The temporary closure of Hong Kong’s universities has accidentally highlighted the very old-fashioned way in which they operate in normal times. In the Middle Ages, when books were scarce and expensive, it was necessary for students to gather round the feet of an established scholar and gather the pearls which supposedly fell from his lips. Nowadays this is hardly necessary. Unfortunately, the one topic which attracts little attention and less research in universities is their own internal doings. Education departments
2020-02-24 03:02 | Community & Education, Opinion, teaching | HKFP
February 22, 2020. The sun was brilliant, the slogans and posters striking, the round dance in the heart of Canada’s financial district, the 6 concentric circles of the real Canadians, those who honour Canada’s First Nations, made February 22, 2020 a historic occasion. The largest show of native solidarity in Canada’s history, the day was celebrated across the country. Here are a few memories courtesy of my cell phone. And here’s my take on Presstv . I’m on at
2020-02-24 01:02 | Activism, Canada, Environment | DissidentVoice
By David E. Bloom, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Daniel Cadarette, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The coronavirus outbreak is officially a crisis – let’s not waste it. Undeniably, the international community is taking the matter very seriously, as it should given that the death total from the COVID-19 epidemic already well surpasses that from SARS in the early 2000s.
Residents of Hong Kong wear masks as they
2020-02-24 01:02 | Environment & Health, HKFP Voices, 2020 coronavirus | HKFP
Iran's confirmed death toll from the new coronavirus rose to eight on Sunday, the highest outside China, sending neighbouring countries scrambling to contain the outbreak. Iran's confirmed death toll from the new coronavirus rose to eight on Sunday, the highest outside China, sending neighbouring countries scrambling to contain the outbreak.
Four immediate neighbours of the Islamic republic - Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Armenia - said on Sunday they would close land borders , while three imposed restrictions on
2020-02-24 00:02 | News | Al-Araby
Israel said Sunday it struck bases of the Islamic Jihad militant group near Damascus, while Syria claimed that its air defences shot down "enemy missiles". Israel said Sunday it struck bases of the Islamic Jihad militant group near Damascus, while Syria claimed that its air defences shot down "enemy missiles".
The Israeli army said in a statement that fighter jets "struck Islamic Jihad terror targets south of Damascus," following rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
2020-02-24 00:02 | News | Al-Araby
Israeli aircraft hit what the military said were Islamic Jihad sites in the Gaza Strip late Sunday, after Palestinian militants said they fired a barrage of rockets at Israel. Israeli aircraft hit what the military said were Islamic Jihad sites in the Gaza Strip late Sunday, after Palestinian militants said they fired a barrage of rockets at Israel.
In a new flareup a week ahead of a general election in the Jewish state, the Israeli Air
2020-02-24 00:02 | News | Al-Araby
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—Off-duty police officers and their supporters exchanged fire for nearly two hours on Sunday with members of the newly reconstituted Haitian army in front of the national palace, in a dangerous escalation of protests over police pay and working conditions. At least three police officers were wounded, fellow officers told The Associated Press.
AP journalists saw dozens of men who said they were off-duty officers march with hundreds of supporters toward the palace in the latest in days
2020-02-23 23:02 | haiti, haiti gun battle, haiti police | TruthDig
February 23, 2020 (JUBA) - The Deputy Chairman of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) Hussein Abdelbagi Akol Agany has been appointed Vice-President of the Republic on Sunday and took the oath of office on the same day.
Agany was appointed after the signing of a letter to President Kiir by five SSOA candidates demanding him to choose one the alliance leaders for vice-president.
Lam Akol of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) refused to sign it.
They
2020-02-23 23:02 | News | SudanTribune
In the rush to replace insecure, unreliable electronic voting machines after Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential race, state and local officials have scrambled to acquire more trustworthy equipment for this year’s election, when U.S. intelligence agencies fear even worse problems. But instead of choosing simple, hand-marked paper ballots that are most resistant to tampering because paper cannot be hacked, many are opting for pricier technology that computer security experts consider almost as risky as earlier discredited electronic systems.
2020-02-23 22:02 | ballot-marking devices, cybersecurity, defcon hacker convention | TruthDig
Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg addresses supporters in Colorado in February 2020. | Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post/Getty Images Weeks after the Iowa caucuses debacle, the Buttigieg campaign is questioning Nevada’s math. Shortly after conceding the Nevada caucuses to Sen. Bernie Sanders , former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg began questioning the results there.
Late Saturday night, a letter from Buttigieg’s campaign to the chairman of the Nevada State Democratic Party made
2020-02-23 22:02 | News | Vox
The weeks leading up to Dr. Karla Tait’s arrest were tense at the Unist’ot’en camp, which for a decade has stood in the way of fossil fuel pipeline construction through the Wet’suwet’en Nation’s unceded territory in British Columbia. On New Year’s Eve, British Columbia’s Supreme Court granted an injunction barring members of the Indigenous nation from obstructing work on TC Energy’s Coastal GasLink pipeline. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were authorized to enforce the order, but no one knew
2020-02-23 21:02 | Environment, Justice | TheIntercept
Mon, 2020-02-24 00:28 CAIRO: Egypt’s Tharawat International Investment Corp. has signed a $450 million deal with the Saudi Hospitality Development Group (HDG) to manage Swiss International.
HDG owns and represents the Swiss hotel and resort brand with its three brands: Swiss Spirit, Swiss International and Royal Swiss.
“Many of our investors are interested in investing in Egypt and we have started tourist projects mainly in Hurghada, Sharm El-Shiekh and
2020-02-23 21:02 | News | ArabNews
Author: Mon, 2020-02-24 00:21 RIYADH: G20 finance ministers and central bank governors have agreed to encourage the use of digital financial services in order to boost inclusion for under-served groups, especially women, youth, and small and medium enterprises.
Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan said: “The global economy has not been delivering for all, as we can see from the persistence of income
2020-02-23 21:02 | News | ArabNews
Sun, 2020-02-23 23:50 ABU DHABI: Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a key role in the near future in the utilization of energy resources — including renewables such as solar and wind power — according to a report that draws on research conducted by the American management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
The report, entitled “Artificial Intelligence: Transforming the Future of Energy and Sustainability,” highlights the potential for AI applications in
2020-02-23 21:02 | News | ArabNews
National security advisor Robert O’Brien in East Room the White House, with adviser Jared Kushner and acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney. | Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images “I haven’t seen any intelligence that Russia is doing anything to attempt to get President Trump reelected,” national security advisor Robert O’Brien said. White House national security advisor Robert O’Brien categorically denied reports that Russia has been interfering in the 2020 election in
2020-02-23 21:02 | News | Vox
In-depth: Trump's visit to India is billed as historic, but it's likely more about optics and theatre for domestic consumption rather than grand strategy, writes Tahir Hussain Sofi. Trump’s stopover in India this week is probably more about optics and political expedience, than about strategy, albeit the two sides stand to advance some of their respective administrations’ geopolitical concerns.
For the two right-wing leaders who share many of their policy instincts, from the way they
2020-02-23 21:02 | In-depth | Al-Araby
Author: Sun, 2020-02-23 23:37 HONG KONG: Deadly viruses, chickenpox outbreaks and mass cases of the runs: Sometimes luxury cruise ship holidays are not the trips of a lifetime elderly passengers had hoped for.
Cruise-goers have fallen sick en masse in the past, their predicament on the high seas coming into sharp focus because the holidays can cost thousands of dollars and are
2020-02-23 20:02 | News | ArabNews
Author: Sun, 2020-02-23 23:30 BEIJING: It is lunch time in Beijing, but the only diner in Cindy’s Cafe is an employee having a staff meal — it has been closed for more than three weeks as China battles a deadly virus epidemic.
Restaurants are taking a huge hit as many people across the country of 1.4 billion have been either under some
2020-02-23 20:02 | News | ArabNews
Author: Sun, 2020-02-23 23:13 VÉNISSIEUX: As Europe looks to declare its tech independence by becoming a leader in next-generation batteries, it will have to start by making its own graphite. The problem is, nearly all of it now comes from Asia, mainly China.
So France’s Carbone Savoie and Germany’s SGL Carbon, the only European firms deemed capable of taking up the challenge,
2020-02-23 20:02 | News | ArabNews
US Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders, who has just won the Nevada Democratic primary and is projected to maintain his strong showing in the coming weeks, has adopted a position on Palestine and Israel that can be considered unique, especially if compared to his rivals. While Sanders has repeatedly emphasized that he is “pro-Israel” and that, as a president, he will continue to support Israel, he has also balanced that with statements where he demanded respect for Palestinians, going
2020-02-23 20:02 | Articles, Features, Bernie Sanders | PalestineChronicle
By Tito Anthony
I asked myself this questions on 20, February 2020 will I see Sanctioned Individuals or official back to R-TGONU again? Actually, I failed to answer it, but I wonder if the parties could consider sanction as one of the criteria for nominating their candidate for any particular seat in the new government.
I concluded that I shouldn't be surprised to see all Sanctioned officials from all the parties back to the new coalition
2020-02-23 20:02 | News | SudanTribune
Author: Sun, 2020-02-23 23:06 LONDON: Among Britain’s digital app-based banks that are attracting moneyed urban millennials is Monese, which also courts customers neglected by the country’s established lenders.
In early 2000, Estonia-born entrepreneur Norris Koppel arrived in Britain and spotted a major gap in UK banking for newly arrived foreigners who had trouble opening traditional accounts.
Koppel was snubbed by
2020-02-23 20:02 | News | ArabNews
A man walks through Seoul wearing a mask to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. | Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images With 602 confirmed coronavirus cases, President Moon Jae-in has raised the country’s threat alert level to the highest of its four levels. In response to growing concerns about the spread of Covid-19 — the disease caused by the novel coronavirus first observed in Wuhan, China — in South Korea, President Moon Jae-in has raised the country’s threat
2020-02-23 19:02 | News | Vox
A day after Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan said Ankara had lost 'several troops' deployed to assist the UN-recognised Tripoli administration, fighters loyal to Haftar claimed to have killed 16. Fighters belonging to Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) claimed on Sunday to have killed 16 Turkish fighters over recent weeks, a day after Ankara acknowledged it lost several "martyrs" in combat in the north African country.
According to Reuters , citing Khalid
2020-02-23 18:02 | News | Al-Araby
UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged the security council to approve a new transit point for Syria aid amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the country's north. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged the Security Council to authorise a new passage point on the Turkish border to allow humanitarian aid to reach the embattled population of northeast Syria , where medical supplies are running short.
The recommendation came in a report issued on Friday
2020-02-23 17:02 | News | Al-Araby
Turkey and Russia are facing off over Idlib, with a last-ditch attempt to save Idlib from disaster at French-brokered crisis talks. Fresh clashes between Turkey and the Syrian regime broke out this week in Aleppo province, as the deadline nears for Damascus to withdraw its forces from recently re-captured opposition areas or face a Turkish military response .
Fighting centred on the village of Al-Nayrab , outside Saraqeb - a town
2020-02-23 17:02 | In-depth | Al-Araby
Art fair founder says western institutions belatedly investing in contemporary art from Africa Major western culture institutions – including Tate and MoMA – are “playing catch up” to create truly global collections that recognise modern art from the Africa, according to the founder of an influential art fair devoted for contemporary African art. Touria El Glaoui, the director and founder of 1-54, said that only in the last decade have institutions begun to take it seriously. Continue
2020-02-23 17:02 | Art | Guardian
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan and Turkey have instituted new measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, commonly known as the novel coronavirus. Turkey said on Sunday it would close its borders with Iran , shutting off both air and land traffic from its eastern neighbour where at least eight people have died from the coronavirus .
The Islamic Republic has suffered the largest death toll from the virus, officially known
2020-02-23 17:02 | News | Al-Araby
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders came out on top in the Nevada Democratic caucuses, building on his victory in New Hampshire earlier this month. Bernie Sanders scored a commanding victory in Nevada’s presidential caucuses, cementing his status as the Democrats' national front-runner but escalating tensions over whether he’s too liberal to defeat President Donald Trump .
Joe Biden was a distant second, followed by Pete Buttigieg in third and Elizabeth Warren in fourth, with
2020-02-23 16:02 | News | Al-Araby
Ballistic missile and drone depots in Yemen's rebel-held capital were struck by Saudi-led coalition strikes on Sunday. The Saudi-led coalition said it launched air raids targeting ballistic missile and drone depots in Yemen's capital on Sunday, two days after Houthi rebels fired missiles into the kingdom.
Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the coalition fighting alongside Yemen's internationally-recognised government , said the strikes were in retaliation for ballistic missiles attacks on "civilian targets" in Saudi Arabia.
2020-02-23 16:02 | News | Al-Araby
The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 9:23 am (0553 GMT), was near the Iranian village of Habash-e Olya, less than 10 kilometres (six miles) from the Turkish border. A magnitude 5.7 earthquake in northwestern Iran on Sunday killed at least nine people in neighbouring Turkey and injured dozens more on both sides of the border, authorities said.
The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 9:23 am (0553 GMT), was near the
2020-02-23 16:02 | News | Al-Araby
As it became clear Saturday evening that Sen. Bernie Sanders would run away with the Nevada caucus and secure his position as the frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primary, MSNBC anchors and contributors lashed out at the senator and his supporters in bizarre and sometimes hysterical fashion, descending into what one observer could only describe as a “full-blown freakout.”
Earlier in the Democratic primary process, the Comcast-owned network was notorious for ignoring the senator from Vermont, and covering him
2020-02-23 16:02 | bernie sanders, cable news, chris matthews | TruthDig
Sen. Elizabeth Warren visits a Nevada caucus site on February 22, 2020. | Melina Mara/The Washington Post/Getty Images She saw an uptick in support from voters who recently decided on a candidate. It sure looks like Elizabeth Warren’s fiery debate performance last week translated to a slight bump at the Nevada caucuses .
According to early Washington Post entrance polls , Warren performed better among voters who decided in
2020-02-23 16:02 | News | Vox
A volunteer counts votes during the Nevada caucuses inside Coronado High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 22, 2020. | Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images Early voting meant Nevada nearly matched its 2016 turnout before Saturday’s caucuses began. While final numbers have yet to be released, preliminary turnout figures for the Nevada caucuses suggests voter enthusiasm is high in the state — and that Democrats concerned about the lack of record-breaking turnout in Iowa’s contest may have
2020-02-23 16:02 | News | Vox
Israel has published a list of the sites visited by a group of South Korean tourists who later tested positive for the virus, amid fears of a major outbreak. A plane which arrived in Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport from Seoul was held on tarmac on Saturday, while 200 Israelis thought to have come in contact with a South Korean tourist group were ordered to self-quarantine, amid fears of a major outbreak in the Jewish state .
2020-02-23 16:02 | News | Al-Araby
Residents of Hong Kong wear masks as a precautionary measure against the spread of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus on February 23, 2020. | Vivek Prakash/AFP/Getty Images Health experts say it’s time to prepare for worldwide spread on all continents. During the last two months, as the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak has spiraled into a global threat, countries around the world have scrambled to impose travel bans, quarantine millions, and isolate sick people in an attempt
2020-02-23 16:02 | News | Vox
This video documents the protest that took place in London on the 22nd of February 2020 to stop the extradition of Julian Assange. This protest was organised by the “Don’t Extradite Assange Campaign.” CORRECTION IN VIDEO AT 00:14: ” … and 1 count of conspiracy ‘to commit computer intrusion.’”
2020-02-23 16:02 | Julian Assange, Political Prisoners, Video | DissidentVoice
Pete Buttigieg campaigns in Aurora, Colorado, on February 22, 2020 after finishing third in Nevada. | Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images Buttigieg argued Sanders is too divisive to defeat President Donald Trump. After Bernie Sanders decisively won the Nevada caucuses on Saturday night, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg used his concession speech to make a pointed case against the senator from Vermont — arguing that Sanders is too divisive and therefore cannot
2020-02-23 16:02 | News | Vox
Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders cheer as members of the Culinary Workers Union watch a Democratic presidential caucus at the Bellagio hotel-casino on Feb. 22, 2020, in Las Vegas.
Photo: John Locher/AP
Despite a high-profile battle with the leadership of Nevada’s powerful Culinary Union leading into the caucuses on Saturday, Bernie Sanders emerged with a decisive victory — even dominating other candidates among culinary workers themselves, according to entrance surveys.
2020-02-23 16:02 | Politics, Uncategorized, Voices | TheIntercept
Early this morning (Sunday, Israel time) the Israeli military killed two Palestinians near the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel. According to the IDF, the two Palestinians were attempting to lay IEDs against the military. Soon afterwards, the IDF invaded Gaza with an armored bulldozer and a tank to snatch away the two bodies. A video (not enough TRIGGER warnings in the world) soon... Source
2020-02-23 15:02 | News | MondoWeiss
Enlarge / Wok tossing has long been suspected of causing the high shoulder injury rate among Chinese chefs. (credit: Hunting Ko and David Hu/Georgia Tech)
Fried rice is a classic dish in pretty much every Chinese restaurant, and the strenuous process of tossing the rice in a wok over high heat is key to producing the perfect final product. There's always chemistry involved in cooking, but there's also a fair
2020-02-23 15:02 | Science, applied physics, fluid mechanics | ArsTechnica
“In Defence of Democracy” Purchase in the Truthdig Bazaar
American democracy is in trouble as never before. In the past, there have been moments when democratic process and democratic guarantees have been suspended — Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus, the internment of the Japanese Americans during World War II, the McCarthy hearings with their extralegal destruction of lives and careers — and we have lived through tragic errors in judgment, as in the Vietnam War
2020-02-23 14:02 | Book Review, andrzej duda, authoritarian leaders | TruthDig
Sun, 2020-02-23 17:44 RIYADH: The meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors ended in Saudi Arabia with a determination to tackle pressing global concerns such as geopolitical and trade confrontations, as well as the challenge of the coronavirus outbreak. The official communique — hammered out among the G20 policy-makers gathered in Riyadh over two days of discussions — said that global economic growth was expected to pick up “modestly”
2020-02-23 14:02 | News | ArabNews
Pete Buttigieg greets supporters at a town hall campaign event in Denver on February 22, 2020. | Win McNamee/Getty Images The state’s entrance polls hint at how the two could do in South Carolina. One key trend in the Nevada entrance polls could mean trouble for both former South Bend Mayor, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar . According to data from the Washington Post , both candidates
2020-02-23 14:02 | News | Vox
Joe Biden speaks to supporters in Las Vegas on February 22, 2020. | Ethan Miller/Getty Images Entrance polls suggest Biden was correct about the strength of his black support in the state. Former Vice President Joe Biden — once the national frontrunner in the 2020 Democratic primary — may have come in second behind Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in the Nevada caucuses , but he still has one thing going for him: the support of
2020-02-23 14:02 | News | Vox
Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq received here on Friday US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the first high-ranking US official to visit the Gulf nation since the new sultan ascended to the throne following the death of Sultan Qaboos on 10 January 2020.
2020-02-23 14:02 | News | IINA
As Lebanon deals with its first case of COVID-19, some have blamed Hezbollah backers Iran over the virus' spread in the Middle Eastern country. Some in Lebanon are casting blame on Iran , the supporter of the country's powerful Hezbollah group , after the country's first case of the new virus was discovered on a flight from the Iranian city of Qom this week.
The existence in Lebanon of the
2020-02-23 14:02 | News | Al-Araby
Enlarge / The top floor of our test house is relatively straightforward—although like many houses, it suffers from terrible router placement nowhere near its center. (credit: Jim Salter)
Here at Ars, we've spent a lot of time covering how Wi-Fi works, which kits perform the best, and how upcoming standards will affect you. Today, we're going to go a little more basic: we're going to teach you how to figure
2020-02-23 14:02 | Features, Tech, wi-fi | ArsTechnica