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In Cuba, the sale of imported cars has been the opposite of China. For obvious reasons, the island cannot import American brands. In September 2011, with the application of Decree No. 292 of the Council of Ministers and other resolutions, the purchase or donation of motor vehicles by nationals domiciled on the island, and foreigners with permanent and temporary residence was authorized.Two years later, with Decree Law No. 320 of the Council of Ministers, regulations were established for the transfer of ownership of motor vehicles. The retail sale to nationals was authorized, with prices different from those of the market between individuals. In 2014, for example, a Lada 2106 was sold on Revolico.com for 26,000 CUC; another “well equipped and in perfect condition,” for 32,500 CUC, and so on.But the official price list in the CIMEX Corporation agencies took several steps further. In January 2014 at the Peugeot agency almost all 2013 vehicles that were for sale exceeded 100,000 CUC. The Cubans then had, as now, the feeling of being in the middle of a concave mirror. This new form of “exceptionalism,” assumed with sarcasm by a po[CENSORED]tion that couldn’t even have access to those vehicles in their wildest dreams, was expressed in the growing number of jokes on the street, a historical weapon of legitimate defense against everyday problems and adversities.The measure had, from the beginning, two problems. The first was to bet that the purchase of those imported cars would be made by Cubans with FE (Family Abroad), which was equivalent to assuming that those who live outside the island, especially in Miami, would be willing to send remittances that would pay for a Peugeot more or less what one of those Chinese millionaires pays for a Rolls-Royce or Jennifer López for a Ferrari. In other words, to presume that recent emigration―as is known, the main protagonist of money transfers to the Island―does not live in the efficiencies of Hialeah, the Sagüecera and its surroundings, but together with Bill Gates’ colleagues in Silicon Valley.Detail of colorful group of vintage american cars parked in a street of Old havanaThe second is the monopoly and the subsequent prohibitions, inherited from the times of the Spanish Crown and that therefore leave no room for anything else. In short, Cubans cannot import cars, the only ones that can do it is the authorized local companies for the work of their businesspeople, the chosen ones of the moment.According to the provision, the authorization was for “the import of motor vehicles, bodies and engines only by Cuban legal entities, previously approved by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment.” Only “representations of diplomatic missions, consular offices and international agencies accredited in Cuba” could import them. Obviously, a crystal ball is not required to answer the question of whether a foreign entrepreneur―one of those who don’t abound too much in Cuba―or the firm that he represents, would be willing to disburse an excessive amount of money for a rolling merchandise which simply is not worth it, neither here, nor in China.Six months after the sale of imported cars was approved, in June 2014, the first vice president of the CIMEX Corporation, Iset Vázquez Brizuela, said to Radio Rebelde that in the eleven agencies authorized to do so, 50 cars and 4 motorcycles had been purchased, at a total value of 1,283,000 CUC. Today, when writing this text, there are no more up-to-date data. But from then until now there are no reasons to presume that things have changed, but rather the opposite in the middle of an economy that doesn’t takeoff, an adverse bilateral scenario, and more recently efforts to try to keep the price genie inside the bottle, a road that has already ended empty handed.If this is so, the question is then why is there still a measure of galloping irrationality. The famous letters that were once used to buy cars long ago were left afield―and not in the best way. The State distributes Geely Chinese cars by snippers among its organization and medical or sports personnel. Public transportation is still a capital problem. Two of the questions once asked by the daily Escambray are still valid today: “Without prosperity in sales, how will a fund emerge to encourage public transportation? How many Cubans can pay for a car at current prices?”Meanwhile, the “almendrones” in disrepair, the overwhelmingly old Moskovichs and Ladas will continue to function like that heavy stone rolled by Sisyphus, with their inevitable and costly aftermath of accidents, wounded and deceased.And that, definitely, must end.Ads by RevcontentSponsored ContentDo This Immediately if You Have Diabetes (Watch)Blood Sugar20 Foods You Need to Take Out From The Fridge Now!InspiredotTop 100 Scholarships in Europe for International Students 2020CAREERWith Ads In Place, Google Takes Training Wheels Off AMPAdexchangerPowr Video Player Driving Revenue for PublishersForbesScale Your Content Across All Devices With RevcontentRevcontentFlorida CEO to Help Publishers Grow Revenue; Improve User ExperienceSarasota Herald TribuneSign Up With Revcontent To Boost Your ContentRevcontentPrevious PostBackstreet Boys wants to give concert in CubaNext PostDescemer Bueno: "Urban music is in absolute decline"Alfredo PrietoAlfredo PrietoInvestigador, editor y periodista. Ha trabajado como Jefe de Redacción de Cuadernos de Nuestra América, Caminos, Temas y Cultura y Desarrollo, y ejercido la investigación y la docencia en varias universidades. Autor de La prensa de los Estados Unidos y la agenda interamericana y El otro en el espejo.Related PostsPhoto: Otmaro Rodríguez.CubaCuban government to announce new economic measuresOctober 16, 2019Photo: Yandry Fernández Perdomo.CubaCuba receives its new cardinal in Havana’s CathedralOctober 14, 2019Baby girl Paloma Domínguez Caballero died after receiving the MMR vaccine in Havana.CubaBaby girl dies in Cuba after vaccination; four other children were affectedOctober 13, 2019Vladimir Putin and Miguel Díaz-Canel at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, in November 2018. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP.CubaPutin congratulates Díaz-Canel for his appointment as president of CubaOctober 12, 2019Photo: RHCCubaNew asthma vaccine’s clinical trial to begin soonOctober 12, 2019Photo: Jorge Luis Baños / IPS / Archive.CubaCuba announces fines and prison sentences for offenders in the fight against dengueOctober 11, 2019Miguel Díaz-Canel (left) and Salvador Valdés Mesa (right) were confirmed as President and Vice President of Cuba by the National Assembly, on October 10, 2019. Photo: ACNCubaDíaz-Canel confirmed as president of CubaOctober 11, 2019Photo: KaloianCubaETECSA releases use of 4G in CubaOctober 10, 2019Cuban doctors wait to meet with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel after landing in Havana on Friday, November 23, 2018. Photo: Desmond Boylan / AP.Monsignor Juan de la Caridad García Rodríguez. Photo: es.zenit.org.Leave a ReplyThe conversation here is moderated according to OnCuba News discussion guidelines. Please read the Comment Policy before joining the discussion.Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *CommentName *Email *Notify me of follow-up comments by email.Notify me of new posts by email. . The second is the monopoly and the subsequent prohibitions, inherited from the times of the Spanish Crown and that therefore leave no room for anything else. In short, Cubans cannot import cars, the only ones that can do it is the authorized local companies for the work of their businesspeople, the chosen ones of the moment.According to the provision, the authorization was for “the import of motor vehicles, bodies and engines only by Cuban legal entities, previously approved by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment.” Only “representations of diplomatic missions, consular offices and international agencies accredited in Cuba” could import them. Obviously, a crystal ball is not required to answer the question of whether a foreign entrepreneur―one of those who don’t abound too much in Cuba―or the firm that he represents, would be willing to disburse an excessive amount of money for a rolling merchandise which simply is not worth it, neither here, nor in China.Six months after the sale of imported cars was approved, in June 2014, the first vice president of the CIMEX Corporation, Iset Vázquez Brizuela, said to Radio Rebelde that in the eleven agencies authorized to do so, 50 cars and 4 motorcycles had been purchased, at a total value of 1,283,000 CUC. Today, when writing this text, there are no more up-to-date data. But from then until now there are no reasons to presume that things have changed, but rather the opposite in the middle of an economy that doesn’t takeoff, an adverse bilateral scenario, and more recently efforts to try to keep the price genie inside the bottle, a road that has already ended empty handed.If this is so, the question is then why is there still a measure of galloping irrationality. The famous letters that were once used to buy cars long ago were left afield―and not in the best way. The State distributes Geely Chinese cars by snippers among its organization and medical or sports personnel. Public transportation is still a capital problem. Two of the questions once asked by the daily Escambray are still valid today: “Without prosperity in sales, how will a fund emerge to encourage public transportation? How many Cubans can pay for a car at current prices?”Meanwhile, the “almendrones” in disrepair, the overwhelmingly old Moskovichs and Ladas will continue to function like that heavy stone rolled by Sisyphus, with their inevitable and costly aftermath of accidents, wounded and deceased.And that, definitely, must end.

European Environment Agency found levels of fine particulate matter stalled after decades of reductions Little progress has been made on tackling air quality in Europe, new research shows, despite public outcry in many countries and increasing awareness of the health impacts of pollution.Levels of the dangerous fine particulate matter known as PM2.5, which can lodge deep in the lungs and pass into the bloodstream, appear to have reached a plateau across Europe, after more than a decade of gradual reductions. The results come from the European Environment Agency’s Air Quality in Europe 2019 report, published on Wednesday, which collates data taken from thousands of monitoring stations in 2017.“We do not see any big improvement, or worsening, year on year,” said Alberto Gonzalez Ortiz, air quality expert at the EEA, Europe’s environmental watchdog. “It is PM2.5 that we should worry most about, and it is coming from domestic heating [such as wood-burning stoves], industry and transport.”AdvertisementIn 2016, the latest year for which an accurate count can be made, there were about 412,000 premature deaths in Europe from PM2.5 alone, according to the EEA. From 2014 to 2017, the levels of fine particulate matter remained broadly flat, after long-term reductions in levels of the pollutant stretching back to 2000.Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels have fallen further, but remain a serious problem. Nitrogen dioxide is an irritant gas, emitted from diesel vehicles in particular. In 2017, according to the report, about 10% of monitoring stations in Europe showed levels above safety limits. In the UK, the monitoring station at Marylebone Road continued to record the highest level of nitrogen dioxide pollution in western Europe, despite falls in the overall concentrations of the gas.Guardian Today: the headlines, the analysis, the debate - sent direct to youRead moreJenny Bates, air pollution campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: “People across the UK are paying a heavy price for the government’s continuing failure to clean up the nation’s filthy air, with tens of thousands of premature deaths every year. While half of our European neighbours manage to comply with legal limits for toxic NO2 pollution, 36 out of 43 UK air quality zones continue to suffer unlawful levels. And we’re also failing World Health Organization standards for the most deadly fine particle air pollution [PM2.5] in places across the country.”The government has pledged to bring forward air quality commitments in new legislation announced in the Queen’s speech on Monday. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said more recent data than that included in the EEA report showed “positive progress”, including one fewer road zone showing breaches in safe levels of NO2 in 2018 compared with 2017.“We are working hard to reduce transport emissions and are already investing £3.5bn to clean up our air, while our Clean Air Strategy has been praised by the WHO as an ‘example for the rest of the world to follow’,” the spokesperson said. “Our environment bill will drive further improvements, increasing local powers to address key sources of air pollution and introducing a duty to set a legally-binding target to reduce fine particulate matter.”Campaigners urged ministers to include legally binding targets based on WHO standards, with a duty on public bodies to take action to meet the targets, and a right to clean air enshrined in law.UK plans to accelerate decarbonisation of transport sectorRead moreGreg Archer, UK director at the NGO Transport & Environment, said the bill must be strengthened: “The proposed environment bill will create an undernourished, toothless watchdog. Without ambitious targets and actions to tackle air pollution, people will continue to die unnecessarily.”AdvertisementBates added: “Ministers must also scrap their multi-billion pound road-building programme, and invest in cleaner alternatives such as better public transport, cycling and walking facilities. This will not only allow people to breath more easily, it will also help address the climate emergency.”Levels of ammonia are also on the rise, driven by farming. Ammonia can combine with other pollutants in the air to harm human health, and is also damaging to plants and wildlife. The Guardian revealed earlier this year that 3,000 deaths a year could be avoided in the UK by halving ammonia emissions from farms.Since you’re here…… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading and supporting The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism than ever before. And unlike many news organisations, we have chosen an approach that allows us to keep our journalism accessible to all, regardless of where they live or what they can afford. But we need your ongoing support to keep working as we do.The Guardian will engage with the most critical issues of our time – from the escalating climate catastrophe to widespread inequality to the influence of big tech on our lives. At a time when factual information is a necessity, we believe that each of us, around the world, deserves access to accurate reporting with integrity at its heart.Our editorial independence means we set our own agenda and voice our own opinions. Guardian journalism is free from commercial and political bias and not influenced by billionaire owners or shareholders. This means we can give a voice to those less heard, explore where others turn away, and rigorously challenge those in power.We need your support to keep delivering quality journalism that’s open and independent. 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As the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland has an important job – though it's not a position that makes someone a household name.So how has he become a crucial player in the controversy that could jeopardize the Trump presidency?What's elevated the businessman from Portland, Ore., into the public consciousness is something that wasn't an official part of his post. That role — an assignment that put him on the ground in Ukraine — is the reason he is testifying on Thursday morning as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump's effort to have political rival Joe Biden and his son investigated in Ukraine.In an interview on Ukrainian TV the day after Trump's now-infamous call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Sondland was asked why he's been spending time in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital."President Trump has not only honored me with the job of being the U.S. ambassador to the EU, but he's also given me other special assignments," Sondland said.Article continues after sponsor messageTrump, Ukraine And The Path To The Impeachment Inquiry: A TimelinePoliticsTrump, Ukraine And The Path To The Impeachment Inquiry: A TimelineDetails are emerging about Sondland's special assignments. Testimony this week in the impeachment inquiry revealed that acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney pushed out the diplomats who had been in charge of Ukraine policy and put three other people at the helm."We have what are called the 'three amigos,' and the three amigos are [Energy] Secretary [Rick] Perry ... Ambassador [Kurt] Volker and myself, and we've been tasked with sort of overseeing the Ukraine-U.S. relationship between our contacts at the highest levels of the U.S. government and now the highest levels of the Ukrainian government," Sondland said in the interview on Ukrainian TV.Also in the interview, Sondland said he spoke to Trump just a few minutes before Trump placed the call to Zelenskiy. The call on July 25 is at the heart of the impeachment inquiry.According to a whistleblower complaint and a White House summary, the Ukrainian leader asked President Trump for military support and for an invitation to come to the White House. President Trump responded by asking Zelenskiy to investigate two things: the origins of the Mueller probe and the Ukrainian connections of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.Looming large in the conversation, but never spoken, is the fact that the Trump administration had delayed close to $400 million in military aid for Ukraine. This is where the story turns to Sondland, and why he's testifying.It started with a series of text messages.About six weeks after the Trump-Zelenskiy call, Sondland received a text from Bill Taylor, the senior diplomat in the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.Taylor: "Are we now saying that security assistance and WH meeting are conditioned on investigations?"Sondland: "Call me."Eight days later, on Sept. 9, Taylor repeats his concerns in another text to Sondland.Taylor: "As I said on the phone, I think it's crazy to withhold security assistance for help with a political campaign."Sondland: "Bill, I believe you are incorrect about President Trump's intentions. The President has been crystal clear no quid pro quo's of any kind."He goes on to suggest that they stop texting and talk on the phone.And that's why Sondland will walk into a hearing room on Capitol Hill Thursday. The question at the center of this is whether President Trump used the promise of U.S. military aid, or the threat of its removal, to push the leader of Ukraine to dig up information on a leading political opponent. Was there a quid pro quo — and did Sondland help make it happen?Based on interviews with people who know Sondland, what emerges is a portrait of a man who was fixated on getting an ambassadorship in Europe, would make a deal with whomever could make it happen, and — once in the job — would endear himself to those in power in order to keep it. (Sondland declined NPR's request for an interview.)Trump Administration Blocks Ambassador's Testimony, A Key Witness In Ukraine ScandalPoliticsTrump Administration Blocks Ambassador's Testimony, A Key Witness In Ukraine ScandalA transactional businessmanThe phrase "quid pro quo" has become a kind of shorthand reference the entire Ukraine debacle. But it is a phrase that Sondland uses himself to explain his negotiating philosophy.In a 2016 interview with the Portland Business Journal, for example, he used it to describe how he facilitated phone calls between the former Democratic governor of Oregon and President George W. Bush."We would make these requests, and they were done quietly, they were done with rifle precision and there was always a quid pro quo," Sondland said. "The governor would help the president with something and the president would help the governor with something, and it was very transactional.""Transactional" and "pragmatic" were words that came up often when friends and former colleagues talked about Sondland.As a hotel developer tight in GOP circles working in liberal Portland, Ore., Sondland had to figure out how to work with many people he didn't agree with.David Nierenberg got to know Sondland when they both worked as fundraisers for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in 2012."I collect books and wine bottles, and Gordon, among other things, collects relationships," Nierenberg tells NPR.He and others say that back then, it was pretty clear Sondland wanted to hitch his wagon to a candidate who could make him an ambassador, preferably to a German-speaking country. Sondland's Jewish parents fled Germany during World War II. They ended up in Washington state and opened a dry cleaning business. It's a story Sondland has started telling a lot recently. Nierenberg says Sondland saw an ambassadorship as a way to square the circle of his family's legacy, a kind of symbolic justice."It's not uncommon among the people I know who've come through this experience to want to have relationships to powerful people in government," Nierenberg says. "Because, let's face it, almost anyone who either personally survived or whose parents or grandparents survived the Holocaust did so because of the intervention of someone who helped them."He says that might help explain why Sondland backed Trump. But that support was a process. Sondland supported Trump — and then he didn't, distancing himself after the then-candidate criticized the Gold Star Khan family.Then Trump became the nominee, and Sondland went all in. He still had his eyes on the prize — a European ambassador post — and jobs like that often are doled out to top donors. He gave $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee — but made the donation quietly, through four separate entities.Len Bergstein spent a decade working as a consultant for Sondland. He helped Sondland push back against a big convention center hotel in Portland. He also observed him as he made political alliances around the state.Bergstein says Sondland is not an ideologue, but a political pragmatist who would ally with whomever could help him achieve his dream posting in Europe."Here was a chance, he'd tried to kind of ride the Romney horse into that position. He tried to be involved in the Jeb Bush campaign, and here was his ticket to the ball here, and I think with Trump he saw a chance to do it," Bergstein says.'His story in his way'When asked if he thinks Sondland has a strong moral compass, Bergstein says it's a question he's been mulling."I've been thinking about that. I'm not sure I'm able to kind of answer that. He certainly never asked me to go over any lines," Bergstein says. "He was someone who wasn't looking to bend the rules necessarily, but was trying to bend the narrative, trying to make sure that he, if he could tell his story in his way, he would win."Bergstein remembers that when the convention center hotel project he was working with Sondland to stop finally got resolved, Sondland got some property out of the deal — but it wasn't enough for him. Sondland wanted city leaders to draft a statement saying that he was a "pillar of the community." And they did."When I think back to that process — the closing of a very contentious battle in a Portland — Gordon was first and foremost interested in his own reputation," Bergstein says. "Thursday is going to be, I think, that 'pillar of the community' kind of moment ... where he can define himself and the narrative so that in fact he doesn't get played as a bit-part villain being mani[CENSORED]ted by some others."Nierenberg, the Romney fundraiser, says he was in touch with Sondland by email a couple weeks ago."I said to him, in so many words, 'Please remember that Richard Nixon did not lose the presidency because of the break-in at the DNC. Richard Nixon lost the presidency because of two years of lying about it and trying to cover it up.' And so my advice to Gordon was, if there's anything about which you feel with 20/20 hindsight uncomfortable, then by all means be truthful about it, be apologetic about it and make things right because you've got decades of life ahead of you," he says. "And the response I got was basically, 'Thank you for your email. You've always given me good advice.' "Sondland's lawyers released a statement last Friday saying that the ambassador has at all times "acted with integrity and in the interests of the United States" and that he "has no agenda apart from answering the Committees' questions fully and truthfully."

Until now, all of FordPass' connected car features have been locked behind a subscription, no matter how basic -- while you could get up to five years of 'trial' service, it wasn't fun to lose remote unlocking simply because you didn't want to pay up. Now, however, you won't even have to think about it. Ford has scrapped trial subscriptions and made the most common features available for free. You can unlock your doors, start up the motor or schedule a maintenance visit so long as your vehicle supports FordPass Connect in the first place.This unsurprisingly doesn't include the WiFi hotspot service, since that requires an LTE connection (AT&T in the US). All the same, Ford is eager to rub this in the nose of competitors. GM's OnStar can cost up to $15 per month, and your trial only lasts three months. Toyota charges $8 per month with a similar trial period. While free FordPass service isn't a huge savings in the context of the car, it could add up if you intend to keep a car for several years or more.A move like this is likely easy to justify. What Ford loses in subscription revenue it might gain by spurring more customers to buy higher trim levels with FordPass Connect. There's also the simple matter of matching drivers' evolving expectations. When it's increasingly common to manage your car through a phone app, charging extra for the functionality may seem arbitrary.Source: FordPassIn this article: car, cars, connected car, ford, fordpass, gear, mobile, services, subscription, transportationAll products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Ronnie O’Sullivan believes a “complete refurbishment” is required after renewing his criticism of the English Open venue.The five-time world champion labelled the K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley a “hellhole” last year and claimed he could smell urine in the player interview area.And the 43-year-old felt there had been little improvement in the facilities after coming back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to beat Jamie O’Neill 4-3 in the first round on Monday.“Every day in Crawley is a day lost in my life,” O’Sullivan joked to reporters in quotes reported by BBC Sport.“It’s not changed as far as I’m concerned. You would have to change a lot in this place, a complete refurbishment probably. I’m not surprised, it’s what I expect it to be.“I’ve just gone from a match table, to a squash court to a toilet, where the players’ office is, from the toilet to walk around the outside of the building through the heavy rain to come here and talk to you (the press).“I’ll probably end up with a bit of pneumonia on top of the cold I’ve already got.” Ronnie O’Sullivan has been critical of the English Open venue before (Steven Paston/PA)In response to O’Sullivan’s criticism, World Snooker issued a statement to the PA news agency which read: “After last year’s English Open in Crawley we gathered feedback from the players, fans and officials and the overall feedback was that it is an excellent venue.“Based on this feedback we have made some changes to the layout this time in order to improve the experience for the players, including a new quiet lounge for the players and an improved practice facility.“We are happy to be working with the K2 venue building the English Open into a great event. The atmosphere in the arena on the opening day on Monday was excellent and we look forward to more support from the people of Crawley throughout the week.”

HAIPHONG, Vietnam: Holed up alone in a suburban British house thousands of kilometres from home, cannabis farmer Cuong Nguyen spent months carefully nurturing his plants, one of thousands of Vietnamese migrants working in the UK's multi-billion dollar weed industry.Cuong - who is now 41 - slipped into Britain illegally, hidden under a lorry before going on to grow cannabis in homes, hotels and even a stable.AdvertisementHis dangerous journey from the poor, rough Vietnamese port town of Haiphong to Britain's illegal cannabis farms was driven by big dreams."All I ever wanted was to make money ... whether it was legal or illegal," Cuong, who is now back in Vietnam, tells AFP.It was criminal career steered by the Vietnamese gangsters behind the UK's huge marijuana trade - which researchers value at around 2.6 billion pounds (US$3.2 billion) a year.Read more at Cuong claims he went to the UK willingly, looking for ready cash in a country with some of the highest weed prices anywhere in Europe.But many others - including children - are tricked and trafficked to work for the shadowy Vietnamese drug bosses who have become the unlikely kingpins of the UK weed game.The story of the self-professed hustler and low-level crook offers a unique insight into the routes taken by some Vietnamese migrants.But it also turns a spotlight on the margins in Vietnam, where criminal gangs trade on poverty and lack of opportunities to recruit new foot soldiers.Cuong, a former small-time crook and drug user, was 29 when he set off for the UK. It was 2008 and the cannabis trade promised riches, he says, so he paid US$15,000 to brokers for a fraudulent passport and a spot on a tour group to Europe.POLICE RAIDSHe slipped away from the tour in France and joined a well-worn migrant route to a camp in Calais where Vietnamese people smugglers arranged for him to cross the channel to Britain - under the belly of a lorry."If you fall you're dead," explains Cuong, who made the overnight journey to Dover with three other Vietnamese migrants.Arriving in a new country and speaking no English, his options were limited, so Cuong again turned to the migrant network for help. He ended up in Bristol and worked for a man running several cannabis farms in suburban homes.Read more at Cuong says he had to work on his own, housebound and reliant on weekly food drops by his handlers."I got up early, ate rice and prepared feed for my plants ... put them under lights for two hours and watered them," recalls Cuong, his mundane routine punctuated by fear of arrest.It was a common set-up: Houses rented or bought in inconspicuous suburbs and converted into drug operations.Police have also busted cannabis farms in dog kennels, pubs, an abandoned hospital and a even former nuclear bunker - many run by Vietnamese cashing in on Britain's penchant for puff.Around 12 per cent of all cannabis convicts in the country are Southeast Asian, more than any other non-European nationality, a National Police Chiefs' Council shows.It took six months for cops to show up in Cuong's neighbourhood.Panicked, he bundled up as many plants as he could in bin bags and made a run for it. But it wasn't long before he was back in business, growing weed in a hotel near Bristol.He had earned nearly US$19,000 - a small fortune compared to salaries back home - but accuses his boss of cheating him out of thousands more.FORCED LABOURMost migrants from Vietnam come from poor central provinces. Many shoot for the UK, sending cash home which is spent on new the cars, motorbikes and home renovations.But the journey isn't cheap.Smugglers charge up to US$40,000 for travel documents and a plane ticket, usually to eastern Europe where the overland trip to the UK begins.Some fall prey to traffickers; by the time they make it across the English Channel they are thousands of dollars in debt and forced to work in brothels, nail bars or cannabis farms.Read more at

The situation is not right in the Indian auto sector. The impact of the slowdown in the auto sector is also visible on the two-wheeler manufacturers. American bike company UM Motorcycle, which entered the Indian market in 2016, is now ready to say goodbye to the Indian market. UM Motorcycle had entered the Indian market with the launch of the cruiser look Renamed Sport and Classic Bikes. UM Motorcycle will be the third such company in the auto sector after General Motors and Fiat, which is preparing to say goodbye to India in the last two years. It is worth noting that the company had partnered with Lohia Auto to enter into a joint venture to enter the Indian market, but the company stopped its operations in the country due to mutual conflicts. According to ET's news, many people associated with these companies have admitted that neither party is trying to revive the brand, due to which the company's dealerships across the country are stuck. Most dealers say that none of the partners involved in the joint venture are coming forward to solve their problems. Most dealers have dropped the shutters of their shops or are providing servicing facilities for the bikes sold. If you pay attention to the news, a dealer says that the company started commercial production from May 2016 at the plant located in Kashipur, Uttarakhand, but now production has been stopped there. He says that the company indicates every two months that the company is going to start production soon but this does not appear to be happening. At the same time, a dealer based in Tilak Nagar of Delhi has also taken the dealership of another company after getting upset with the company's policies. Earlier in August, there were reports in several places that the company is planning to launch new products soon and they will be launched around Diwali. Lohia says that UM has suffered a lot in the US, due to which it is in financial crisis. At the same time, the dealers had taken the dealership of the company by spending 90 lakh to one crore rupees, but due to this, they have come into great trouble.

ne morning this fall, at his home high in the Berkeley hills, the literary critic and translator Robert Alter chatted with me about the dilemmas he faced while translating the Hebrew Bible. Alter, who is 83, sat on a sofa with a long-limbed, feline watchfulness. Behind him, a picture window looked out onto a blooming garden; now and then a hummingbird appeared over his left shoulder, punctuating his thoughts with winged flourishes. He occasionally cast a probing eye on his brand-new, complete translation of and commentary on the Hebrew Bible — from Genesis to Chronicles — which, at more than 3,000 pages, in three volumes, occupied most of an end table. Published this month, it represents the culmination of nearly two and a half decades of work.Alter told me about his decision to reject one of the oldest traditions in English translation and remove the word “soul” from the text. That word, which translates the Hebrew word nefesh, has been a favorite in English-language Bibles since the 1611 King James Version. But consider the Book of Jonah 2:6 in which Jonah, caught in the depths of a giant fish’s gut, sings about the terror of near-death by water. According to the King James Version, Jonah says that the Mediterranean waters “compassed me about, even to the soul” — or nefesh. The problem with this “soul,” for Alter, is its Christian connotations of an incorporeal and immortal being, the dualism of the soul apart from the body. Nefesh, to the contrary, suggests the material, mortal parts, the things that make us alive on this earth. The body.“Well,” Alter said, speaking in the unrushed, amused tone of a veteran footnoter. “That Hebrew word, nefesh, can mean many things. It can be ‘breath’ or ‘life-breath.’ It can mean ‘throat’ or ‘neck’ or ‘gullet.’ Sometimes it can suggest ‘blood.’ It can mean ‘person’ or even a ‘dead person,’ ‘corpse.’ Or it can be ‘appetite’ or something more general: ‘life’ or even ‘the essential self.’ But it’s not quite ‘soul.’ ”But, I asked Alter, doesn’t “soul” help dramatize the scene’s intense emotion? I mentioned another instance of the word nefesh, the terrifyingly evocative line from the King James’ translation of Psalm 69: “For the waters are come in unto my soul.” “Oh, yes,” Alter said, with a smile. “That one does have a certain emotional resonance to it. But it’s not what the poet had in mind. And, I would add that the line ‘for the waters have come up to my neck’ ... is also rather dramatic.”Later I looked up the Jonah verse and saw that Alter’s translation was true to the poem’s formal structure. The verse starts with Jonah’s declaring that water had reached his nefesh — his “neck,” as Alter had it — and ends with his exclaiming that his head had been covered with seaweed. Biblical poetry is often made up of line pairings composed of analogous images, and Alter had chosen an anatomical noun, “neck,” that logically matched “head” in the parallel clause. You don’t need to know Hebrew etymology to see that “soul” doesn’t fit the analogy. The poetic structure dictates its own logic.Unlock more free articles.Create an account or log inTracing these kinds of formal structures in the ancient Hebrew text, exploring their significance and arguing for their relevance has been Alter’s lifelong mission as a literary critic. As a translator, he has tracked verse by verse through the Hebrew Bible to make these structures visible in English, in some cases for the first time. Over the course of his career, he has also helped establish the University of California, Berkeley, where he has been a professor since the 1960s, as one of the world’s premier centers of Hebrew literary study. Selections of his Bible translation, which have been published every few years since the 1990s, have sold robustly and received praise from literary critics like James Wood, who wrote that Alter’s 2004 volume, “The Five Books of Moses,” “greatly refreshes, sometimes productively estranges, words that may now be too familiar to those who grew up with the King James Bible.” Now we finally have the complete translation.But what, I asked Alter, motivated him to undertake this massive project? What exactly is the problem with the hundreds of other English translations that already exist? In response, he offered an example, reciting for me the Song of Songs, Chapter 1, Verse 13, as it appears in the po[CENSORED]r translation of the Jewish Publication Society: “My beloved to me is a bag of myrrh/Lodged between my breasts.” When he alighted upon the word “bag,” Alter pointedly turned to me with a look of deep condemnation. His face transmitted, in full, his commentary on this text: Only translators devoid of style, those who lack even a rudimentary grasp of the connotative powers of language, much less those with any sense of sex appeal, would animate erotic verse with diction such as this. And then there was that other word.“Lodged?” Alter said to me, his startling blue eyes widening. “Like a chicken bone?”Alter’s own translation of the verse — “A sachet of myrrh is my lover to me,/All night between my breasts” — is far more seductive, with its meowing alliteration of Ms, his triplicate myrrh-my-me, which echoes the rolling three Rs of the Hebrew, tsrorr hamor.

David Rolfe noted his frustration with Berkshire Hathaway’s massive cash hoard, lackluster investments and what he thinks are missed investment opportunities by the Oracle of Omaha and his team during the current bull market.Berkshire Hathaway shares have lagged the S&P 500 over the current bull run, which started March 2009.“Thumb-sucking has not cut the Heinz mustard during the Great Bull Market,” he says. Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett walks through the exhibit hall as shareholders gather to hear from the billionaire investor at Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 4, 2019.Scott Morgan | ReutersDavid Rolfe, a longtime Berkshire Hathaway shareholder and chief investment officer at Wedgewood Partners, is fed up with Warren Buffett.Rolfe told clients in a letter he sold the firm’s stake in Berkshire after decades of being shareholders, noting his frustration with the conglomerate’s massive cash hoard, lackluster investments and what he thinks are missed investment opportunities by the Oracle of Omaha and his team during the current bull market.Berkshire Hathaway shares have lagged the S&P 500 over the current bull run, which started March 2009. In that time, Berkshire’s Class A stock is up 323% while the broad index has gained 334%.“Thumb-sucking has not cut the Heinz mustard during the Great Bull Market,” Rolfe wrote in the third-quarter letter to clients. “The Great Bull could have been one helluva of an astounding career denouement for Messrs. Buffett and [Vice Chairman Charlie] Munger.”Not that Buffett will miss Rolfe much, the RiverPark/Wedgewood Fund owned 48,000 shares of the Berkshire B class of stock, amounting to about $10 million. And Rolfe’s performance throughout the bull market has not been the best, either. His fund’s annualized returns, net of fees, are 13.6% over the past 10 years through the second quarter, according to a factsheet found in the Wedgewood Partners website. In that time, the S&P 500 has posted an annualized return of 14.7%.Berkshire’s cash pile swelled up to more than $120 billion by the end of the second quarter of 2019, a record for the company. In his annual letter to shareholders, Buffet said he wanted to make an “elephant-sized acquisition” but noted prices were “sky-high.” Rolfe thinks so much cash is a “considerable impediment of growth” for the company.

Triumph are masters of the sporty naked (they’ve sold over 90,000 since the Street Triple’s 2007 inception) and it keeps on getting better with age.The new RS isn’t a quantum leap forward over the old model, but the extra grunt serves to make it more flexible and thrilling on the road, like the current R version we all know and love.Too much ABS intervention on the track is its only flaw, but that aside it’s a phenomenal machine – beautifully built, refined, well equipped and as sharp at the racetrack limit as it is friendly on the road. With the exception of the latest generation 'Version 3' Pirelli Diablo Super Corsa SP rubber, the chassis is left unchanged. That’s no bad thing because you still get Brembo monoblocs and a span/ratio adjustable front brake lever, an Öhlins rear and Showa forks, all bolted to one of the finest, best-balanced chassis set-ups you’ll find anywhere. Front end feel, grip and confidence is up there with the best sportsbikes money can buy and it’s only on track where you can begin to push its limits, but you need to have the kahunas of a racer to get anywhere near them. All five rider modes (Road, Rain Sport, Track and Rider) have been tweaked to suit the motor’s new character and you still get anti-wheelie (boo!) and (non-lean sensitive) traction control. The colour TFT dash is updated with kaleidoscopic, second generation graphics, Bluetooth connectivity, GoPro interaction and turn-by-turn sat nav. For normal riding the RS’s electronic aids wait in the wings, just in case, but selecting 'Track' or the customisable 'Rider' mode lets you wheelie and reduces TC intervention (you can also turn it off).But even on the raciest of its two settings, the ABS is too intrusive on track, preventing very hard braking. Peak power remains at 121bhp, but Triumph has bolstered midrange oomph with a new exhaust cam, a lighter crank, clutch and balancer. It breathes through new intakes and a twin-cat exhaust featuring a header balance pipe and free-flowing carbon-tipped stubby end can.All this adds up to 9% more peak torque, 9% extra power at mid revs and a 7% reduction in inertia. To ride it’s similar to before, but it sounds slightly angrier and still pulls like a mono-wheeling maniac out of slow corners and makes mincemeat of straights. It’s still beautifully fuelled and friendly at low speed with perfect fuelling. Our online owners reviews have nothing but good things to say about the way the Street Triple RS goes and is finished, but some have experienced minor reliability and durability issues.Despite its upgrades Triumph have kept the price the same as the previous RS and are offering some stonking PCP deals, which when you look at its equipment, performance and level of finish, represents superb value for money. You get lots of top-level equipment for your money, including fully adjustable Showa Big Piston Forks and Öhlins shock, Brembo M50 Monobloc calipers, 'V3' Pirelli Super Corsa SPs, a slip and assist clutch, span/ratio-adjustable front brake lever, a multi-function colour TFT dash, traction and wheelie control, up/down quickshifter, five rider modes, self-cancelling indicators, LED lights and a carbon fibre end can tip.

Just before 7:45 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2015, Ben Stuckart gaveled his reputation to life.It was the first City Council meeting of the year and the chambers, usually a calm and relatively unpo[CENSORED]ted venue, were packed. More than 100 people had shown up, most to speak in favor of repealing a city law that said police would not ask people about their immigration status.They were angry and flouted Stuckart’s many requests that they follow the most basic rule of the chamber and remain quiet. Those who did wait their turn to speak railed against council members, saying their actions made Spokane “a horrible, dangerous, crime-ridden city” because “terrorists are coming over our borders, especially the southern one.”Stuckart, presiding over the meeting as council president, was in a different place. He was 43 years old, and it was his eighth day without a father, who had died after a 10-month struggle with cancer. The crowd was also touching on a foundational event in Stuckart’s life. In the mid-1980s, his family’s church, St. Ann’s Catholic Church in the East Central Neighborhood, sheltered a family of Salvadoran refugees in its basement.After a man used his 3 minutes to suggest that council members should lose their elected offices, some in the crowd applauded, goading Stuckart and his foul mood.“Nope. That’s it. Night’s over,” he said, pounding his gavel. He immediately stood up and calmly strode from the chambers, leaving it in confusion and chaos. More than four years later, Stuckart said the moment was one of his biggest regrets at City Hall. “I came back to work too fast. I came back to work too soon after my dad died. I should’ve given myself a couple more weeks. They were saying horrible things, but I was already raw from my dad dying. I was emotionally raw,” Stuckart said. “They said awful, hateful, racist things and I let it get to me because of that. But I shouldn’t have gaveled the meeting.”Like Stuckart’s detractors before her, his opponent, Nadine Woodward, says he is too belligerent and short-fused to lead the city.“Unlike Ben, I am not reactionary, I am not impulsive and I am not vindictive,” Woodward said last week.As Stuckart faces November’s vote, he contends with a well-documented, eight-year record at City Hall. Before he was elected to lead the council, he ran an effort called the Children’s Investment Fund that would have financed after-school mentoring and family support programs. Before then, he wrote letters to The Spokesman-Review detailing his decidedly progressive view of the world.It’s a long record, occasionally punctuated by outrage. His attitude hasn’t changed much either, he said. Just his job and how people view him, a perception he said came from the meeting he gaveled to a close.Making the personal politicalIn 2008, Stuckart was director of ticket operations at TicketsWest and the only public indication of his political future was the infrequent letter to the editor. He criticized the fair-weather patriots after Sept. 11, 2001, who couldn’t be bothered to vote. He voiced support for long-shot Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich and his now mainstream Democratic positions of universal health care and free college.Another letter, from 2005, was about the nation’s economic system that “inevitably” leaves some people behind. If we reap its benefits, Stuckart wrote, “we must also accept the responsibility to care for those that the system leaves unemployed and on the bottom rungs of the ladder.” To ignore and demean the neediest in our society, was “ignorant” and “morally reprehensible.”

The American University in Cairo Publishing House has announced the postponement of the Naguib Mahfouz Award this year, and the inclusion of advanced works to participate in this year's session to the work that will be submitted for nomination in 2020. University in December 2020. speakol Enjoy modern accommodation in Celia with a new concept of integrated life! Enjoy modern accommodation in Celia with a new concept of integrated life! Celia speakol Suzanne Kenawy, marketing officer at the American University, told Al-Ahram Gate that the decision was postponed because of the desire of the university's publishing center to develop the award and make some amendments to its bylaws. The winner of the prize will be chosen next year, and the winner will be chosen to announce it on Adeeb Nobel's birthday, which will be held in conjunction with the AUB Publishing Center's 60th anniversary celebrations. The American University announced last May several changes to the award, including the announcement of a short list of candidates announced in mid-September of each year, as well as raising the value of the award to $ 3,000 instead of $ 1,000, a value that has existed since the launch In 1996 and until last year, in addition to translating the winning work into English.

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At the end of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Nathan Drake is returning home a hero. He's defeated the bad guy, won back the affections of his true love, Elena, and even uncovered the lost kingdom of Shambhala… albeit not long before triggering its collapse into permanent ruin. Nobody's perfect."So, where do we go from here?" asks Elena, one arm tenderly looped through Drake's as the enamoured pair watch the sun dip behind the snow-capped crests of the Himalayas. "I don't know," replies our protagonist, coyly, "I haven't thought that far ahead."Key Info(Image credit: Naughty Dog)Game Uncharted 2Developer Naughty DogPublisher Sony Interactive EntertainmentPlatforms PS3, PS4Release 2009It's the epitomical scene for this PlayStation icon; the charismatic, ever optimistic improv artist who – let's face it – is basically that one friend in every Whatsapp group who never responds to messages unless it's to apologise for forgetting your birthday. More than that, though, Drake's comments are a fitting reflection of developer Naughty Dog's own piecemeal approach to making consistently high calibre games, as explained by Uncharted 2's director, Bruce Straley."Everything we do is on a one-at-a-time basis at Naughty Dog," reveals Straley. "We've never considered any project as part of a franchise production, and that's mainly because we can't think that far ahead. We therefore tried to make Uncharted 2 a sequel that you could pick up cold without having played Drake's Fortune, easily accessing the characters, the world, and the story without knowing anything about Drake's history." Greatness from small beginnings Straley had previously worked on 2007's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune as co-art director, but – after development on that game had seen director Amy Hennig overburdened with sole leadership of the project – a frank conversation with Naughty Dog's co-president Evan Wells saw him promoted to head up production on the sequel alongside Hennig as development partners. In preparation, the pair (along with Neil Druckmann and Josh Scherr, who made up the rest of the project's core writing team), attended one of author Robert McKee's famous storytelling seminars in downtown Los Angeles and – according to Straley – it was here where the seeds of Uncharted 2 were really born."I vividly remember having a clear 'eureka!' moment, and all of us engaging in these really rich discussions during the seminar breaks about the hero's three arc structure, and this idea of the gap between expectation and results. You set up an expectation for the protagonist, and something obstructs the way there and forces them to overcome that obstacle. That's storytelling 101, but we also realised then and there, that's game design too. So to tether those story beats to the gameplay in a more meaningful way was the foundation that got this team of four people to really look at Uncharted 2 as a holistic experience." In light of this newfound epiphany, Naughty Dog looked to the film industry for Uncharted 2's pre-production recruitment drive, in the hopes of furnishing that cinematic flair it was aiming for. Hollywood was just up the road from its sunny Santa Monica HQ, after all, and Robh Ruppel was thus brought on as the game's lead art director, having previously worked in visual development on a number of big screen Disney animations."I had been playing a lot of games with my daughter before I joined the studio," Ruppel tells me, "and coincidentally a bunch of those games had been Naughty Dog titles, so to be part of that team for their next big endeavour was a hugely exciting prospect." As lead art director, Ruppel was responsible for taking Hennig and Straley's new, cineliterate vision, and turning it into a consistent visual language. "All the locations had to have a certain reality to them. That's something that Bruce was really emphatic about. He had this great phrase, 'keep everything core', meaning he didn't want it to be too concept heavy or imaginary, so whatever we did we had to research heavily."To create Shambala, for example, Ruppel's team pored over the annals of Mesopotamian history and architecture to conjure a completely imagined place that nevertheless looked just as much a work of reality as one of fantasy. "Trying to come up with a unique location that's never been seen before, but also feels like it fits within our world and has a believable history... it's hard to design something from scratch that has all those elements," he admits. "We eventually combined the two motifs – the pyramid and the ziggurat – to form the basis of our environmental storytelling, to make sure Shambala felt like it could appear in the pantheon of great monuments of the ancient world." Stein himself remembers working with the likes of Straley, Hennig, and Druckmann as a tough but edifying experience, all of whom who he describes as "extremely motivated, intense, driven, but also a lot of fun.""One great success that I would credit all of them with is creating a strong sense of what we were making, even beyond the usual learnings that you get from working on a sequel,'' Stein tells me. "Everyone in the studio just had a really good sense of the characters, the tone, and the standard of quality we were aiming for. They all worked hard to make sure everyone was instilled with that so we could make well informed micro-decisions along the way, without necessarily having to consult them for every single design choice."That philosophy to keep almost everything in Among Thieves "on the stick", though, is exactly what elevated Uncharted 2 above both its predecessors and contemporaries in the genre. 10 years later, Straley can safely say that the game's achievements were worth the uphill battle in winning everyone over to his vision, not to mention vaulting all the extra design hurdles that came with it."If there's an emotional beat or piece of exposition that player absolutely needs to hear, then it can be in a cutscene but, aside from those, if you can put the experience on the stick, involving the player in the moment, that is truly using our medium in the best possible way. You're making a game that's telling a story rather than making a story that happens to be in a game." Like Ruppel, Uncharted 2 was also Jonathan Stein's first project in 'The Kennel' (the playful term of endearment that Naughty Dog employees use to refer to their spacious studio building), but his previous experience at Monolith Productions and Nintendo set him up well for work as a Game Designer on Nathan Drake's sophomore adventure. In conversation, he looks back on Uncharted 2: Among Thieves with great fondness, nostalgia, and pride."I remember first showing up at the studio and being almost overwhelmed with the excitement amongst the team,'' says Stein. "There were so many passionate and motivated people, all of whom were eager to think about the game holistically and outside of their disciplines, which is something that's hard to foster at a studio. I, for example, was personally thrilled about the prospect of getting to work with the third person perspective, and the camera work that came with it, as I'd done a lot of first person games prior to that, which has its limitations when it comes to cinematography."Stein and the design team were responsible for building spaces and sequences that balanced Uncharted's core mechanics of combat, platforming, and puzzles with ambitious, Hollywood-style set pieces, all while closely following Straley's core design philosophy "to keep the player in control as much as possible.""It's something I really pushed to put into practice on Among Thieves," explains Straley, who admits that he can be a bit of a "bull in a china shop" when it comes to collective decision making in the development pipeline. "If there was something that I didn't like in the design department, then I would go in and express myself quite clearly about that. I could have been nicer, but that's hindsight, I guess!"

The Audi A4 is a modern model that has been designed based on previous models; major changes have been made to the interior and exterior design. According to carscoops, the interior has been updated with the introduction of a new touchscreen for the infotainment system, and the car's engines remain unchanged. The car comes with a torque of 250 Newton per thousand and five hundred meters, and its engine can achieve a speed of rotation of up to 3,000 rpm per minute, while the engine capacity of 150 hp. It has five seats and four doors, and the height of the car is equal to 161 mm, and the car has a fuel tank with a capacity of 54 liters, and the maximum speed the car can achieve is 211 kilometers per hour. The Audi A4 is equipped with 17-inch sport rims.It has lanterns and fog lights. The car features MP3 / DVD player, USB and AUX inputs. The car is equipped with front and rear seat belts and air-conditioned front and rear handrails, with front storage drawers and a 450mm rear trunk. The rear trunk has night light bulbs. The car is fitted with front and rear cup holders for added comfort. The Audi A4 competes with BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Jaguar XE

Japanese school official reveals to echo the country for surprises next year .. Teaching the book multidisciplinary package in English .. Operate 12 new schools .. And acceptance of pupils 2 primary for the first time .. And raise the value of expenses Sada Al-Balad conducted a special interview with Malik Al-Rifai, Director of the Japanese Education Unit at the Ministry of Education, in which he responded to all questions and concerns of public opinion and revealed the surprises of the coming academic year. The Director of the Japanese Education Unit at the Ministry of Education, that the project of Egyptian-Japanese schools proved successful this year with the start of the operation of this type of schools for the first time in Egypt last September. Al-Rifai said that the number of Egyptian-Japanese schools that were already operational during the current academic year 2018/2019 reached 35 schools in 21 governorates nationwide. He added that the number of new Egyptian-Japanese schools that are planned to enter the service from the next academic year 2019/2020 is scheduled to range from 10 to 12 schools, pointing out that these new schools are currently being visited to settle on the schools that are ready with all the operational requirements in the new Year. Al-Rifai noted that it is scheduled to be open for admission to accept a new batch of students in the Egyptian-Japanese schools in the new academic year 2019/2020, the beginning of April 2019, in the classes of KG1, KG2, first grade primary, and second grade primary. He pointed out that there is nothing new in the conditions for submission, as the same conditions and controls that were applied in accepting the 2018/2019 batch will be applied. Al-Rifai stressed that the age requirement for admission to KG1 is 4 to 5 years only one day, the age of admission to KG 2 from 5 years to 6 years except one day, and the age of admission to the first grade of primary from 6 years to 7 Years except one day, the second grade of primary 7 years until 8 years only one day. He explained that it is expected to increase the expenses of Egyptian-Japanese schools next year proportions of natural increase applied in schools. During his interview with Sada Al-Balad, Al-Rifai responded to the complaints that have been circulated recently through the social networking site Facebook about the high school fees and their presence in remote and unpo[CENSORED]ted places without providing a service for transferring students. He said: "We did not mislead anyone. The Ministry stressed the need to apply in case the place of residence is close to the place of the chosen school. " He said: "We currently have a number of parents are reluctant to pay the expenses of Egyptian-Japanese schools, and we will deal with them in accordance with the rules governing dealing in this case," pointing out that in the case of insisting on non-payment will transfer the student to any other school by the ministry. Rifai denied the validity of what was reported in social networking sites regarding the issuance of any courtesy or promises to exempt any child from the expenses, pointing out that Egyptian-Japanese schools only apply the exemptions sti[CENSORED]ted in the decision of the Minister of Education on the sons of martyrs. He added: "There are two services that have clearly declared their unavailability in the Egyptian-Japanese schools, namely the school bus service and the school meal service." He continued: "For buses to transfer students, the company responsible for the management of schools went down each school, and amicably helped parents provide quotations and names of companies that provide this service to help parents after repeated complaints." Regarding the expenses of the Egyptian-Japanese schools, Al-Rifai said that the expenses of the Egyptian-Japanese schools this year included the following items: School expenses 8 thousand pounds, in addition to 2000 pounds activities to cover activities expenses, and 970 pounds for school uniforms, and 200 pounds service of mobile communication application, pointing to It is expected that the normal legal increase imposed on private school expenses will be imposed 7% from next year, or may increase slightly if the Minister of Education sees this, and stressed that the rate of increase has not been accurately determined so far and will be officially announced once Approved by the Minister. He said that Dr. Tarek Shawky, Minister of Education and Technical Education, agreed to teach Connect Plus (a high-level alternative) in Egyptian Japanese schools, and the Minister agreed to teach the book multidisciplinary package called "discovered" in English starting next year. Finally, Al-Rifai concluded his own interview with "Echo of the Country" saying: "I invite all parents who are looking for schools for their young children, to knock on the door of the nearest Egyptian-Japanese school for them, to see for themselves the conditions inside these schools away from what is circulated through Facebook publications, and get to know They themselves have all the information they want to know to decide whether they want to apply in Japanese schools. " It is worth mentioning that the study in the Egyptian https://youtu.be/DQ2vL0C50hs

Fishermen in the Argentine city of Buenos Aires found a coincidence of the animal Glyptodon, or groove teeth, an animal of the crumbling armor, and the groove teeth of the ancestors of the prehistoric animal of the Armadillo. Creek Alegre area. Ogida was preparing the area for hunting and cleaning the area around it with a knife to discover a coincidence of an archaeological animal, according to scientists from the Marcus Paz Reserve. The report pointed out that this coincidence is the second discovered in the region of the extinct animal, where another shell was found three years ago. The Glyptodon became extinct at the end of the last ice age, about 10,000 years ago, an animal up to 3.3 meters long and weighing 2 tons.

The Government has ended the €3,800 grant for businesses purchasing electric cars or plug-in hybrids, in a decision seemingly at odds with efforts to encourage the move to electric transport.The grant, administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), was on top of the €5,000 tax rebate on Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) on full-electric vehicles.A zero per cent rate of benefit-in-kind tax is applied to employees opting for full-electric vehicles. This rate has been extended to 2022.The Department of Environment said the decision to discontinue the €3,800 for companies buying electric cars and plug-in hybrids was because “the generous benefit-in-kind tax relief that is available for these vehicles is considered adequate incentive to drive growth in this sector”.The changes apply to all applications received from Wednesday, October 23rd. This gives consumers two weeks to apply for purchase grants under the existing rules – provided that the vehicles are registered and the grant claimed before the end of 2019.FundingThe €3,800 grant will continue for companies purchasing electric vans.Meanwhile, there has also been changes to the grant systems for hybrids. From October 23rd, the €5,000 SEAI grant will only apply to plug-in hybrid vehicles with CO2 emissions below 50g/km and that can travel on fully-electric mode for a minimum of 50km.The changes were announced as part of a wider range of budget measures relating to electric vehicles. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe announced additional funding of €8 million for electric vehicle purchase grants, bringing the total allocated in 2020 to €14 million.A further €3 million has been allocated for new electric vehicle charging infrastructure, bringing the total budget for the department to €6 million, in addition to €10 million support to develop the public charging network from the Climate Action Fund.There was also €1.5 million allocated to the Department of Transport to roll out fast-charging points to taxi ranks at transport hubs. The department also said that next year it will introduce new regulations to require new buildings with more than 10 parking spaces to provide for the installation of charging points and, from 2025, non-residential buildings with over 20 car parking spaces to install charging facilities.

There is blood in the water and frenzied sharks are closing in for the kill. Or so they think.From the time of Donald Trump’s election, American elites have hungered for this moment. At long last, they have the 45th president of the United States cornered. In typically ham-handed fashion, Trump has given his adversaries the very means to destroy him politically. They will not waste the opportunity. Impeachment now—finally, some will say—qualifies as a virtual certainty.No doubt many surprises lie ahead. Yet the Democrats controlling the House of Representatives have passed the point of no return. The time for prudential judgments—the Republican-controlled Senate will never convict, so why bother?—is gone for good. To back down now would expose the president’s pursuers as spineless cowards. The New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and MSNBC would not soon forgive such craven behavior.So, as President Woodrow Wilson, speaking in 1919 put it, “The stage is set, the destiny disclosed. It has come about by no plan of our conceiving, but by the hand of God.” Of course, the issue back then was a notably weighty one: whether to ratify the Versailles Treaty. That it now concerns a “Mafia-like shakedown” orchestrated by one of Wilson’s successors tells us something about the trajectory of American politics over the course of the last century and it has not been a story of ascent. The effort to boot the president from office is certain to yield a memorable spectacle. The rancor and contempt that have clogged American politics like a backed-up sewer since the day of Donald Trump’s election will now find release. Watergate will pale by comparison. The uproar triggered by Bill Clinton’s “sexual relations” will be nothing by comparison. A de facto collaboration between Trump, those who despise him, and those who despise his critics all but guarantees that this story will dominate the news, undoubtedly for months to come.As this process unspools, what politicians like to call “the people’s business” will go essentially unattended. So while Congress considers whether or not to remove Trump from office, gun-control legislation will languish, the deterioration of the nation’s infrastructure will proceed apace, needed healthcare reforms will be tabled, the military-industrial complex will waste yet more billions, and the national debt, already at $22 trillion — larger, that is, than the entire economy — will continue to surge. The looming threat posed by climate change, much talked about of late, will proceed all but unchecked. For those of us preoccupied with America’s role in the world, the obsolete assumptions and habits undergirding what’s still called “national security” will continue to evade examination. Our endless wars will remain endless and pointless.By way of compensation, we might wonder what benefits impeachment is likely to yield. Answering that question requires examining four scenarios that describe the range of possibilities awaiting the nation.The first and most to be desired (but least likely) is that Trump will tire of being a public piñata and just quit. With the thrill of flying in Air Force One having worn off, being president can’t be as much fun these days. Why put up with further grief? How much more entertaining for Trump to retire to the political sidelines where he can tweet up a storm and indulge his penchant for name-calling. And think of the “deals” an ex-president could make in countries like Israel, North Korea, Poland, and Saudi Arabia on which he’s bestowed favors. Cha-ching! As of yet, however, the president shows no signs of taking the easy (and lucrative) way out.

The Education Commissioner has suggested the setting up of a school where foreign students who do not speak English or Maltese are better prepared to join a state school, tackling the bullying problem.In the Ombudsplan 2020, Charles Caruana Carabez again goes into the issue of bullying perpetrated by or against foreign students who are unable to integrate due to a lack of language skills.He writes that students coming from different cultures and who do not speak either language can quickly start feeling lost.“Our educational system was not designed to meet these challenges and the solutions offered are not and cannot be completely satisfying. After a few weeks, these children may start showing hostility. Not all Maltese children, on the other hand, are willing to approach them and help them during this difficult time. This is a reality,” Caruana Carabez writes.For this reason, he feels there is a need for the creation of a school where these students are given the ability to communicate at least in basic English and where they are taught the basic principles of integration in a society that is completely new to them, before they are placed in state schools.“This should never be regarded as a form of segregation, especially since their time at this particular school will be short,” he adds.Commissioner Caruana Carabez was recently criticised by a number of NGOs after he expressed concern at the rise of group-bullying in schools by ethnic students. Some of the factors that give rise to such forms of bullying, he had said, include the fact that these students do not speak English or Maltese and the fact that some of them come from war-torn countries. His report was described by a number of groups as being “misinformed” and “seriously flawed.”Caruana Carabez, however, has again addressed the issue, saying he has already looked into cases, and is aware of others, where foreign and Maltese students have become victims or aggressors as a result of this situation.Matsec reformCaruana Carabez also took aim at the proposed Matsec reform which, he said, will put dyslexic students at a disadvantage.Under the proposed reform, which is at public consultation stage, students would have to choose a foreign language at advanced or intermediary level. Students require a pass in the Maltese and English language to get into university, but under the proposed reform they would need a foreign language, choosing between Italian, French, Spanish and German.The Education Commissioner said students with dyslexia or other conditions will suffer as a result of the added compulsory language. “These students are already penalised for orthographic and lexical mistakes and they will struggle more with the additional language. With three languages, their chances of qualifying for university courses will decrease.”The proposed reform will also allow student athletes to replace one of their optional intermediate subjects with their sport and will recognise co-curricular activities.The Education Commissioner expresses concern here as well, saying that the way in which marks are given in sport and extra-curricular studies will become too subjective, and can lead to disputes between people who feel that they deserved more.“It will become difficult, if not impossible, to come to equitable conclusions substantiated by fact,” he writes.