life of women in Bangladesh, employing 4 million people. Remittances from overseas bring in $24.7 billion for 2021. Overall target for exports is $51 billion for 2022. Problems include the rural urban divide with development concentrated in Dhaka and Chittagong, and increased urban poverty. And despite rise in number of children and girls in school the quality of education for a skilled workforce remains poor, says this report in DW.com ...

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 Brazilian media and public opinion viewed the story of Olympic athlete Lochte being held up in Rio with amazement and anger that Brazil's image in the Rio Olympics was being sullied by a fabricated story.  For Brazilians this was unfair and revealed the attitude of many in the U.S. about Brazil.

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U.S. GDP growth for the 1st quarter of 2013 was at an annualized pace of 2.5%.

LyrArc Article Gist
Derivatives were touted as ways to manage risk and to help grow amodern economy. But compensation of 370 derivative traders who are the few who know what they put into these complex contracts, so they are the ones who know how t best unwind them, raises anumber of questions. Are derivatives pushed because its highly lucrative for the few traders who write them? Haven't derivatives proved that they can be highly dangerous instruments on the downside, with unlimited risks that are ultimately borne by the taxpayers? Consider that the $165 million is only part of the $450 million in bonuses to 370 employees in the FInancial Products unit at AIG. Of this $55million has already been paid out. And there is an additional $230 million still to be paid out. One of the things that stands out most is how everyone involved with these financial innovations for a modern economy, and the pushing of different financial products, makes a lot of money with risks that are passed on down the line and end up in the taxpayers lap. It has proven that transparency, prudence and safety are tests for financial innovation just as they are for financial markets in general, and that excessive compensation leads to distorted self-interested presentation of the facts of the matter, and ultimately perversion of stable processes in the financial system....

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Milwaukee Brewers players are nervous if they do not give their best in running between the bases knowing their coach will pull them out. In this way and countless small details the Milwaukee Brewers have beat the Chicago Cubs and are now playing against the LA Dodgers for a spot in the World Series Baseball.

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An amazing first- the Celtic Interconnector is a 550 kilometer cable that connects the electricity grids of Ireland and France with nuclear and wind from the French side going to Ireland.

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Opening up of the Bystre and Sulina canals to get Ukraine wheat from the port of Odessa on the Black Sea to Romanian ports and to the Danube. This is one more step in getting grain out of Ukraine. Ukraine taking over Snake Island on the Romanian coast south of Odessa in July was a positive step for creating a route for ships getting to Romania and the Danube. Yet this route only adds about 500,000 tons of grain taken out. About 8 million tons normally leave in June from Ukraine ports only 25% or 2 million made it out.

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Work being done at France's leading medical research institution the Pasteur Institute in Lille on coronavirus treatment.

LyrArc Article Gist
A Druze community on the Golan Heights split over the conflict with Lebanon and Hezbollah. Elders identify with Syria, young people identify with Israel after studying at Israeli universities. Attacks on a soccer field here led to retaliation by Israel.

LyrArc Article Gist
It is a dismal situation when 4 out of 5 persons in France do not know what work the European parliament does and what bills it has passed in recent years. Even though the $700 billion aid package for pandemic support was done in the EU parliament and the Green energy deal was also done there in Strasbourg, France most Europeans cannot name this or are unaware of it. About 46% or half of French think that European parliament elections on June 6-9 are for the European Commission. Social media and Google, Apple have done a dismal job of educating people- this is the reality today as Lyrarc engages in this role of educating and informing people so that they can affect and shape the decisions that determine the quality of their lives.

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The lack of vaccine supplies is affecting countries such as the Philippines, Bangladesh, Brazil and Mexico as cases rise. Porto Alegre and Manila are being hit particularly hard.

LyrArc Article Gist
Europe's second wave affected mostly younger people with mild or fewer symptoms. Latest data show that this is changing so that infections from young people are spreading to older members of the same family. In Italy the median age of newly affected is rising with more than one third from people over the age of 50 years. In Britain the number of hospitalizations have doubled in September to more than 2000, and in Spain deaths are rising sharply to 547 in the first week of October. With multigenerational families and older people offering care of grandchildren it is particularly difficult to isolate completely in Italy and Spain.

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Massive tax relief of about $650 billion according to the Joint Committee on Taxation- in the U.S. economic package of $2 trillion -will help companies in the oil, aerospace, automobile,  airline and other industries ride out this coronavirus economic slump. They are designed to generate cash quickly for companies in this crisis.