FazzNoth

Starting February 1st, Thailand opens its borders tomorrow to all countries. Terms and conditions apply. Meanwhile, Pattaya Walking street plans to open in time for a US military exercise, and a Thai tourist exposes Phuket’s notorious taxi fares. You’re watching Thailand News Today, bringing you the top headlines in Thailand and beyond. And in our first story, Thailand’s Test & Go entry scheme returns tomorrow after a short hiatus. This time, it is open to travelers from every country in the world. However, travelers will now have to take not 1, not 2, but 3 PCR tests in order to participate in the scheme. The first test needs to be taken 72 hours pre-departure from the home country, while the second and third are done on arrival and again on day 5. As always, those who need a visa will need to apply in advance at their nearest Thai embassy or consulate. All travellers must register for a Thailand Pass, which requires proof of paid bookings at an AQ or SHA Extra+ hotel for days 1 and 5, including pre-paid PCR tests on both days. Applicants must also upload proof of being fully vaccinated with an acceptable vaccine at least 14 days before entry. Accepted vaccines include AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac, Sinopharm, Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik,and Covaxin). Health insurance cover of at least US$50,000 is also required. People who have recovered from Covid-19 can enter provided they have a certificate of recovery and proof of 1 dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. In addition to Test & Go, the Sandbox scheme will be expanded to the following destinations starting from tomorrow Please include text: Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Surat Thani (includes Koh Samui, Koh Phang Ngan, Koh Tao), Chon Buri (includes Bang Lamung, Pattaya, Si Racha, Si Chang, Na Jomtien, Bang Saray) Trat (includes Koh Chang). A Thailand Pass is also required for the Sandbox, with the same criteria as Test & Go. However, the Sandbox has an additional sti[CENSORED]tion that requires visitors to spend their first 7 nights in the same sandbox zone, before traveling elsewhere in the kingdom. They too will be subject to PCR testing on arrival and again on days 5 or 6. The Test & Go and the Sandbox are currently not open to unvaccinated travelers or those vaccinated with unrecognized vaccines. These visitors will be required to spend 7 days in an alternative quarantine facility. Pattaya City officials met with more than 30 local business owners on Saturday to discuss how to reopen the famous Pattaya “Walking Street” ahead of a planned US troops visit weeks ahead. Around 2,000 soldiers are expected to visit this month for the Cobra Gold military exercise and it seems like Walking Street is where they plan on staging their own unofficial invasion. The discussion between Bang Lamung district, the Pattaya Walking Street Business Association and Pattaya City Police comes just as Chon Buri prepares to welcome an anticipated influx of visitors under the Test & Go and Sandbox schemes. The military drills are scheduled from February 20 to March 5 for field training and humanitarian exercises. However, it is unknown whether they will be given leave or liberty during their stay. The Bang Lamung district chairman urged businesses to conduct daily ATK tests on every employee and customer and establish social distancing zones. However, the Pattaya City Police Chief Police also asked entertainment venues such as bars, pubs, nightclubs, and karaoke lounges to remain closed in accordance with national standards. However, he emphasized that they may apply to temporarily opening as “restaurants.” All attendees at the meeting agreed to ease restrictions in the future, including the legal reopening of nightlife, prolonging closing hours, permitting “extras” like pool and karaoke, and reducing the existing severe daily ATK testing regulations if the Covid-19 situation is improved in the area. Following the leaking of thousands of liters of crude oil into the waters around the eastern province of Rayong, the clean-up of แม่รำพึง beach has been completed. The Natural Resources and Environment Minister has confirmed that all the oil washed ontoแม่รำพึง has been removed. He has now placed all teams on standby in the event of the oil washing ashore at อ่าวพร้าว. The beach is around 500 metres wide and the minister says the oil must be stopped from reaching the area. The Royal Thai Navy has spotted an oil slick about 5 kilometres from Koh Samet but officials are hopeful it will not pose a threat to the beach. Meanwhile, the Geo-informatics and Space Technology Development Agency will have satellite images of the oil slicks in the seas off Rayong transmitted to its ground station to ensure all spills are taken care of. Activists demanding justice for evicted Karenni forest-dwellers have rallied in Bangkok, calling on the government to support the ethnic communities ousted from แก่งกระจาน National Park. A procession of vehicles through the capital was led by P-move and the Save บางกลอย group. Protesters say the people have been living in the Kaeng Krachan forest well before it was officially designated a national park in 1981. In 2010, 57 Karenni families were moved out of the park, when the Thai government applied for UNESCO heritage status. https://thethaiger.com/news/national/thailand-news-today-thailand-to-open-borders-to-all-countries-terms-and-conditions-apply

This price is good for today only at Best Buy, so don't miss out. With so much of our lives online these days, it's really easy to fill up local storage space with your favorite songs, media, videos, photos and files. No one wants to have to go through and delete old memories to back up new ones, right? Well, you don't have to if you buy more storage, and today it's pretty cheap to do that. Best Buy has the 2TB WD Easystore external hard drive on sale for just $55, a savings of 50% from its regular price. This is a USB 3.0 external drive that can be used with both Windows and Mac. Using the free WD software you can schedule automatic backups of certain content to ensure you never lose anything that's of value to you. The hard drive itself is quite small and super portable, so you can use it with your laptop or desktop, depending on your needs. If you need more space, Best Buy also has a 5TB option on sale for $100 today. https://www.cnet.com/news/best-external-hard-drive-ssd/

Gerd Goetz leaves the company's Executive Board at his own request Carsten Schölzki becomes sole Executive Board member with strong management team As tick Trading Software AG (ISIN: DE000A0LA304, Symbol: TBX) already announced on 21 June 2021, the contract of Executive Board member Gerd Goetz expired on 31 January 2022 and was not extended at his own request. "After more than ten years as a member of the supervisory board and five years as a member of the executive board, I will accompany tick-TS AG in my new role as a management consultant in the future. I look forward to an equally constructive, successful and cordial collaboration as before," Gerd Goetz explains on his departure. Matthias Hocke, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of tick-TS AG: "Gerd Goetz has supported tick-TS since its foundation as a source of advice and impetus. He has accompanied and in part made possible many of the innovations that make up tick-TS's products. Thanks to him, tick-TS AG is excellently positioned today to help shape European securities trading. On behalf of the entire Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Gerd Goetz for his work and the consistent further development of tick-TS AG and wish him all the best in his professional and private life and look forward to working with him in the future." Carsten Schölzki: "A big thank you to Gerd Goetz for the many years of excellent cooperation until the handover. It is a good feeling to be able to continue to rely on him as an inspiring sparring partner. The whole team and I personally wish him all the best and much success for his future." When the company became a public limited company in 2006, Gerd Goetz became a member of the supervisory board of tick-TS AG and thus an essential support for the company's management. After the death of Oliver Wagner, the founder and former CEO of tick-TS AG, Gerd Goetz took over responsibility for the operational business together with Matthias Hocke in 2017 and helped to successfully lead tick-TS out of this difficult period. In future, tick-TS will be led by the sole director Carsten Schölzki and a strengthened senior management team. In addition to the employees who have already been active for many years, two further high-calibre executives, Wolfgang Erdmann (Product Management) and Sören Ploschke (Finance), have been recruited. While Wolfgang Erdmann, as an industry expert, can draw on more than 25 years of experience in the IT and product environment of HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG, Sören Ploschke brings diverse know-how and expertise in the area of corporate finance and investor relations through his many years of work at Ernst & Young and FinLab AG. About tick Trading Software AG When tick Trading Software AG was founded in 2002, Oliver Wagner , Matthias Hocke, Ingo Hillen and sino AG set themselves the goal of developing one of the most professional and advanced trading platforms. With the TradeBase MX platform, tick-TS AG now successfully makes this available to its customers worldwide. For several years now, in addition to the TBMX platform, direct connections to national and international marketplaces and brokers, the company's own hosting and housing infrastructure as well as an e-Trading Compliance Monitor (ECM) for compliance with ESMA regulations have completed the company's portfolio. https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/dgap-news-tick-trading-software-ag-change-in-the-executive-board-of-tick-ts-ag-executed-1031144873

The secret of Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stock success is simple. As it prepares to announce another grand quarter on Feb. 1, with net income of $26.69 per share and revenue of $59.3 billion expected, I’m here to tell you that secret. It’s a hardware company. GOOGL stock rose to prominence on Google search software, but its continuing success is based on owning hardware. I’m not just talking about Android phones or Chromebook PCs, which like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) set standards for other OEMs. The secret sauce of Alphabet is Google’s cloud data centers. They are now in 29 locations around the world, with 9 more on the way. 7 Triple-A Rated Stocks to Buy Now It’s in filling these centers with content it doesn’t pay for and cloud data that pays to be there, that Alphabet makes its money. It sells ads against other peoples’ stuff. Its ambition is to have companies pay to keep their stuff with it. A Closer Look at GOOGL Stock Between them, Alphabet’s Google and YouTube video unit drew over $53 billion in revenue, just in the third quarter. Google search ads drew $38 billion of this total. Search, YouTube, and its ad network are all growing at 40% per year and more. The traditional model for ads was that you paid to create content people looked at. Ads acted as billboards on the side of that road. Alphabet’s Google search isn’t creating any content, only metadata. This is data about data, like where it is and what or who it’s connected to. Alphabet is selling ads against that. This has systematically killed the business model for most content. Newspapers and magazines are dead. TV is dying. Why should an advertiser pay production costs when they can get the same benefit sitting next to a search query, or some kids’ cat video? Especially since the metadata knows who’s making that search query, or looking at that cat? There are many free social and network services. What’s unique about Alphabet (along with rival Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB)) is that it owns the hardware on which these services run. The $6.8 billion in capital it spent expanding its network in the third quarter took just a small piece of its $23.7 billion in operating cash flow. This is what makes Alphabet and Facebook “Cloud Czars.” It’s the ownership of hardware, paid for with cash flow, that makes them different from social media stocks like Twitter (NASDAQ:TWTR), ByteDance, Snapchat (NASDAQ:SNAP) or Reddit. Subsidized Cloud Profits from advertising also subsidize Alphabet’s Google Cloud. As Alphabet’s third-quarter report makes clear, Google Cloud is still losing money, $640 million in the most recent quarter. The excuse is that it’s growing, by 44% per year, slightly faster than the ad business. Rivals Microsoft and Amazon.Com (NASDAQ:AMZN), by contrast, make money on their clouds. AWS’ profit of $4.83 billion nearly equaled Google Cloud’s total take. If you’re buying GOOGL stock today, and after talking it down for a year I’m tempted, it’s because you expect Google to eventually make a profit renting cloud space, and to keep growing in the advertising space. The Bottom Line on GOOGL Stock The risk in GOOGL stock is the same as the risk in Ford Motor (NYSE:F). It must buy chips in vast quantities to keep growing. New chip factories from Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) can’t come on-stream fast enough. The cheaper its chips, the less capital it spends, the fatter its profits. Assuming it can keep buying hardware to monetize, Google practically runs itself. Only in the money-losing cloud operation does it need sales help. Everywhere else it’s taking orders, mostly online. When CEO Sundar Pichai dances, certainly boys, what else? The piper pays him. But unlike Professor Harold Hill, he knows the territory. On the date of publication, Dana Blankenhorn held long positions in GOOGL, MSFT, AMZN, TSM and INTC. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines. Dana Blankenhorn has been a financial and technology journalist since 1978. He is the author of Technology’s Big Bang: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow with Moore’s Law, available at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him at danablankenhorn@gmail.com, tweet him at @danablankenhorn, or subscribe to his Substack. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/googl-stock-will-ride-high-on-alphabet-s-hardware-transition/ar-AATkcwJ?ocid=BingNewsSearch

On Friday morning, U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper walked into Nashville's Westwood Baptist Church Youth Center, greeting volunteers at an annual United Way tax preparation clinic he has supported for nearly two decades. After 18 years supporting the event as Nashville's congressman, Friday's event was his last. An aggressive redistricting effort from Tennessee Republicans led Cooper to announce he will not seek reelection this year. It's an end of an era for the longtime politician, but also for Nashville itself amid a shifting political landscape that the congressman fears the city will face without local representation. . "All of this is not about me. This is a crisis for Nashville," Cooper said in a Friday interview. "Gerrymandering is an extinction event for the political life of Nashville." MORE: US Rep. Jim Cooper will not seek reelection after GOP redraws Nashville congressional district His retirement drops a clear signal of how he views the party's chances of holding the newly drawn 5th Congressional District and the chances a court could strike down the Republican-drawn map. Each of the three new districts, for the time being, are predicted to favor Republicans, which some worry will further exacerbate Democratic challenges with recruiting candidates and building a bench for higher office in Tennessee. Aspiring Democrats have long viewed the 5th district seat as one of the few jumping-off points for Democrats in Nashville. But it won't be the only thing Nashville is losing with Cooper's departure after over three decades in office. The city will lose a moderate representative and decades of congressional institutional knowledge, said John Geer, a Vanderbilt political science professor. "It's a loss in a lot of ways because of Cooper's deep experience and his appreciation of Nashville," Greer said. "He represented Nashville in lots of ways and cares deeply about the city, but often did that as someone who could work across the aisle." https://eu.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2022/01/30/jim-cooper-retirement-signals-shift-nashvilles-political-landscape/9233099002/

A High Wycombe man who went missing walking his dog earlier today has been found. Jamie Wooffendin has now been found along with his large black Labrador dog after last being seen at 11.15am. Thames Valley Police (TVP) has thanked everyone who shared their appeal in their search for the 29-year-old. READ MORE: Rolls Royce driver caught speeding at over 100mph on M40 by police A TVP social media post said: "Great news this Sunday evening. "We have found missing man Jamie Wooffendin and his dog. https://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/19885859.high-wycombe-man-found-along-dog/

Our phones – filled with emails to check, social media to scroll, and apps to open – are designed to keep us glued to them. It's easy to get sucked in and find it difficult to put the phone down. The app and web developers specifically designed it that way. Want to be shocked? Listen to my podcast that details how apps and sites mani[CENSORED]te you. You’ll be aware of the techniques and able to spot them. In fact, watch my show that aired on Bloomberg TV as it's the first news story. You'll learn about it in a few minutes. Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning. Sure, you can rely on willpower. Instead, I know it seems counterintuitive, but you can use your phone’s built-in features to limit the time you spend on it. First, check your screen time Your smartphone keeps track of how much time you spend staring at your screen, as well as which apps take up the most time. Here’s how to find your screen time report: On an Android: • Open your Settings menu. • Select Digital Wellbeing & parental controls. On an iPhone: • Open Settings and select Screen Time. • Go to See All Activity. You’ll see a graph of your activity, from the daily average time spent on your phone to your most po[CENSORED]r apps. You can even see how many times you unlocked your phone. SECURITY: Biggest mistakes you’re making with apps on your phone (komando.com) Setting limits on an iPhone Need time away from your phone? You don’t need to lock it in a safe. Your iPhone has settings to reduce how much you use it while keeping it around in case you really need it: • Go to Settings > Screen Time, then tap Turn On Screen Time. • Select Continue on the next page and tap This is my iPhone. (Note: There is an option to select This is My Child’s iPhone if you want to set it up on theirs.) • Tap Downtime, then slide the toggle next to Scheduled to the right to enable it. This turns on downtime for the time you select. A downtime reminder will appear five minutes before it begins. • Select Every Day or Customize Days, then set the start and end times. Only calls, messages, and apps you choose to allow are available during downtime. Now, you probably need to access some apps throughout the day for work or other important matters. You can set limits for app categories or individual apps in iOS: • Go to Settings > Screen Time and turn on Screen Time. • Tap App Limits > Add Limit. • Select as many app categories as you want or get them all at once by selecting All Apps & Categories. • To select individual apps, tap a category to see all the apps in the category, then select the apps you want to limit. • Tap Next and set the time limit. You can set time for each day by tapping Customize Days. • Tap Add when you’re finished. STOP THE BUZZING: Stop annoying notifications for good Limit app usage in Android Android’s Digital Wellbeing app lets you set app timers and schedule display changes. You can limit how much time you spend in individual apps: • Open your phone’s Settings app. • Tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls, then tap the chart. • Next to the app you want to limit, tap Set timer. • Choose how much time you can spend on that app. Then, tap Set. You can limit notifications for individual apps as well: • Open Settings, then tap Notifications > App settings. • Under Most recent, find apps that recently sent you notifications. Tap All apps to see more. • Tap the app you want to silence. • Turn the app’s notifications on or off. You have the start. Now, it’s up to you! https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/if-youre-spending-too-much-time-on-your-phone-these-tips-can-help-limit-screen-time/ar-AATiE9U?ocid=BingNewsSearch

Government warned about Omicron risks before restrictions were lifted NSW health officials warned that COVID-19 vaccines were likely to be less effective against the Omicron variant and the strain was likely to result in increased hospitalisations just days before the state government lifted restrictions. On December 10, the NSW Health Clinical Intelligence Unit released a briefing note warning about the additional risks posed by Omicron, which was first reported in South Africa in November. The note warned that "protection [from vaccines] may be less effective" against Omicron and that early reports from South Africa showed "increasing rates of hospitalisation". Five days after the briefing note was sent, the NSW government scrapped the mandatory wearing of face masks in public places as well as QR check-ins, density limits and proof of vaccination checks. Opposition Leader Chris Minns said the decision had "real-world consequences" for the health system and frontline workers. "Our hospitals and health workers came under significant pressure, our testing facilities were overwhelmed and businesses and workers have suffered from a shadow lockdown," he said. The Premier's office has been contacted for comment. COVID fears for students on Sydney buses The NSW Transport Workers Union says it is fearful bus drivers who are close contacts of a COVID-19 case can return to work. Changes were made last week allowing bus drivers who were not symptomatic to drive buses. State secretary Richard Olsen said with all schools resuming this week, it was a risk for both bus drivers and children. "There's going to be hundreds, if not thousands, of school kids on our buses all through New South Wales," he said. "And they are now at risk because they won't know, their parents [won't] know, exactly what the status is with the bus driver." The state government last week announced nearly 3,500 dedicated bus services for returning school students and a COVID-safe transport plan. Minister to announce after school care vouchers Families using before and after-school care are set to benefit from a $500 dollar voucher to help with the cost for each child. NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell is set to make the announcement later today. She said the voucher would be available to all families, including essential workers who had been doing it tough through the pandemic. "They'll be able to redeem it through Service NSW, very similar to the Active Kids and Creative Kids vouchers, and it's all about helping those families with those costs associated with before and after-school care." Calls for school-based vaccinations As New South Wales school classes resume this week, a leading epidemiologist in child health is calling for primary schools to be used as vaccination sites. More than 83 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with less than 38 per cent of children aged five to 11 receiving a first dose. Alexandra Martiniuk, from the University of Sydney, said there was a slow start to the vaccine rollout for younger children, and having school-based vaccinations would help drive the numbers up. "It also normalises the vaccinations, kids see their other friends getting it, so it can be a really efficient approach," she said. That's where the kids are, so it's easy to find them. "It would be great to see that in particular for second doses, which you know will come around in a few weeks. To see that as an option for families would be very helpful." Redfern deaths under investigation Police are investigating the deaths of two men whose bodies were found inside an inner-city boarding house at the weekend. The bodies of the men, who police said knew each other, were discovered in a unit on Cleveland Street in Redfern late on Saturday night. They are yet to be formally identified but it is believed the men were aged 32 and 52. Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith yesterday said one of the men had been calling triple-0 on a mobile phone when he died. "It's early days," he said. "Crime scene [officers] will spend the rest of the day with investigators to work out what happened in the flat." https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/sydney-news-nsw-government-went-ahead-with-lifting-restrictions-despite-warning-vaccines-would-be-less-effective-against-omicron/ar-AATiQ9z?ocid=BingNewsSearch&pfr=1

Video title: Down and Out! Fails of the Week | FailArmy Content creator ( Youtuber ) : FailArmy Official YT video:

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Music Title: Central Cee - Cold Shoulder [Music Video] Signer: Central Cee Release Date: 27/01/2022 Official Youtube Link: Informations About The Signer: Central cee never disappoints in his songs Your Opinion About The Track (Music Video): Insane love it keep the fire coming

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Treat your special someone to quality and class, and give them durable, handmade leather craftsmanship this Valentine's, with one of Cuero's elegant satchels or duffels. Bring the old-world charm and sophistication of the Victorian leather aesthetic into your modern life with this amazing sale on Amazon. Cuero is offering steep discounts on their entire leather collection, making it the perfect time to pick up an elegant gift for someone you love or to treat yourself to something that will always be in style. Right now Cuero's leather messenger bags, duffle bags, backpacks, journals and more are up to 27% off, and with Valentine's Day right around the corner, you're sure to find something that pleases. Shop the entire selection below. Care for your essentials anywhere you roam with a durable, well-made bag. Many of the available styles feature a lot of pockets, including a place to store and transport your laptop and charger. And if decor is more your speed, you can snag a butterfly chair made of the same handsome leather for your home or a stunning leatherbound journal to add a little sophistication to any surface. No matter which item you invest in, the fine quality craftsmanship will make your leather creation a conversation piece.

Apple's latest iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max flaunt 120Hz ProMotion displays, but only a handful of apps support 120 frames per second. Mostly system apps at that. Well, with the upcoming iOS 15.4 software, Apple is finally adding support for all apps to make use of the buttery-smooth experience. It's worth noting that the iOS 15.4 is currently in beta. For now, iOS 15.4 is still in beta and the information comes from a developer saying that he got the news from "someone at Apple". He posted a screenshot as proof. It looks like Apple was able to squash the Core Animation bug that wouldn't allow animations to go beyond 60 fps. However, we can't confirm whether all apps will run at 120 fps automatically or some developers would need to tinker with the code of their apps as well. https://www.gsmarena.com/ios_154_beta_adds_support_for_120hz_refresh_rate_in_all_apps-news-52935.php

Apple tipster reveals the firm's plans to eliminate hardware for small businesses The feature would allow two iPhones to come together to perform a transaction The feature may even roll out through a software update in the coming months Apple could let iPhones accept contactless payments directly without the need for any extra hardware 'in the coming months', a new report claims. It would mean customers could tap their iPhone or debit card on the back of a retailer's iPhone to pay at coffee shops, hairdressers, food trucks and more. Currently, small businesses require external terminals for the customer to tap their phone or card against, such as Block Inc's small white 'Square' device. Apple's new system will likely use iPhone's near field communications (NFC) chip that is currently used for Apple Pay, the report said. The feature may even roll out through a software update in the coming months, potentially accessible through Apple Pay. Apple is working on a feature that would allow two iPhones to come together to make a transaction indepndently of any other hardware, a report says (stock image) The news comes from Apple tipster Mark Gurman writing for Bloomberg on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Other recent Gurman predictions include a rugged version of the Apple Watch, an iPad with a screen the size of a car wheel, and a 'complete redesign' for the iPhone 14. 'The system will likely use the iPhone's near field communications, or NFC, chip that is currently used for Apple Pay,' he says. 'Devices currently require external terminals such as Square's.' Apple declined to comment on the new report when contacted by Reuters. Apple has been working on the new feature since around 2020, the report said, when it paid about $100 million for Mobeewave, a Canadian startup that developed technology for smartphones to accept payments with the tap of a credit card. In order to accept payments on an iPhone today, merchants need to use payment terminals that plug in or communicate with the phone via Bluetooth. But the new feature would eliminate the need for these payment terminals completely, allowing two iPhones to come together to perform a transaction. Currently, small businesses require external terminals for the customer to tap their phone or card against, such as Block Inc's small white 'Square' device (pictured) However, it is still not entirely clear if the payment acceptance option will be branded as part of Apple Pay and accessible within the Apple Pay app. An alternate option would be Apple partnering with an existing payment network so the feature would be accessible on multiple apps. As Gurman explains, the decision could affect market leader Block Inc – a company co-founded by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey – and its Square Reader. 'If Apple lets any app use the new technology, then Square can continue accepting payments via Apple devices without needing to worry about providing its own hardware,' Gurman said. 'If Apple requires merchants to use Apple Pay or its own payment processing system, that could compete directly with Square.' Apple Pay initially launched in the US in October 2014 before launching in July the following year. The wallet can be used to make a contactless payment in a shop, on public transport, in an app or through an online store.

Nick: FazzNoth Real name: Sébastien Figuereo How old are you?: 20 Which Games you play? and for how long?(each of them): Counter-Strike 1.6 for 3 hours since 6 years and Mobile Legends for 2 hours since 4 years Where are you from?(country and city): Belgium, Brussels Describe yourself(at least 50 words): I am a generous,positive and honest person who completes his work to the fullest when I start doing it with determination, I like to learn new things in life, I like to help people if possible, I spend a lot of time on the internet to talk to my friends and sometimes play CS 1.6 and Mobile Legends Note some of your qualities: I give the best of myself in projects and respectful person Tell us some of your defects: I am too honest and when there is a fight I always stay neutral bcs I don't like problems Had you before any kind of responsabilities(describe it): I have a good relationship with CSBD members and respect them, now I'm co-leader in Journalist project and a GoG member On which category/categories have you been active lately?(describe your activity): Journalist and Guadian of Gamings Which category/project you want to care off?: Journalist bcs it was the first one I wanted to join and aslo GoG although I have been a member of this project for less than a week How well you speak english?(and other languages): [70% English] [100% Spanish] [100% French] Do you use TS3? Do you have an active microphone?: Yes but I don't have microphone sorry For how long can you be active after you get accepted?(days, weeks, months, years): At least 1 year depends on my real life situation Contact methods: Forum, TS3, Instagram Last request: First time

Prime Minister Boris Johnson today denied approving a controversial airlift of animals from the collapse of Afghanistan as 'total rhubarb', as he faced renewed questions over his role and that of his wife Carrie. The Prime Minister spoke out as he faced attacks over assistance offered to former soldier Paul Farthing and his Nowzad organisation as Kabul was abandoned to the Taliban. Mr Johnson last year denied intervening after Nowzad contacted Mrs Johnson directly for help. But emails released yesterday showed that he did order official help to be directed to it. Lord Goldsmith, a Foreign Office minister and friend of Carrie Johnson, last night insisted that he did not discuss rescue efforts with the PM and appeared to try to apportion blame to senior officials in the Foreign Office who wrote the emails. And today, Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg accused Labour of 'fussing about a few animals' when the matter was raised in Parliament. Mr Johnson's position was further weakened last night after it was revealed one of his top political aides tried to hire an aircraft to help get Nowzad out last August. Trudy Harrison, who was then parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Mr Johnson, contacted a private charter company, with a source at the firm telling the broadcaster it was implicit that she was acting with the PM's backing. Ms Harrison previously wrote to Mr Farthing, who ran the Nowzad shelter, to inform him the evacuation would go ahead. She told Sky News on Wednesday that she had contacted companies, and had told staff she was a PPS to Mr Johnson, but that she was acting as a constituency MP and Mr Johnson was not involved in plans around the evacuation. Lord Goldsmith, a Foreign Office minister and friend of Carrie Johnson, last night insisted that the Prime Minister was not involved in efforts to help Paul Farthing and his Nowzad organisation flee Kabul. Carrie was lobbied personally by members of Nowzad in order to get them and their animals out of Kabul in August The Prime Minister has previously denied intervening to allow Paul 'Pen' Farthing and members of his Nawzad charity flee Kabul at the expense of locals as the extremists closed in last summer. Trudy Harrison, who was then parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to Mr Johnson, contacted a private charter company, with a source at the firm telling Sky it was implicit that she was acting with the PM's backing. Ms Harrison previously wrote to Mr Farthing, who ran the Nowzad shelter, to inform him the evacuation would go ahead. https://nation.lk/online/carrie-s-friend-goldsmith-says-pm-not-involved-in-efforts-to-help-airlift-animal-charity-from-kabul-169951.html

A look at their emergence as a policy instrument in Europe and their implications today. As it threatens Russia with the toughest sanctions yet in the Ukraine standoff, the U.S. is potentially doubling down on a tool it’s used with growing intensity over the past decade or so. How did sanctions — often criticized for hurting ordinary people while failing to budge the target governments, from Cuba to Iraq and Venezuela –- become so central to foreign policy? In “The Economic Weapon: The Rise of Sanctions as a Tool of Modern War,” published this week by Yale University Press, Cornell University historian Nicholas Mulder examines their emergence as a policy instrument in Europe between the two world wars. Bloomberg News spoke to Mulder about that history and its implications today. Following are excerpts from the conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity. Bloomberg: Your book is about the inter-war years. There seems to be a revival of interest in that era. Do people see parallels with today? Mulder: There are important parallels. There was already a quite advanced level of economic and financial globalization — that feels very recognizable to us — but also a problem of managing global political stability. Those arteries of globalization can also become flashpoints for conflict — and weapons, in some ways. You describe how the early “sanctionists” believed the economic weapon could prevent conflicts. How did that idea emerge? People were very aware of the prosperity that globalization enables. That’s really what the people who developed sanctions in the aftermath of war used as their starting point. They modeled sanctions off of the wartime economic blockade. There was a really big memory still present in much of Europe of the deprivation it had caused. It was a hope of the people behind the League of Nations that they could kind of mobilize that memory — and remind people that if you had any ambitions to change the status quo, you would be faced with this blockade weapon, but now in peacetime. That really was what the economic weapon of sanctions was about. How did the experiment go wrong in the 1930s? Initially the hope was a kind of deterrence model, actually quite close to what we’re trying to do with Russia today. In the 1920s, the first few times when the model was tested, it seemed to work. But there were two things that when wrong when they tried to use this into the 1930s. One was that the Great Depression happened, a really important shock that made countries more inclined towards economic nationalism. People in the Depression were very concerned with maintaining what little trade was left. They were quite worried about going too far and destroying their own export revenues — a recognizable problem right now for European countries that are heavily dependent on trade with China and Russia. The other problem was that the countries that started to challenge the Versailles system were much bigger countries in the 30s. Against those quite large economies [Italy, Japan, Germany], it was much more difficult to impose sanctions that would really hurt them. In the minds of the fascists, this became a sliding scale towards what was ultimately going to be a war against them. It radicalized them more, it made them even more determined in their intransigence. And therefore it really in that sense backfired. Economies became more autarkic in those years. Could that happen now, for example with curbs on tech exports to China? The risks are that we’re going to see a world economy dominated by geopolitical blocs, in which technological exchange will be limited. It will make it difficult to deal with collective global problems, whether it’s climate change or international economic coordination, vaccine distribution, that sort of stuff. The other historical lesson about these export controls on technology — they were actually used against the Soviet Union and China during the Cold War — was that ultimately it’s almost impossible to truly prevent this technology from being shared with your opponents. You can delay but not prevent. Do sanctions become less effective as target countries insulate themselves? There are strongly diminishing returns. You can see that most clearly with Russia now. Russia has already been under quite serious sanctions for the last eight years. It caused a recession, they’ve had to re-stabilize the economy, it carries real costs for them — but they’ve now actually done all this sanctions-proofing. As a result, the threat has a much-diminished effect, compared to what it would’ve had if we actually had lifted some Russian sanctions in the meantime. That’s the tricky part, for the people who believe that deterrence is something you can do with sanctions. For that to work, you also need to actually be able to periodically lift them. At that, the West has proven not as good. There’s a sort of ratchet effect. You can ratchet up the pressure but politically, domestically, it’s almost impossible to ever ratchet the pressure down. Iran is a good example. The Iran deal of 2015 was an important political step. What they did there was to trade the prospect of sanctions-lifting for concessions. Then Trump tore up the deal. But the U.S. still hasn’t removed any of those Trump-era sanctions. https://www.moneyweb.co.za/news/economy/sanctions-are-the-economic-weapon-with-a-history-of-backfiring/

pain is arguably the country's favourite holiday destination as thousands flock to the beautifully sunny country to get their fill of good weather. However, there are some rules still in place With the easing of most restrictions in Ireland, many people have decided it may be time to book a much needed holiday abroad. Spain is arguably the country's favourite holiday destination as thousands flock to the beautifully-sunny country to get their fill of good weather. However, there are some rules still in place. Passengers arriving into Spain must have an EU Digital Covid Certificate and must complete the Health Control Form before their departure. Passengers will not be subject to further testing or quarantine requirements on entry to Spain provided they hold an EU DCC as evidence of either : Proof of vaccination Proof of recovery Either a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival in Spain, or a negative antigen test taken within 48 hours prior to arrival in Spain Public Health Requirements in place upon arrival in Spain Restrictions in Spain vary depending on the region. The wearing of face masks is mandatory in outdoor and indoor spaces in all parts of Spain, as well as on public transport. Passengers who complete the Health Control Form for Spain will receive an email from the Spanish authorities advising what to do if they present with Covid-19 symptoms. This advice includes insolating and contacting the local health authorities for the region in Spain where you indicated you would be staying on the Health Control Form. If you test positive for Covid-19 while on holiday in Spain, you must isolate in line with local health requirements. You will be required to complete your isolation period before you can leave Spain. If you are a close contact of someone who tests positive for Covid-19, you must follow the guidelines of the local health authorities. Rule change for Covid certificates All travellers are warned to ensure that their Covid cert is up to date before arriving at the airport. A new EU rule will come into effect from 1 February 2022, with a new 9-month maximum validity period for EU Digital COVID Certificates based on a completed primary vaccination regime. These updated Covid certs will be issued to those who have received an additional dose in groups over the course of one week, starting today (6 January) and will be issued via email. Changes to the updated certificate can also be made using the online self-service portal, and if you have recovered from Covid in the last six months, you can request a certificate of recovery. https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/spain-holidays-full-rules-irish-26029794

Delhi Covid-19 Omicron Active Cases Today Live Updates 29 Jan, Delhi Gangrape, Delhi Corona Cases 3rd Wave News, Delhi Weather Today, Cold Wave Updates, Delhi Curfew Ends, Delhi Lockdown Updates: Delhi on Saturday reported 4,483 fresh Covid-19 cases and 28 deaths while the positivity rate came down to 7.41 per cent. Delhi Live News: The ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremony, which marks the formal end of Republic Day celebrations was held at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi. The ceremony consisted of musical performances by military bands, who each year play Indian and western tunes. ‘Projection mapping’ was also organised using lights on the walls of north and south blocks. Meant to mark the 75th year of Indian Independence, the show included bits on the independence struggle and post independence scenario in the country. This year, in a first, 1000 Made in India drones showcased a spectacular show to mark the end of the ceremony. Meanwhile, Delhi on Saturday reported 4,483 fresh Covid-19 cases and 28 deaths while the positivity rate came down to 7.41 per cent, according to the city health department. The city witnessed a marginal increase in its daily tally as compared to the day before when 4,044 new infections were detected. At the same time, on the first day of markets opening without the odd-even rule, shopkeepers were seen directing customers to follow Covid-19 protocols. Random testing at metro stations and public places has also started with the easing of restrictions in the city. The crowd at markets like Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and residential markets was relatively thin. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/delhi-news-live-covid-cases-weekend-night-curfew-coronavirus-restrictions-traffic-weather-updates-7745191/

DH1, makes me very nostalgic

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