FazzNoth

ECONOMNYNEXT – A recent travel advisory issued by Canada to its nationals travelling to and living in Sri Lanka warning them of a looming economic crisis contains erroneous, outdated information and flawed references, Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry said Wednesday (19). Last Friday (14), the Canadian government warned its citizens visiting and living in Sri Lanka of shortages in food, medicines and fuel triggered by a looming economic crisis and a possible deterioration of the security environment owing to a lack of resources. Canada also warned of possible poor delivery of public services, including healthcare, due to the economic crisis. “The attention of the Foreign Ministry has been drawn to the Canadian travel advisory on Sri Lanka…. that includes erroneous and outdated information and does not reflect the actual situation in Sri Lanka,” Sri Lanka’s external affairs ministry responded in a statement on Wednesday. “There are flawed references to the economic and security situation in [the] country as well as inaccurate information with regard to the safety and security of female travellers and harassment of foreigners.” “As such, the Ministry has taken steps to apprise the Canadian authorities of ground realities”, the ministry said. Sri Lanka has successfully overcome the immediate challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the island nation has received several international accolades in the tourism industry including CNN’s “Where to Travel in 2022”; the Global Wellness Institute; Conde Nast Traveler 2021 Reader’s Choice Awards as well as other endorsements received previously in 2019 by Lonely Planet and the National Geographic Travel, the ministry said in its statement. “The government of Sri Lanka looks forward to more tourists visiting Sri Lanka from Canada and elsewhere with the gradual normalization of travel globally,” it said. High priority is given to ensuring that all essential items continue to be available to the public at all times and there are sufficient stocks of food items. It also said there “is no arbitrary arrest and detention of persons by the police or security forces”. It also said specific attention is being paid to the safety and security of women tourists with measures taken to strengthen the presence of police, including tourism police, island-wide in all regions. “Sri Lanka is an island nation with friendly people with a high level of education, knowledge of English and literacy, and incidents of harassment or violence against tourists or foreigners are extremely rare.” Canada’s travel advisory comes at a time Si Lanka is facing an unprecedented economic crisis due to heavy debt and bad policies in the past. The island nation, which thrived pre-Independence is grappling with food shortages due to insufficient dollars for imports and lower harvest in its farmlands due to the government’s controversial change in its fertilizer policy. Though the government has assured no shortages, already the 80 US dollar billion economy is seeing queues for kerosine, cooking gas, rice, milk powder, sugar, and wheat flour among many others. Sri Lanka has also been facing a looming power crisis because the country’s state-run fuel retailer has said it does not have US dollars to buy diesel to run thermal power plants. Prices of many essential goods have skyrocketed in the last six months with inflation hitting record high and double digit, resulting in a negative rate of returns for risk-free investments. Canada was the first country to issue a travel advisory on Sri Lanka’s economic instability and its possible impacts on its travellers. The President Gotabaya Rajapaksa-led ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peremuna (SLPP) coalition is facing a twin crisis of debt and forex. It has to pay around 6.9 billion US dollars in foreign loans this year while its forex reserves were at just 3.1 billion US dollars by end December. The government shrugged off possible sovereign debt default concerns and requests to seek International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance to restructure debts, claiming that is has already been restructuring the debts. https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-reacts-to-canada-travel-advisory-says-info-erroneous-outdated-89777/

It’s got more legroom, more power, and even more off-road digs. Without a doubt, the Jimny is one of the most exciting models that Suzuki has released in the past few years. The mini 4x4 offers a stylish and macho modern design mixed in with some inspiration from its past iterations. It is also an off-road ready platform straight from the factory, just a smidge short of being a true-blue rock-hopper. Due to the latter, the current-generation Suzuki Jimny has been a po[CENSORED]r model the world over. But then, many have been clamoring for a larger five-door version of the said model; one of the current two-door model’s weaknesses after all is its interior space. And so, there have been rumors floating around that Suzuki is currently developing a longer five-door version. But this larger Jimny version is yet to see the light of day - until now. At the recent Tokyo Auto Salon 2022, a group of students from Japan's Nihon Automotive College (NATS) came up with the Suzuki Jimny “Kimun Kamui.” Its name translates to “Mountain God,” and it is one of the gems showcased at the 2022 Tokyo Auto Salon. As its name implies, it is a Jimny modified to be more off-road capable. One of the most interesting bits that you’ll notice about this build though is it has a five-door configuration. Specifically, it was extended by 400mm, thus offering significantly more legroom for its rear passengers. Beyond that, the Jimny Mountain God also received a six-inch body lift, a set of Black Rhino Riot alloy wheels wrapped in Toyo Open country all-terrain tires, a tent and light bar mounted on the roof, a steel bumper with an integrated winch, as well as a tubular body frame for added protection. The engine of NATS’ Jimny Mountain God also received mods which bumped up its output figures from 101 horsepower to 122 horsepower. This includes a Greddy turbo kit, an FV2 blow-off valve, and revised tuning for its ECU. Overall, NATS’ five-door Suzuki Jimny Mountain God is a cleanly executed five-door conversion. The installation of the rear doors looks seamless, and it indeed looks like it has the capability of living up to its name by climbing a mountain. https://philkotse.com/market-news/5-door-suzuki-jimny-tas-2022-12004

Today a good number of emails end with the sender’s name and contact info, with an additional line for pronouns. They come from work and personal emails alike. I’ve also noticed that younger folks are increasingly introducing themselves by saying, “Hi, My name is __ and my pronouns are they/them.” The use of the singular “they” as a pronoun, what was once unfamiliar – and I thought grammatically incorrect – has become almost commonplace in my daily life. I laugh at myself because, when it comes to language, I had long considered myself a traditionalist, which is to say: No split infinitives. No series without the Oxford comma. That would have included not using a plural pronoun for a single person. At the same time, I’ve tried to respect people by referring to them using "they." When a friend gets married and changes their last name, I’ll start calling them by their new surname. When a colleague announces they’re transgender, I’m ready to do my level best and begin using their new name and pronouns. In each case, we’re talking about identity and respect, which trumps grammar. Opinions in your inbox: Get a digest of our takes on current events every day (Actually in 2019, Merriam-Webster added a new meaning to the four-letter pronoun. “They is taking on a new use … as a pronoun of choice for someone who doesn’t identify as either male or female.” So, let’s strike the grammar objection.) 'My pronouns (tell) you how I exist in this world' I've spoken to several people who use “they” as their personal pronoun, asking them to explain why such a small word matters so much. Dee Tom-Munge, who works at the National LGBTQ Task Force, told me, “When I first meet someone I usually tell them my pronouns are 'they/them' in English or ‘elle’ in Spanish. I don’t do it to force you to speak differently from what you might be used to. I tell you my pronouns because I am telling you how I exist in this world. Simply, I don’t want you to ascribe or assume my gender by … using gender-based pronouns.” Over and over, Tom-Munge has had to explain why they changed both their name and pronouns along with their gender identity: “As if I had to validate that I truly was nonbinary.” No one should have to validate their identity to anyone. Genny Beemyn, director of the Stonewall Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, uses “they” in order to “educate other people that gender is not a binary and not everyone identifies as she or he.” In fact, Beemyn is relying on language to redefine who they are and how we should know them. Language has evolved as has our understanding of gender, which some experts say is more complex than just male or female. “When people forget or mistakenly assume my pronouns, I typically correct them," they explained. But Beemyn finds that they’re regularly “misgendered by customer service people who think they’re being polite by using ‘sir’ or ‘mister.’ ” Instead, they said, “I just curse under my breath and don’t say anything because I do not (want) to be constantly challenging people.” This kind of heavy lifting – or shifting – can be helped by friends and family. Phoenix Lindsey-Hall, who works at an arts nonprofit in Brooklyn, told me, “I have allies that are really crucial and critical to me identifying as they/them and being known that way in the world.” When you think about it, if someone’s referring to you, you may not be in the room, which is why it’s important for others to remind people of an individual’s pronouns. For instance, Lindsey-Hall suggests a friend make a correction like, “Oh, actually they use they/them pronouns.” Tom-Munge told me that if someone is being resistant or intentionally harmful in using the wrong pronouns, it’s much harder to address. First, they consider the safety of the situation because violence against transgender and nonbinary individuals continues to increase at an alarming rate. If not threatened, they might be more confrontational, explaining, “I don’t answer by my birth name or wrong pronouns.” They’ll also refer people to a very useful website called mypronouns.org. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/2022-time-start-calling-people-130045258.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABAx61_HMFS7jZ70SYLrenFUJUnyHY-VKZlEhnqK5D-jLOqcoEaFMBqUPAw1ajoe-jyXO6u_trk8g4ni7nXMZ5HIu87N1aO0Q6GlDXobE3e1DXdVpXevK1t7GscvcfhQ5w8HwPSgS3c6yXvamW9qMP7eO09gECcZ-uODKELNFW_u

The judicial noose is tightening on Donald Trump: launched in 2019, a vast civil investigation by the New York prosecutor against the family group Trump Organization accuses the former U.S. president and two of his children of "fraudulent" practices in tax matters for which the justice wants to hear them. In a documented court document of more than 100 pages and a statement sent late Tuesday night, New York State Attorney Letitia James announced "that she has uncovered significant evidence suggesting that Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization falsely and fraudulently valued a number of assets. She accuses them of "misstating the value of these assets to financial institutions in order to gain an economic advantage. Ms. James, an elected prosecutor and member of the Democratic Party, has been investigating possible large-scale tax evasion within the Trump Organization, the family group of the 45th president of the United States (2017-2021) and his children, for three years. - The Trump subpoenaed - She thus suspects the Trump Organization of having "fraudulently" overestimated the value of certain properties when applying for loans from banks and of having underestimated these same properties with the tax authorities in order to pay less tax. In late December and early January, prosecutors subpoenaed the Republican businessman, his son Donald Jr. and his daughter Ivanka. But the Trump family has not responded to the subpoenas and is using every procedural trick in the book to "quash" the subpoenas and delay the civil investigation. A spokeswoman for Donald Trump, Liz Harrington, replied Wednesday morning on Twitter that "the allegations (of Letitia James) were baseless and would be strongly opposed. One of his lawyers, Alina Habba, disputed in a statement sent to AFP the "hard evidence" advanced by the prosecutor. - "Threat to democracy" - The Trump family has been accusing prosecutor James of "political" motivations for months and has called his investigation a "threat to our democracy." But according to excerpts from the court document filed with the New York Supreme Court, Donald Trump, had "decision-making authority over a wide range of practices at the Trump Organization, including misrepresentations to third parties, including financial institutions and the IRS." As for his daughter Ivanka, "until January 2017, Mrs. Trump was the primary contact for the Trump Organization's largest creditor, Deutsche Bank." According to Ms. James, Ivanka Trump "was responsible for sending Deutsche Bank and the (U.S.) federal government erroneous financial documents." Finally, "since 2017, Donald Trump Jr. had authority over numerous documents containing misleading asset estimates," including a suite in Trump Tower that was reported to be three times its true size and was overstated in value by $200 million. - Chess game - In this game of chess that she delivers to the Trump clan, Mrs. James repeated Tuesday night that the civil justice of New York "would not be slowed down in the pursuit of this investigation" and that "no one (was) above the law. Eric Trump, another son of the Republican billionaire and vice president of the Trump Organization, was heard by Ms. James' office in October 2020. Donald Trump is also the subject of other investigations in the United States. He had been heard on October 18 for a case in which protesters accused his security service of molesting them six years ago. His group is also under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney for suspected financial crimes and insurance fraud. In July, the Trump Organization and its trusted accountant, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded not guilty in a New York court to 15 counts of fraud and tax evasion. The trial is scheduled to begin in mid-2022. At the same time, Donald Trump is fighting to avoid having to disclose years of tax returns to prosecutors, while in Washington, a special congressional committee is seeking access to White House documents about the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. https://www.msn.com/fr-be/actualite/monde/la-justice-de-new-york-accuse-trump-de-pratiques-fiscales-frauduleuses/ar-AASWkfY?ocid=BingNews

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V2, Nice effects and colors

The Sony Vision-S 02 concept (2022) - © Sony Sony will enter the electric car market! At the CES 2022 show in Las Vegas, the company announced the creation of its subsidiary Sony Mobility, and unveiled for the occasion the Vision-S 02, a new electric SUV concept car. Although it looks like a compact SUV, it still has three rows of seats and therefore seven seats. That was two years ago. At the 2020 edition of the CES show in Las Vegas, Sony had presented a concept car of electric sedan called Vision-S. During its conference at CES 2022, the Japanese multinational has done it again, unveiling the Vision-S 02. This new prototype is an electric SUV based on the same technical platform as the previous one, called EV/cloud. The Sony Vision-S 02 is a compact SUV with a curvy design. It is 4.89 meters long, 1.93 meters wide and 1.65 meters high. Its wheelbase is fixed at 3.03 meters. Its front end is distinguished by a flat hood that ends with two LED headlamps connected by a light strip. Two side gills form the bumper. The profile is marked by very sculpted lines, aerodynamic wheels, camera mirrors and a beltline that seems rather high. And since it is fashionable, the rear face adopts a strip of LEDs crossing the tailgate. There are screens everywhere on board the Sony Vision-S 02! The dashboard is divided into three different screens. Located behind the steering wheel, the left screen is used to display the digital instrument cluster. The center and right screens display the infotainment system, while a small touchscreen located at the center console would allow control of practical features, such as air conditioning. There are also screens behind the front seat headrests to keep rear seat passengers entertained. It should even be possible to play PlayStation games via the PS Remote Play system, which allows remote operation of a console. And while the Vision S-02 looks compact from the outside, it actually manages to pack a third row of seats, allowing it to accommodate up to seven passengers. This could be a serious selling point in the electric SUV market. Sony doesn't give much information about the engine that powers this new concept car. All we know is that the Vision S-02 has a motor for each axle, for a total power of 400 kW, or about 544 hp. This engine is combined with an all-wheel drive system. The maximum speed of the SUV is announced as "more than 180 km/h". The autonomy and battery capacity remain unknown at the time of writing. The Vision-S 02 could carry a large battery pack since, according to Sony's information, the SUV would still weigh 2,479 kilos! This new concept car signed by Sony is equipped with numerous LiDAR and Time of Flight (ToF) sensors, which would allow it to recognize its environment in 3D at 360 degrees and reinforce the safety of its occupants. The car is also equipped with Level 2 autonomous driving. According to Sony, it is currently being tested on open roads. It's not clear if the Vision-S 02 will be marketed as is or if Sony will introduce new models to launch its future subsidiary Sony Mobility. One thing is sure: with its future range of electric vehicles prefigured by these two high-tech concept cars, the Japanese company seems determined to compete with electric car manufacturers, especially Tesla and Rivian in the United States. In summary To give a taste of its future range of electric cars, Sony presented an electric SUV concept at the 2022 CES show in Las Vegas. Called Vision-S 02, this model looks relatively close to a production vehicle. Despite its compact look, it has three rows of seats and can therefore accommodate seven passengers. On board, they will be able to discover a plethora of screens, installed behind the headrests and on the dashboard. The Sony Vision-S 02 has two electric motors for a total power of about 544 hp. The subject of autonomy has not been addressed by Sony. However, it is known that this car has a level 2 autonomous driving system currently being tested on open roads. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.autonews.fr/green/actualite/sony-vision-s-02-2022-le-suv-electrique-7-places-qui-prefigure-les-futures-voitures-de-sony-104109%3fview=amp

"There is potential for 2022 to be the best year of your life. It’s all about the choices you make and how you react to the things that happen to you," Dr Nitika Kohli said 2021 was a rollercoaster year, to say the least. The horrifying second wave of Covid-19 and the prolonged work from home altered the lives of many — physically, socially, mentally and emotionally. Thus, a lot of people are looking at 2022 with hope. While you have little control over how the world will be in the New Year, you can make small changes in your lifestyle to be happy and healthy. If you are wondering how to be happy in this New Year, look no further as Dr Nitika Kohli shared a few effective ways. In an Instagram post, Dr Kohli said, “Don’t settle for mediocre. There is potential for 2022 to be the best year of your life. It’s all about the choices you make and how you react to the things that happen to you. If you feel like you’re stuck in a rut, now is the time to start thinking about changes you can make this year to improve your lifestyle.” Further, she highlighted the mistake people make while making New Year’s resolutions. “The mistake people make with resolutions is that they go into it with the mindset that the change will be temporary. If you really want to be happier or have an improved lifestyle, the changes you make need to become habits. Not all of them have to be big adjustments, either. If you turn a small lifestyle change into a habit, you could see a HUGE difference.” https://www.google.com/amp/s/indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/happy-new-year-2022-happiness-health-tips-7701267/lite/

University of Alaska Anchorage study reveals just how alcoholic hamsters really are Researchers at the University of Alaska Anchorage have revealed just how alcoholic hamsters really are, discovering that the little rodents regularly consume the human equivalent of a liter and a half of 95% alcohol per day. The scientific study revealed that, given a choice between water and alcohol, hamsters would choose alcohol, regularly consuming 18 grams per kilogram of body weight each day. The study is consistent with what experts have seen in the wild, where hamsters are known to harvest ryegrass seeds and fruit, allowing them to ferment and become alcoholic. The latest investigation revealed that, although the tiny creatures are the most alcoholic creatures in the animal kingdom, they suffer from being light due to the lack of a gene for alcohol metabolism. The findings by researchers in Alaska follow an earlier investigation in 1960 that found hamsters drank more than their rodent comrades, consuming alcohol "straight from the pet store." In a recent Twitter thread, a British critical care physician, Tom Lawton, discussed a conversation he had with a microbiologist, where he discovered the "hamster's prodigious capacity for alcohol." Speaking of the amounts hamsters can consume, Lawton pointed out how the small rodents "can tolerate relative amounts that would kill a human." Describing the study, an addiction researcher at the University of Florida, Danielle Gulick, said hamsters "drink happily" immediately after being presented with alcohol, while other rodents need to get a taste for it. The research found that, unlike other animals, hamsters not only drink alcohol, but prefer it to other beverages. The Alaska study found that small rodents readily consume Everclear, a 190-degree grain alcohol that is up to 95 percent by volume. One theory as to why hamsters are so interested in alcohol is that they drink for calories rather than to stay hydrated. This was apparently confirmed by Gulick, who found that feeding sucrose water to hamsters could reduce alcohol consumption, while calorie-free water had no effect. https://www.google.com/amp/s/news-24.fr/une-etude-revele-que-le-plus-gros-buveur-du-regne-animal/amp/

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