NEW YORK(TIP): The National Indo-American Association for Senior Citizens Inc. (NIAASC), has come out to express that they are extremely saddened by the massacre of eight innocent people, including six Asian women.This violence comes at a time when racist attacks on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI)both verbal and physical are happening more and more often across the country, making these deaths even more painful. Whilst condemning the abhorrent attack by the perpetrator, the Chairman Rajeshwar Prasad of NIAASC warned that hate crime committed against one community is a crime committed against every community and we must all join hands and prevent this from recurring. President Gunjan Rastogi stated that hate crime has no place in civil society and both the Government administration and the private sector must make a joint effort to stamp out this systemic discrimination. Our sympathies go to the families and friends of those who senselessly lost their lives in this racially charged attack. Unfortunately, racism still exists today, and it is a reminder to us all to stay vigilant. We hope this will be another eye-opener to the appropriate authorities to take immediate action so that such a tragedy never happens again.
STANFORD (TIP): “DIFFERENT,” the title of Indian American high school basketball phenom Ryan Agarwal’s recent Stanford University commitment video reads. While the past few decades have seen the Indian American community climb to heights never seen before, reaching insurmountable levels of success in fields and sectors such as business, entertainment, and politics, it still lags behind in the sporting world.
It is especially true of the sport of basketball.
After witnessing the success of talents such as Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin and what they’ve done for the Chinese and other Asian American communities, Indian Americans have longed for a comparable talent.
Many thought the next genesis of South Asian hoopers would come in the form of giants. At least that’s what recent history might suggest. The greatest talent from the community we’ve seen thus far has come from the likes of Indo-Canadian Sim Bhullar and Indian-born Satnam Singh, both 7-foot low-post behemoths who had stints in the NBA.
Bhullar became the first player of Indian descent to play in an NBA game in 2015 and Singh was the first Indian-born player to be drafted, also in 2015. Although they broke glass ceilings by making it to such a stage in the first place, unfortunately neither has enjoyed much success in the league.
It seemed as if the community would have to wait awhile before they saw such a talent grace the courts.
But Agarwal may already be well on his way to change that.
Standing at 6’7 and a slender 175 pounds, the Indian American teen is a far cry away from the two leaguers in Singh and Bhullar in terms of size or strength. But, don’t be fooled, the kid is a certified bucket.
A prolific shooter from the three-point line and beyond, along with the ability score in the midrange or to take it to the rim and finish, coupled with his slender frame and long arms, and it’s no surprise why Agarwal has received a number of Kevin Durant and Brandon Ingram comparisons growing up.
However, he would describe his own game as a combination of those players along with a mix of Duncan Robinson and Klay Thompson, depending on the situation.
Agarwal has excelled and it’s why he’s a four-star recruit, the 89th ranked player in the nation and 11th in the state of Texas. It’s also helped him garner the attention of more than a dozen D1 schools.
However, perhaps none more meaningful than the one he received from his dream school, Stanford University.
For Agarwal, it was more than just an offer from the best school in the country. It was the realization that this was all really possible; that the amalgamation of all the hard work he’s put into the game of basketball could take him to heights he had never dreamed of.
Off the court, Agarwal is just like any other typical high schooler. He loves to listen to Lil Baby and Gunna, watch Netflix, and hang with “Day-1’s.” He’s even just like any other South Asian high schooler, able to understand the language of his parents [Hindi and Tamil], but unable to speak it.
That’s not to get it twisted, however. His heritage means everything to him. Because for Agarwal the journey goes beyond just himself. While the 4-star signee ultimately has dreams of playing in the NBA, he’s not only doing it for himself. He wants to inspire a community of kids that look just like him. A community of people that might never have thought they were athletic enough to play at the next level.
CINCINNATI, OH (TIP): AAPI Victory Fund, a pro-Democratic Party group that mobilizes voters from the Asian American and Pacific Islanders communities, has endorsed Indian American Aftab Pureval, who is running for the mayor of Cincinnati. Pureval, who is currently serving as Hamilton County (Ohio) Clerk of Courts, announced his candidacy in January. The incumbent mayor, John Cranley, who has been in office for the past eight years, is term-limited and cannot run again. “Pureval is a necessary progressive voice that has been able to achieve success with Democrats and Republicans alike, AAPI Victory Fund said in a statement March 22. “As the son of first generation Americans, he has spent his career defending the most vulnerable in his community, including with the FBI to prosecute crimes against children.” The group also endorsed another Asian American, Michelle Wu, who is running for the mayor of Boston. “It is more important than ever for diverse leadership across local, state and federal governments, and these candidates will bring their unique voices and experiences to lead large metropolitan areas,” the Fund said. “I’m honored to be endorsed by the @AAPIVictoryFund,” Pureval said in a tweet Monday. “Now more than ever, AAPI representation and leadership matters. As Mayor, I’ll lift up all of Cincinnati and make sure we grow equitably.” Puravel, son of Indian-born father and Tibetan refugee mother, was born and raised in southwest Ohio. He earned his undergraduate degree in political science from the Ohio State University and law degree from University of Cincinnati College of Law.
He is the first Democrat to get elected as the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts in more than 100 years. In 2018, he ran for Congress from Ohio’s first district, but failed to unseat incumbent Republican Steve Chabot.
Cincinnati, which boasts three major sports teams, Cincinnati Reds, Bengals and FC Cincinnati, has a population of 300,000. The Cincinnati metropolitan area is home to nearly 2.2 million people.
AAPI Victory Fund, founded by Indian American Shekar Narasimhan, is a so-called SuperPac that works for building political power of the Asian American Pacific Islander community.
WASHINGTON (TIP): The United States Senate on Tuesday, March 23 voted to confirm Indian-origin Dr. Vivek Murthy as America’s surgeon general. The vote in the Senate was 57-43, making Dr Murthy, President Biden’s main public health official to handle the coronavirus pandemic. “I am deeply grateful to be confirmed by the Senate to serve once again as your Surgeon General. We have endured great hardship as a nation over the past year, and I look forward to working with you to help our nation heal and create a better future for our children,” Vivek Murthy tweeted. Dr Murthy had previously served in the same capacity under the Obama administration but was fired by former President Donald Trump in 2017. Dr Murthy is a distinguished physician and former Vice Admiral in the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
SACRAMENTO (TIP): Leprosy drug clofazimine, which is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, holds promise as at-home treatment for Covid-19, according to a Naturestudy co-authored by an Indian American scientist. The FDA approved drug exhibits potent antiviral activities against SARS-CoV-2 and prevents the exaggerated inflammatory response associated with severe Covid-19, it shows, according to a press release.
Based on these findings, a Phase 2 study evaluating clofazimine as an at-home treatment for Covid-19 could begin immediately, suggest scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and the University of Hong Kong. “Clofazimine is an ideal candidate for a Covid-19 treatment. It is safe, affordable, easy to make, taken as a pill and can be made globally available,” says co-senior author Sumit Chanda.
“We hope to test clofazimine in a Phase 2 clinical trial as soon as possible for people who test positive for Covid-19 but are not hospitalized,” says Chanda, PhD, professor and director of the Immunity and Pathogenesis Program at Sanford Burnham Prebys, La Jolla, California.
“Since there is currently no outpatient treatment available for these individuals, clofazimine may help reduce the impact of the disease, which is particularly important now as we see new variants of the virus emerge and against which the current vaccines appear less efficacious.”
Clofazimine was initially identified by screening one of the world’s largest collections of known drugs for their ability to block the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the release says.
Chanda’s team previously reported in Nature that clofazimine was one of 21 drugs effective in vitro, or in a lab dish, at concentrations that could most likely be safely achieved in patients.
In this study, the researchers tested clofazimine in hamsters—an animal model for Covid-19 —that were infected with SARS-CoV-2, the release says.
The scientists found that clofazimine lowered the amount of virus in the lungs, including when given to healthy animals prior to infection (prophylactically).
The drug also reduced lung damage and prevented “cytokine storm,” an overwhelming inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2 that can be deadly.
Clofazimine also worked synergistically with remdesivir, the current standard-of-care treatment for people who are hospitalized due to Covid-19, when given to hamsters infected with SARS-CoV-2.
These findings suggest a potential opportunity to stretch the availability of remdesivir, which is costly and in limited supply, the release said.
In July 2020 Sumit Chanda shared more about his team’s race to find a treatment for Covid-19, according to the release from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.
A Phase 2 trial evaluating clofazimine in combination with interferon beta-1b as a treatment for people with Covid-19 who are hospitalized is ongoing at the University of Hong Kong, the release said.
Interferon beta-1b is an immunoregulator that is given as an injection and is currently used to treat people with multiple sclerosis.
“Our data suggests that clofazimine should also be tested as a monotherapy for people with Covid-19, which would lower many barriers to treatment,” says Chanda.
“People with Covid-19 would be able to simply receive a regime of low-cost pills, instead of traveling to a hospital to receive an injection.”
Clofazimine was discovered in 1954 and is used to treat leprosy. Its promise for treating Covid-19 was discovered by high-throughput screening of more than 12,000 existing drugs from the ReFRAME drug library.
WASHINGTON (TIP): There are at least 160 Asian-American and Pacific Islanders in 33 state legislatures nationwide, according to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. A whopping 51 of those sit in Hawaii’s legislature. And, out of the 535 members of Congress, just 17 are of Asian or Pacific Islander descent, according to the Congressional Research Service. There are also three nonvoting delegates who are Asian American and Pacific Islanders. President Joe Biden and his aides have been repeatedly pressed to include Asian-Americans in his Cabinet. On Tuesday, two Democratic senators, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, threatened to oppose any upcoming nominees who don’t enhance the administration’s diversity. “I’ve been talking to them for months and they’re still not aggressive,” Duckworth said. “I’ll be a no on everyone until they figure this out.” Later, the two senators set aside their blockade after talks with the administration. White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced late Tuesday the addition of a senior-level Asian American Pacific Islander liaison “who will ensure the community’s voice is further represented.”
Biden did pick Katherine Tai, who is Taiwanese American, as his top trade envoy. She was confirmed last week, becoming the only Asian American to hold a Cabinet-level post in the new administration. Vivek Murthy, the son of Indian parents, Biden’s nominee for surgeon general, a sub-Cabinet position, was confirmed Tuesday.
Many Asian Americans say feelings of being marginalized politically will take years to fully overcome. Last week, an emotional congressional hearing cast a national spotlight on combating racism among the community — but major legislation addressing it isn’t likely forthcoming.
“I think symbolism and representation matters, but only up to a point,” said Aarti Kohli, executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice. “What’s more important is actually doing the work.” There are signs of change.
Kamala Harris, whose mother was born in India, is the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to become vice president. More than 300 Asian American and Pacific Islanders ran for office up and down the ballot in 2020, according to the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies.
More appear to be preparing campaigns for the future. Madalene Xuan-Trang Mielke, the group’s president and CEO, said her organization recently held a training for people interested in joining municipal and state legislative races and had about 30 attendees. She also encourages members of the community to join local boards and commissions. “We are subject matter experts in a wide array of industries, and we should have that be a reflection of our democracy by having people like us and others be a part of any sort of public policy conversation,” Mielke said.
Asian-Americans are eyeing other major offices across the country.
In New York City, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is gaining attention — and campaign cash — in a bid for mayor. And in California, home to the nation’s largest Asian American community, elected officials are urging Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint an attorney general of Asian descent as a successor to Xavier Becerra, who was picked as Biden’s health and human services secretary.
Still, Stop AAPI Hate, an activist group that formed as shutdowns related to the pandemic were taking hold across the US, had received nearly 4,000 self-reported incidents of bias or discrimination from all 50 states as of last month. And nearly 3 in 10 Asian Americans said they’d been subjected to racial slurs or jokes since the coronavirus outbreak began, according to Pew Research Center data released last summer.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (TIP): As a group, immigrant families tend to be more stable than families of native-born Americans with Indian Americans ranking at the top in family stability, according to new study.
But not all immigrant families are equal when it comes to family structure, according to an analysis of census data by the Institute of Family Studies (IFS), a Charlottesville, Virginia, -based think tank.
Among the 30 largest groups of working-age immigrants in the US, Indian Americans rank at the top in family stability, noted Wendy Wang, director of research at the IFS.
Almost all (first-generation) Indian immigrants with children are stably married (94%), according to an IFS analysis of the 2019 American community survey. About 4% are remarried, and the share of unmarried Indian immigrants with children is only 2%. Family stability is also higher among immigrants from other parts of Asia, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Taiwan, Korea, China, and Japan, the study noted.
More than 80% of immigrant families from these countries comprise two stably married adults with their children.
The conventional wisdom that higher education and higher income drive family stability applies to immigrant families to some extent, says Wang, For example, immigrants from Asia tend to have higher educational levels than other immigrants and their family stability is also higher.
More than six-in-ten Asian immigrants with children are college-educated (64%), compared with 13% of their Hispanic peers.And Indian immigrants not only top the list of family stability but also are one of the most highly educated and financially successful immigrant groups, IFS noted.
Compared with native-born American parents, however, immigrants with children overall have lower levels of education and higher rates of poverty.
Some 48% of immigrant parents have a high school or less education, compared with only 29% of native-born parents. And the poverty rate is 15% for immigrant families with children, compared to 11% for native-born American families. Yet, immigrant families are more stable than native-born American families.
In fact, after controlling for education, income, race/ethnicity and age, immigrants with children are twice as likely to be in an intact family than native-born parents.
Native-born Asian Americans with children are less likely to be in a stable marriage than first-generation Asian immigrants (78% vs. 85%), even though their income is higher. While Indian immigrants have the highest family stability: 94% of Indian immigrants with children are stably married, the share of intact marriage drops to 87% among native-born Indian Americans with children, the study noted.
This is so despite the fact that they have higher incomes than the first-generation Indian immigrants, and their educational levels are equally high, Wang wrote. After controlling for education, income and age, Indian immigrants are more than twice likely to be in an intact family than native-born Indian Americans.
“Obviously, education and income alone cannot explain this family advantage of first-generation immigrants. So, what is it that makes immigrants stand out?” Wang asked and suggested, “In a word: culture.”
Immigrants are more likely than native-born Americans to embrace a family-first mindset when it comes to marriage and children.
The families that immigrants embrace not only provides them a safe harbor when facing the challenges as newcomers, it also helps to provide a better environment for their children to advance in life, the study noted.
According to a recent analysis by IFS senior fellow Nicholas Zill, children of immigrants are doing surprisingly well in school: they are more likely to get “As” and are less likely to have behavior problems.
The reason for their academic success is not because these children are from better-off families (in fact, the majority of them are not), it is partly because they are more likely to live in intact families with two married parents, Wang wrote. With the share of immigrants in the US population near a historic high of about 14% or 45 million, the IFS study highlighting their cultural diversity noted the strength of immigrant families. Specifically, 72% of immigrants with children are still in their first marriage, whereas the share among native-born Americans is just 60%, it noted. Behind these numbers are the relatively higher marriage rates and lower divorce rates of immigrants in general. For every 1,000 unmarried immigrants ages 18 to 64 in 2019, 59 got married.
The corresponding number for native-born Americans was 39. Likewise, only 13 out of 1000 married immigrants ages 18-64 got a divorce in 2019, compared with 20 out of 1000 among native-born Americans of same age.
While immigrants represent a diverse array of cultures and traditions, what many new immigrants have in common is a dedication to family that translates into better performance in school and a stronger shot at realizing the American Dream, Wang wrote.
Top 10 US immigrant groups leading in marriage stability:
“When incidents like the recent AAPI shootings in Atlanta and the Colorado shootings manifest in a volcano like eruption, voices are heard here and there why we must quickly unite communities to curb hurting each other’s feelings. Some vigils are hurriedly arranged, some reaching out efforts are made to cool down tempers and prevent escalation of the situation. Rallies and protests often result in some legislative adjustments or some payment of renumeration or legal punishment of individual perpetrators to bring down tension and restore status quo. But these are temporary band-aid measures. Even then insecure feeling continues to prevail.”
AAPI attack in Atlanta and the Colorado shooting can be attributed to the continuing rivalry of man with his neighbor. We may have recently fed a beast that is now coming out and attacking people’s lives. The rhetoric that came out of the White House has played havoc.
Protesting attack on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI)
Inter- racial rivalries and wars go as far back as memory can take us, back to long time ago when men formed groups to secure themselves and their possessions from the others. As the saying goes, “Birds of the same feather flock together” human beings also divide themselves, by race, color, gender, height, wealth each possess, education, local community, language, religion, caste, sexual orientation (transgender), country, age, and the list goes on ad infinitum. Lines of divide (including political party lines) are drawn both horizontally and perpendicularly to garner strength and produce fear.
Basically, man is worriedfor his future, primarily food and shelter. He wants security. He wants to acquire more to be more secure. He will compete hard or will deploy devious methods to acquire more. For this, wars have been fought where people have killed each other and destroyed each other’s possessions both real property and personnel. They have conquered each other and stolen from each other their possessions. Physical walls and natural barriers like rivers and mountain ranges and now electronic surveillancesystems were built, such as The Great Wall of China, the Wall in Germany etc., and also to divide cities e.g., in Jerusalem. Trade wars were fought for the same reasons to accumulate more loot than the other person orthe adversary. Gradually this greed permeatedinto cultural wars and religious wars and then there were theWorld war I and the World War II. Even intra-wars within each category itself grew and retarded the progress of man.He was still not content. Man has during all this time developed religions and cults to teach and discipline men how-to live-in peace with eachother and to abate greed. Our grandparents referred us to scriptures such as “To do to others as I would that they should do to me….” or they would say “Put yourself in the other person’s shoes to better understand the problem,” or they would say, “overload your adversary with love and influence him into submission.”
International organizations had been created like the League of Nations and the United Nations to bring countries together to conclude multilateral agreements so that countries can feel secure, safe and assured that their possessions are well protected and life could go on in a normal manner. Nuclear test ban treaties and treaties on environment and climatic change agreements were also aimed towards the same goal. Compliance systems are in-built and monitored. When religious institutions and world governments fail in their respective responsibilities, this same human fear begins to debilitateman. Mistrust intensifies and tensions grows high. It then only needs a small incident, spark or excuse to blow up the built-up contained and compressed orsuppressed tension.
When incidents like the recent AAPI shootings in Atlanta and the Colorado shootings manifest in a volcano like eruption, voices are heard here and there why we must quickly unite communities to curb hurting each other’s feelings. Some vigils are hurriedly arranged, some reaching out efforts are made to cool down tempers and prevent escalation of the situation. Rallies and protests often result in some legislative adjustments or some payment of renumeration or legal punishment of individual perpetrators to bring down tension and restore status quo.But these are temporary band-aid measures. Even then insecure feeling continues to prevail.
Unless and until man takes a step back and thinks out of the box and addresses the root causes of this perennial problem which has existed from times immemorial, World War III is but inevitable and the clock is ticking.
To find a real solution, we may have to create another United Nations like organization to tackle this gargantuan problem. It is after all a worldwide problem. The present Charter of the UN touches lightly on this point but does not provide for any substantive action to create and sustain sufficient level of safety and security between men and through them between nations that will do a creditable job.
The fact is that traditional monitoring methods or the stable building of understandings between men have failed to resolve this ‘unsecure feeling’. New methods in this day and age of modern technology must therefore be developed using scientific methods or the IT as necessary, which are capable and reliable enough for men to have total confidence in the productwhich can perpetuate and guarantee complete faith in one another in the world where everlasting distrust amongst mankind hasincessantly plagued the world with this problem. Could the solution lie in drawing the separationlines in a cross-section manner or in any other way to bring about the desired result? In other words, can we eliminate the lines of distinction?
Actually, we may need to collect a bunch of genius youth from around the world and put them into a room and lock them up until we see the smoke appear from the window. They will have to look directly into the eyes of hate and discrimination to tackle the problem. Only they can find a solution and create a world devoid of hate and discrimination for their own world. The bias with which we have grown-up with prevents us from thinking wisely or creatively. They may even say do away with police in uniforms with guns. It is understood that UK Bobbies and UN Peacekeepers do not carry guns. Any solution must restore complete confidence in social interaction and reform public safety. The solution must take a more holistic approach.
Sometimes we say we should de-fund the police or come up with other proposals such as to promote more blacks,in order to address the problem. For how long can we keep on barking up the wrong tree? These are symptoms. We have to get the bull by the horn.
AAPI attack in Atlanta and the Colorado shooting can be attributed to the continuing rivalry of man with his neighbor. We may have recently fed a beast that is now coming out and attacking people’s lives. The rhetoric that came out of the White House has played havoc. He has not backed off nor apologized but has kept on digging. Basic cause has not changed – insecurity for life and possessions. Jealousy, greedand arrogance, are but offshoots of the basic phenomenon. We must stop making the mistake over and over again. This monster must be wrestled downpermanently lest we continue to live in danger and in the process destroy the planet on which we live and depend on. The number of resources and the amount energy that gets consumed when we continue to live under insecure conditions today can eradicate entire poverty and disease on this planet. Has anyone calculated the total daily military budget of all nations in the world? We will save all these trillions of dollarsif we can find a solution to the insecure feeling of man in this universe.
(The author is a former Chairman of United Nations Headquarters Committee on Contracts. He can be reached at 4harbachan@gmail.com)
Women’s History Month 2021 is celebrated by ‘The Athena Film Festival’ during the entire month of March 2021
Catch up on several of the films, panels and conversations available until the end of March at athenafilmfestival.com/2021
As an organization dedicated to showcasing the best films about women leaders, the festival team felt compelled to curate a program that receives, reacts and responds to this past year. With all of its programming, the members hope to examine the challenges all around us, celebrate those who have taken up the task to solve them and use this moment as an opportunity to rebuild and envision the kind of world we want to live in.
The areas of focus in the Fest are:
A LOOK AT HEALTH
Physical health, mental health, community health, public health, socioeconomic health – we’ve thought about it constantly for the past 12 months. In a year where every email starts with “hope you are well,” we are asking ourselves “what does it mean to be well?” Why are there so many different ways of talking about health? What does holistic wellness look like? Who has access to health? Do people have autonomy over their health? We’ll dive into these questions with films about health, with a focus on the ongoing fights for reproductive rights, justice, and disparities in maternal healthcare.
COME AS YOU ARE
Women, femmes, and trans and non-binary folks are constantly being told how they should look, how they should act and how they should live. For years feminist and queer movements have been breaking down those expectations while also reclaiming things that were once seen as restrictive and stereotypical but now they’re powerful but are these things reclaimed or are we just perpetuating old stereotypes OR is it now such a stereotype that the mere act of embodying it makes it subversive? It is so confusing! In this section we throw all of that out the window and celebrate just being who you are, whatever that means to you. Whether that’s wearing makeup or not, wearing your natural hair or not, shaving or not. It’s all good here as long as it’s what you want! Come as you are.
DISCOVERY
Fall in love with new voices. Celebrate the inspiring new works of first time and student filmmakers as they discover and unlock their creativity, and support a filmmaker on the brink of success with our second annual Breakthrough Award. It has been a difficult year for filmmakers with theater closures and production halts — among those hit hardest are emerging filmmakers. But as you’ll see here, emerging filmmakers are resilient and the future of the industry is bright.
IMAGINING A NEW FUTURE
When so much has changed so fast, when in the span of just a few weeks, people started talking about the “new normal,” how does that change our ideas of what is possible? While so much of this rapid change has been difficult and even traumatizing, it has shown us things that things don’t have to be the way they were. How do we use this newfound possibility to build a better world? How do we take this new perspective and turn it on institutions or systems that up until now we just accepted as the way things had to be? The future is wide open. What will it look like?
NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US
This rallying cry, which began in the disability rights movements in South Africa in 1993, has since been applied to multiple movements and causes. In the film community, it has been picked up as a way to discuss authorship. Too often we see new voices represented on screen but not behind the scenes. In this program, we dive into representation. Who is at the center of the story? Who is telling the story? These films examine, celebrate, and dissect representation and visibility as it appears in everyday life and in wider communities. In these times of great change, we must keep this rallying cry ringing in our heads. We must keep asking, who is this change serving and who is leading?
MAKING IT HAPPEN: WOMEN IN STEM
In a world where we’re fighting a global pandemic, staring down the eye of climate change, and on the brink of groundbreaking AI technology, we need the best and brightest leading the way. Too often women are left out, underrepresented or intentionally sidelined in the STEM fields. We’re excited to once again partner with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to tell the stories of fierce and fearless women working in STEM. We’ll see the discoveries they make and the challenges they face as they uncover the truth about our world and break down social barriers.
RESILIENCE THROUGH UNCERTAINTY
What keeps us going? How do we move into the future when we have no idea what it will look like? Humans, women, leaders are resilient. What does resilience look like? How do we move through the fog of uncertainty and come out on the other side? Through films and conversations we’ll investigate and showcase the exhaustion and devastation, and the powerful manifestations of perseverance and hope that keeps people going.
TEAR IT DOWN: DISMANTLING WHITE SUPREMACY
The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare that which already plagued our country, including police brutality, structural racism, and economic inequality. We’ll take a look at people organizing and taking action to tear down systems of oppression. You’ll see stories of activists organizing to fight white supremacy in the many forms it takes, whether that is hair discrimination, mass incarceration, or continued disrespect for indigenous communities and their sacred land.
Panels and Conversations
All panels and conversations are free of charge and open to the general public, but registration is required. Information on how to access the panel will be sent to all registrants in advance of the event.
Use this link to register for panels and conversations of your choice airtable.com/shrmnASUe1HOXH64b
All of the panels and conversations listed below will be pre-recorded and made available on the dates indicated in the list.
The following available conversations include:
This is a featured conversation of the Nothing About Us Without Us program area.
March 20: Producing During and After COVID
The conversation will also include where they see the industry going.
March 20: Writing Roundtable
This is an invitation-only event.
March 23: Deconstructing Whiteness
This is a featured conversation of our Tear it Down: Dismantling White Supremacy program area.
March 23: The Push for Decarceration
This conversation will be in conjunction with The Third Strike.
This is a featured conversation of our Tear it Down: Dismantling White Supremacy program area.
March 25: Creating Utopias: Science Fiction as a Model for Future Planning
This is a featured conversation of our Imagining a New Future program area.
March 25: Black Feminist Future: Reconceiving Freedom for Collective Power and Justice
This is a featured conversation of our Imagining a New Future program area.
To learn more or purchase tickets, visit athenafilmfestival.com/2021
(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, The Arts and Entertainment, Spirituality, and Health & Wellness)
New prospects, as well as new opportunities, are aligned for you. Planetary positions this week seem very favorable for you. There will be an improvement in your work-pattern through meetings with experienced people. Seize the opportunity and learn as much as you can this week. Be very patient with those co-workers who try to make you angry. You should not lose your temper this week as you need to focus on work, do not get carried away by their actions and words.
Taurus
If you’re single, an exciting new potential prospect could have your feelings activated. If you’re currently involved, recent events may have created such a powerful connection between you and your partner that at this point you may think it’ll never end. Consider what led up to this feeling and find ways to continually re-create it. Starting to work out this week will be a good idea for you. It will improve your energy levels even more.
Gemini
You will achieve fame this week and you will be remembered for some time to come. You will need to focus on eating healthier and exercising more often now. Things will be much better for you on the health aspect if you can stay calm and keep your mind tension-free. If you try to accommodate some health care routines like exercise or yoga you feel a lot less tired and fatigued.Your health will be a lot better this week.
Cancer
You will impress a lot of business prospects as well as love interests this week, and your self-worth and self-image will skyrocket this week. You might feel overwhelmed and end up over thinking a lot this week. Allow you’re self-time and space to process this week’s events. Some solace will do you good this week, as you have been ignoring your feelings and staying busy. You will face a lot of obstacles this week that will take most of your time and energy and you will end up feeling tired yet satisfied with the direction you are going in your professional life this week.
Leo
Your heightened energies will help you move past any hurdles without much effort. You will feel as if you’re being the most productive and efficient in your work this week. Focus entirely on yourself and your health this week as you need to pay attention to your health. Although you will be busy working and hustling, you have the time this week to work as well as take care of your health. You’ll find yourself excessively sweating and anxious this week; it is only because the stress of this week is getting to your body. Even though you’ll have absolutely no appetite this week, be regular about having your meals regardless.
Virgo
Your love life will be quite complicated this week. You wouldn’t be involved in a direct rift with anyone but you will find yourself in between two family members that are fighting. You will be forced to take a side against your wish, as a third person, you can clearly see where each one of them went wrong, but you won’t be able to create peace between the two of them. You will learn your partner’s trigger points and how to navigate through fights to get to a resolution. You will realize this week that your relationship will only get better from this point. Which is a great outcome for you this week.
Libra
A new prospect is very likely to arise this week, you will feel a sense of satisfaction in terms of your finances. This week is an amazing week for your business as everything will seem to work out super smoothly and you might even be done with work in the first half of your week itself. Believe in offering quality service and products rather than just pushing quantity. Be diplomatic and do not get into fights with anyone. know how to get work done by other people.
Scorpio
You will be very busy with work and family events this week. Try to spend as much time as you can do what you love. That would be a good decision you make this week. If you are starting a new innovation in your existing business, you can expect help to come by in the form of sponsors from your business partner’s efforts. Severe acidity will bother you a lot this week. Since it is so unpredictable you won’t understand what you’re doing wrong that is causing it. Make sure that you not only have a proper diet but that you eat at the right time as well.
Sagittarius
This week you will try new things and take risks, all of which will turn out to be in your benefit. This week is full of professional growth, career satisfaction, business development for you. Your relationships will be similarly amazing this week. Take full advantage of the luck you have this week for your personal as well as your professional growth and don’t forget to enjoy it thoroughly.
Capricorn
Profit remains satisfactory in your business throughout the week. The beginning of new business will be profitable. The investment will be fruitful. New opportunities will pour in for expansion.You are in the pink of your health this week. Your mood, energy levels, and strength are all really high this week. You do not need to worry about your health this week at all. Yoga and meditation will help in your physical and mental well-being this week.
Aquarius
Financially you are doing amazing and you will be completely satisfied with your income this week. Which will keep your partner satisfied and happy throughout the week. You need to be more analytical about making investments now as managing the funds that you receive this week will make a significant difference in your life. Take proper diet and exercise mildly with appropriate and timely sleep. Be aware and not ignoring of any minor ailment this week.
Pisces
The positive highlight for you this week is you will gain a lot of clarity and insight into your love life. You will see your partner and their behavior the way it is and not with your love glasses on like you have been for a while now. This will make it very easy for you to make decisions and will be fruitful for you. Your health will be better this week than it has ever been in a long time. If you have been trying to achieve a fitness goal, you have ample amount of time to get to where you want. This week is a great week for you. Live in the moment and try not to rush things.
When people think of Hindu goddesses most people think of elegancy, love, and the counterpart of their consorts. But goddess kali is different in every way. Kali is the feminine form of time (energy of time) and one of the ten Mahavidyas. With her tongue sticking out she symbolizes wrath, power, and sparks fear in the eyes of great lords. With her outstretched tongue, she drinks the blood of Raktabija.
Goddess Kali is the destroyer of the evil forces of the universe, the most powerful form of Goddess Shakti, or Adi Shakti (the first energy, creator of the universe). Kali is often shown as standing on the god Shiva, her consort. She wears a necklace made of heads of the demons and she is dark a color which means she is beyond all qualities of nature. On her hands, she has a sickle, sword, axe, and whip along with a flower signifying creation. Maa Kali is the chief of Mahavidyas, a group of ten Tantric goddesses, divine Intelligence.
Origin of Goddess Kali
Goddess kali was originated from the anger of Goddess Durga to slay the asura named Raktabija (blood-seed). Raktabija was so fierce because he could spawn from every drop of his blood that touches the ground. Goddess Kali is seen carrying the head of the demon and a plate to hold the blood from touching the ground. When goddess Durga became so enraged her wrath emerged as a goddess from her forehead in the form of “Kali“. She was so fierce that she tore down and ate all those who came across. It seemed impossible to calm her down. Seeing all their efforts fail gods went to Lord Shiva to ask him to calm her down.
Shiva laid down on her path which is often how she is portraited. Kali was so consumed with her bloodlust she did not realize she was standing on her own husband. When she realized what she has done her modesty and shame calmed her down and the world was saved.
Maa Kali’s Appearance
Kali is derived from the Sanskrit word “Kala” which means, Time. It also means “she who is black’ – feminine noun of the Sanskrit adjective Kala. She is a dark-colored woman, a counterpart of Goddess Gauri who is fair, both being forms of Shakti. Infamously Kali is shown as a slayer of demons where she stands with one foot on Shiva and holds a severed head. She wears a skirt of severed human arms and a necklace of decapitated heads. Her hands show the form of both creation and destruction. The earring kali wears are small embryos. Kali likes followers who have childlike qualities in them.
Forms of Kali
Goddess Kali is said to have 8, 12, or 21 different forms based. Some of her well-known forms are Bhadra kali, Maha Kali, Dakshina Kali, and Chandika. Different forms of kali are worshipped in different parts of South Asia. Dakshin Kali is the most popular form of Kali in Bengal.
Mother Kali
Even looking at her requires courage, she really has got a terrifying appearance. Then why is she called Maa kali by all her worshippers and followers? Kali symbolizes the superiority of females in nature. She is that mother who could go to any lengths to protect her children. She is a mother who suffers pain to evoke her children. She is the symbol of Shakti, feminine power, and creativity. The devotees who fall at her feet in devotion or surrender in front of her can achieve moksha by touching her feet.
Kali in Tantra Vidhya
Kali dominates tantric iconography, texts, and rituals. In those Vidhya’s kali is considered the highest of all deities. Kali is time herself. As stated across many Vidhya’s, at the end of time the world will be consumed by Kali, then the world will be dark and unbound like her. She is the destroyer of the universe as her counterpart Mahakaal (Lord Shiva). Thus, worship of Kali is done to have victory over the greatest power of the universe, time itself. Kali is worshipped in cremation grounds in the darkest of the night. The goal of tantric gurus to become reconciled with death and learn the acceptance of death the way it is.
Kali Puja
Kali is especially worshipped in the Kalaratri, the seventh day of Navratri which starts from the new moon day of Ashwin for 9 days. The practice involves animal sacrifices in many temples. A tantric priest instructs on how an animal or bird should be sacrificed. Kali is the most misunderstood goddess in Hindu Religion. She is often feared and only considered the goddess of witches and tantric. In a patriarchal society, Kali is the true and oldest representation of female supremacy over nature. Kali teaches us to see life, not as something indifferent to life but as a part of life. She defies the definition of an ideal goddess and is beyond the understanding of mankind and the rules of nature. Created to destroy, she still has a core of love and motherhood.
Google has introduced a new feature called Sleep Sensing on the second-gen Nest Hub which is an opt-in feature to help you understand and improve your sleep. Available as a free preview until next year Sleep Sensing uses Motion Sense (powered by Soli low-energy radar technology) to analyse how the person closest to the display is sleeping, based on their movement and breathing – all without a camera or wearable. Sleep Sensing can also detect sleep disturbances like coughing and snoring or the light and temperature changes in the room with Nest Hub’s built-in microphones and ambient light and temperature sensors, Google said in a statement on Tuesday. “We’ll also be looking for ways to work with Fitbit’s sleep-tracking features in the future,” said Ashton Udall, Product Manager, Google Nest. Sleep Sensing can also connect to your Google Fit app on Android and iOS devices, so you can see your sleep summary alongside your other health and wellness information.
Facebook-owned photo-sharing platform Instagram has announced new safety measures for teenagers, in a progression of endeavours to guard youngsters on its application.
As per Mashable, Facebook recognises that asking clients for their birthday won’t prevent them from lying about their age, so the organisation said it is dealing with new man-made consciousness and AI advancements to attempt to comprehend the genuine age of its clients. This will likewise keep on working when clients are joined, helping the stage tailor the experience for more youthful clients.
Instagram is making genuine strides in shielding youngsters from conceivably risky grown-ups on the stage. One new element is that the grown-ups won’t send direct messages to clients younger than 18 who don’t follow them.
Mashable revealed, if the two clients are associated, Instagram will in any case caution the youngster about dubious conduct on the grown-up’s part.
At least 32 Indian organisations have been attacked by hackers who exploited vulnerabilities in unpatched Microsoft business email servers, a new report warned on Monday, adding that the finance and banking institutions have been hit the most in the country. The finance and banking institutions (28 per cent) in India are followed by government\military organisations (16 per cent), manufacturing (12.5 per cent), insurance/legal (9.5 per cent) and others (34 per cent), according to Check Point Research.
Overall, the hacking attempts on organisations using the services of those unpatched on-premises servers have multiplied by more than six times (or tripled) in the past 72 hours.
The country most attacked was the US (21 per cent of all exploit attempts), followed by The Netherlands (12 per cent) and Turkey (12 per cent), along with India.
The most targeted industry sector has been government/military (27 per cent of all exploit attempts), followed by manufacturing (22 per cent), and then software vendors (9 per cent), the researchers noted.
“A full race has started among hackers and security professionals. Global experts are using massive preventative efforts to combat hackers who are working day-in and day-out to produce an exploit that can successfully leverage the remote code execution vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange,” said the researchers from the cybersecurity firm.
After launching Facebook News, the social network now aims to monetise the newsletter business and will soon start testing partnerships with independent writers for its new publishing platform.
According to a report in Axios, the newsletter publishing platform is free-to-use, and will be integrated with Facebook Pages.
The Pages integration will allow writers, journalists and content professionals to publish content outside of text, like live videos and “Stories” status updates.
The platform will also include tools for journalists to build actual websites.
“Facebook plans to build tools within the platform that allow writers to monetise their websites and newsletters with subscriptions, and possibly other forms of revenue down the line,” the report mentioned on Tuesday, March 16.
Mutton Curry is lamb cooked with flavourful spices in onion and tomato gravy. Though it is cooked in many delectable versions, Punjabi Mutton Curry is simple and tasty. The whole spices are sauteed in pure ghee or mustard oil and then cooked with onions, ginger garlic and tomato gravy. I prefer to cook it in mustard oil which gives a sharp flavour to this dish. I also prefer to cook my mutton Curry with bones. Since it adds flavour and juice to the Curry. The best meat is of the front leg of the lamb which is tender and juicy. The most asked question is why the mutton remains chewy. If we don’t pressure cook it for the required time, it doesn’t cook well and becomes chewy. It should be slow cooked for best results. Serve it with jeera rice on a Sunday brunch and delight yourself with this simple and flavourful recipe.
We need
500 gm Mutton with bones, 2 Tbsp fresh Curd, 3 Medium Onions, 2 Medium Tomatoes, 8 Cloves of Garlic, 2″ Ginger piece, 2 Green Chillies, 2 Tbsp Kasuri Methi, 1 Tbsp Turmeric, 1 Tbsp Red Chilli Powder, 1 Tbsp Coriander Powder, 1 Tsp Garam Masala, 1 Tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli powder, 2 Bay leaves, 4 Cloves, 2 Green Cardamoms, 1″ Cinnamon stick, 1 Black Cardamom, 1 Tbsp Cumin Powder, 1 Tbsp salt or to taste, 5 Tbsp Mustard Oil.
Here we go
– Wash Mutton thoroughly under running water and then put it in a sieve to drain water completely.
– Add fresh curd to the mutton along with ½ Tbsp salt and red chilli powder. Mix well and set aside.
– Grind onion to a fine paste. Also grind ginger, garlic and green chillies separately. Make puree of tomatoes also and set aside.
– In a pressure cooker add mustard oil and heat it till it smokes. Let it cool. When cooled, put it again on flame and add cumin seeds, black & green cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks . Saute till cumin seeds splutter.
– Add onion paste to these whole spices and saute till onions turn light brown in colour. Add ginger garlic paste to the onions and saute again till it leaves oil.
– Add tomato puree and ½ tbsp salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, kashmiri Red chilli powder and garam masala powder. Saute till it leaves oil. Add kasuri methi and mix.
– Add marinated mutton to this onion & tomato masala. Saute till it leaves oil and gets aromatic. Mutton juices are also sealed. It will take 5 to 7 minutes. Keep the flame on low during the process.
– Add around 600 ml of water to the mutton and close the lid of the pressure cooker. Keep the flame on high.
– After 1 whistle, turn the flame on low and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Oh, it smells so good. After 15 minutes turn off the flame and let the pressure release on its own. When the pressure is released, open the pressure cooker and serve your mutton Curry with jeera rice or chapati. Enjoy your Sunday Lunch.
Preparation Time : 15 minutes.
Cooking Time : 45 minutes.
Tips: Grind the onions to a fine paste for smooth gravy. Add a little water if required for grinding.
First wash mutton and marinate with curd, red pepper and salt and then start with the gravy preparation as the mutton will get marinated side by side till you prepare the gravy. It will save time.
Always keep the flame on low after the first whistle as the slow cooked mutton is tender and delicious.
The 40-year-old actress ended her 15-year marriage to the ‘Vampire Diaries’ alum – with whom she has Charlotte, seven, and Theodore, five – in June 2019 before officially filing for divorce in July last year, and according to legal documents obtained by TMZ on Wednesday (17.03.21), the former couple have now been declared legally single.
Documents state Rachael has been allowed to keep her own jewellery and designer clothing as part of the divorce settlement, as well as her 2020 Audi Q5 and access to any reward points on her credit cards including frequent flyer miles. Rachael is also keeping a property in Redondo Beach, California, whilst the Studio City home she owned with Daniel is being sold and profits will be split equally between the pair. The former couple will share expenses for their two cats and two dogs, and are also sharing joint legal and physical custody of their two children.
Daniel, 45, will get to keep his own jewellery and clothing, as well as a 2019 BMW X6. Meanwhile, Rachael previously opened up on her new romance with a man named Kevin, who works as a swim coach.
The film is focused on Sandhya, played by Sanya, who is a young widow who appears not be coping with the loss of her husband as expected by her family and the events in her life that unfold after the passing of her husband after five short months of her wedding. Sandhya’s whole family is concerned about her well-being who is holed up in her room after the death of her husband. The widow, however, is a constant surprise who is never shown shedding a tear while others wail around her, eats gol gappas and prefers Pepsi over chai, and is more concerned with the number of comments on the Facebook post about her husband’s death. A large sum of insurance money left behind by Sandhya’s husband however does change things. With everyone rushing to determine Sandhya’s fate and if she should remarry using the money or not marry and keep the money in the family and much more, Sandhya decides she wants to take charge of her own life.
Despite being a comedy, the trailer does invoke thoughts about what is the right way of expressing grief, or even if there is one?
The story of self discovery of a woman definitely comes from a unique point of referance and one to watch out for. Sanya looks promising in the role surrounded by a variety of seasoned actors like Ashutosh Rana, Raghubir Yadav, Sheeba Chaddha, Sayani G uptaand others.
Washington (TIP): Observing that it is for the people and the Government of India to determine the path forward on its recently enacted farm laws, two top Democratic senators have urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to raise the issue of treatment of peaceful farmer protesters and journalists. In a letter to Blinken, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday urged the Biden administration to further engage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government over its treatment of farmers in India who have been peacefully demonstrating against the passage of new farm laws.
“India is a long-term strategic partner with deep ties to the United States, thanks to our many shared values and our large and valued Indian American community. In light of these shared values and strong connections, we write with serious concern regarding the response of the Indian government to the farmer protests,” Menendez and Schumer wrote in their joint letter to Blinken.
In their letter, released to the press, the two senators urged Blinken to raise the importance of freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest in conversations with his Indian counterparts and to ensure that State Department officials at all levels do so as well.
After becoming the Secretary of State, Blinken has spoken with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar multiple times. The readouts of the phone calls do not indicate that Blinken raised this issue, under pressure from his party men, with Jaishankar. The Biden administration has insisted that the two countries share democratic values.
Schumer and Menendez said the months-long demonstrations have been met with orders from the central government and local authorities to shut off internet access in protest areas, cut off water and electricity supplies for the tens of thousands living in protest camps, and impede the work of journalists reporting on the protests.
“India’s people and government will determine the path forward on these laws, and peaceful dialogue and respect for the viewpoints of all peaceful actors should drive that decision. As the US pursues a more perfect union here at home, including efforts to bolster the rule of law and our democracy, those efforts reinforce the importance of addressing challenges to democracies abroad as well,” the Senators wrote.
The letter by Schumer and Menendez comes a day after the latter wrote a similar letter to Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is visiting India this week.
There has been no response from either Austin or Blinken if they plan to raise these issues with their Indian counterparts, especially when the Biden administration is going out of its way in its outreach with the Modi government given the serious challenge it is facing from China.
New Delhi (TIP): India looks forward to closely working with the new US administration and other stakeholders around five immediate baskets of cooperation, India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu told The Tribune in an interview. Speaking after the February 18 Quad summit, Sandhu outlined cooperation in healthcare and pharma as the first item on the wish list. This also includes ensuring affordable medicines and vaccines. Like Covid cooperation, the second area — digital space; information and communication sectors — was also discussed in the Quad under the rubric of emerging technologies. The third is the energy sector, including LNG, renewable and solar, that will help in the fight against climate change. Equally important are advanced partnerships in education and knowledge partnership; and cooperation in strategic and defence areas, including in the Indo-Pacific. “We look forward to building on the momentum to strengthen our existing partnerships across diverse sectors,” he said.
He said industries in both countries were working together to chart out reliable supply chains in next-generation defence technology and to undertake joint R&D, manufacturing, innovation and experimenting in new domains. Both sides can offer a lot to each other in critical and emerging technologies such as AI, big data analytics, robotics, quantum computing, block chain and Internet of things. “In recent years, we have cemented traditional areas of cooperation, while simultaneously exploring new horizons. Today, there is no area of human activity that the partnership does not touch — from nanotechnology to space and Indo-Pacific to Covid vaccine manufacturing and delivery,” he observed. “The visit of US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to India will enable the two sides to review ongoing cooperation and provide new momentum to our defence ties,” he said.
India remained committed to the bilateral trade target of $500 billion and hopes to re-engage with the US on trade and tariff issues. “In coming days, once senior officials of the Biden administration take their positions, intensive discussions can be expected on trade issues,” he added.
Sandhu was hopeful that the brakes on immigration and easier work visas would also be revisited by the new administration. “We remain engaged on issues related to movement of Indian professionals, who bring in value to the US economy,” he said. There is a strong sense of commitment and determination among the political leadership of both India and the US to take the bilateral strategic partnership to the next level. The Ambassador, however, did not take questions on the farmers’ agitation and allegations in New Delhi about the increased activity of US-based Khalistanis. Source: The Tribune
New Delhi (TIP): Foreign tourist arrivals in India will not touch pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels before 2023, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) has said, citing the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) March survey that found 80% of visitors do not want to travel due to quarantine rules.
CAPA’s preliminary forecast indicates that foreign arrivals will grow to just over 18 million by 2030. It said India is highly dependent on long-haul flights for foreign tourist arrivals. CAPA said such flights are expected to recover more slowly than short-and medium-haul travel. It has estimated 72.0% of people will travel by air for visiting friends and relatives as soon as the pandemic has been contained. CAPA said Covid-19 has peaked in the UK, US, Canada, China, Malaysia, Australia, which are key sources of foreign tourists to India. It added Covid-19 vaccination rollouts are in initial stages worldwide, except the UK (34.3%) and the US (19.7%). Widespread vaccinations are expected by late 2021 in other countries from where a bulk of tourists come to India, it said.
The IATA survey found 56% of potential travellers will postpone their air travel until the economy stabilises, 66% of them feel that quarantine is not necessary for vaccinated passengers and 81% were ready to travel by air if vaccinated. The survey also found 84% of potential tourists will not travel if there is a chance of quarantine.
“The aviation and tourism industries should ensure the highest levels of strategic determination, commitment and coordination to expedite the recovery of India’s inbound tourism,” CAPA said in its report. “Although some travel may resume from winter 2021/22, meaningful recovery is unlikely until winter 2022-23 and pre-Covid volumes will probably not be achieved until winter 2023-24.” It added India is a long-haul destination from most of its source markets and a large proportion of travellers are from vulnerable older age groups. “[This] will impact the speed of recovery. Protocols related to health and hygiene, and the quality of civil infrastructure will become the new normal and the industry needs to prepare for this reality.” Aviation safety consultant Mohan Ranganathan said foreign tourist arrivals will not revive before 2025. “Tourist’s traffic will not commence even after the vaccinations are completed until restrictions imposed by the government are lifted,” he said. Source: HT
The US government has threatened new sanctions against companies involved in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, urging them to pull out of the German-Russian project.
The US State Department “reiterates its warning that any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks US sanctions and should immediately abandon work on the pipeline”, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement on Thursday.
He added that the Department is tracking efforts to complete the pipeline and “evaluating information regarding entities that appear to be involved” in the project. Nord Stream 2 is a “bad deal for Germany, for Ukraine, and for our Central and Eastern European allies and partners”, Blinken said. “As multiple US administrations have made clear, this pipeline is a Russian geopolitical project intended to divide Europe.”
Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Director for Europe, has warned countries against premature easing of Covid-19 restrictions. Kluge’s warning on Thursday, March 18, came as the region has been witnessing a rise in Covid-19 transmission rates, while its death toll was inching towards the 1 million mark, Xinhua news agency. Addressing a virtual press conference here, Kluge noted that “while 27 countries are currently in a partial or full nationwide lockdown, 21 are gradually easing restrictive measures”.
“Some are doing so based on the assumption that increasing vaccination uptake in countries would immediately lead to an improved epidemiological situation,” he said.
“Such assumptions are too early to make.”
Kluge stressed that with vaccination coverage in the region ranging from less than 1 per cent to 44 per cent, it is “far too early to demonstrate the effect of vaccines on overall Covid-19 hospitalisation and deaths”.
Despite “giant scientific leaps and the introduction of effective tools that give us power over the virus”, the WHO official acknowledged that in parts of the region, such as central Europe, the Balkans and the Baltic states, “case incidence, hospitalizations and deaths are now among the highest in the world”.
Brussels (TIP): With summer looming and tourism-reliant countries anxiously waiting for the return of a steady influx of tourism income amid the coronavirus pandemic, the European Union’s executive body presented a proposal March 18 that would allow European citizens and residents — vaccinated or not — to travel freely across the 27-nation region by the summer. The plan, which will be discussed next week during a summit of EU leaders, foresees the creation of vaccine certificates aimed at facilitating travel from one member state to the other.
The topic has been discussed for weeks and proved to be divisive. The travel industry and southern European countries dependent on tourism like Greece and Spain have been pushing for the quick introduction of the measure, which could help avoid quarantines and testing requirements.
But several member states, including France, argued that it would be premature and discriminatory to introduce such passes since a large majority of EU citizens haven’t had access to vaccines so far.
According to data compiled by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, less than 5 per cent of European citizens have been fully vaccinated amid delays in deliveries and production of vaccines. The European Commission, however, remains confident it can achieve its goal that 70 per cent of the EU adult population is vaccinated by the end of the summer.
To secure the adhesion of all member states, the commission proposed that its so-called Digital Green Certificates, which should be free of charge, would be delivered to EU residents who can prove they have been vaccinated, but also to those who tested negative for the virus or have proof they recovered from it.
“Being vaccinated will not be a precondition to travel,” the commission said. “All EU citizens have a fundamental right to free movement in the EU and this applies regardless of whether they are vaccinated or not. The Digital Green Certificate will make it easier to exercise that right, also through testing and recovery certificates.”
The commission proposed that all vaccines rubberstamped by the European Medicines Agency should be automatically recognized, but also offered governments the possibility to include vaccines like Russia’s Sputnik or China’s Sinovac, which haven’t received EU market authorisation.
The European Commission guaranteed that “a very high level of data protection will be ensured” and said the certificates will be issued in digital format to be shown either on smartphones or paper. EU officials also hope that vaccine certificates will convince the member states which have introduced travel restrictions aimed at slowing down the pace of new infections to lift their measures. The EU’s executive arm has previously warned six countries that their travel-limiting measures, which in Belgium go as far as a ban on nonessential trips, could undermine the core EU principle of free travel and damage the single market. The commission said the certificates should be suspended once the World Health Organization declares the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. If agreed by the EU leaders, the proposal will need to be approved by EU lawmakers to enter into force. AP
London (TIP): Hollywood star Johnny Depp will seek permission on Thursday to appeal against his defeat in a London libel case last year over a tabloid article that labelled him a wife beater. High Court Judge Andrew Nicol ruled last November that Depp had violently assaulted his ex-wife Amber Heard during their tempestuous five-year relationship, at times putting her in fear for her life. That decision came after three weeks of hearings where the court heard sensational claim and counter-claim from Depp, 57, and Heard, 34, about violent outbursts that each accused the other of committing. Depp, star of films including ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ and ‘Edward Scissorhands’, had gone to the London court to sue The Sun newspaper and one of its journalists over an article that stated he had been violent towards Heard. “I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp have been proved to the civil standard,” said Nicol in his November ruling.
In the aftermath, Depp’s lawyers said the ruling was so flawed it would be ridiculous for him not to appeal.
They said it was “troubling” the judge had relied on Heard’s testimony while rejecting the evidence of police officers, her former assistant and other witnesses which they said had undermined her evidence.
On Thursday, Depp’s legal team will apply for permission to appeal, and to rely on further evidence. The hearing, expected to last for about two hours, will be livestreamed on the Court of Appeal’s YouTube channel.
Following Nicol’s verdict, seen as being highly damaging to his career, Depp was asked to leave the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise, the movie spin-offs from the ‘Harry Potter’ books and films.
During the libel trial last summer, Heard said Depp would turn into a jealous alter ego, “the monster”, after bingeing on drugs and alcohol and had often threatened to kill her.
Heard detailed 14 occasions of extreme violence when she said the actor choked, punched, slapped, head-butted, throttled and kicked her, with Nicol accepting 12 of these accounts were true, including an assault after her 30th birthday party and another incident which left her with black eyes.
The couple met while making ‘The Rum Diary’ in 2011 and married four years later, but divorced in 2016.
Depp had told the court he was never violent towards his ex-wife, saying her claims were a hoax and portraying her as a gold-digger. But Nicol rejected his version of events. Depp has also filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against Heard in a Virginia court over an opinion piece she wrote in The Washington Post.
— Reuters
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