is she ugly though? she has one of those faces that is confusing…minus the jew factor
LIVE: AG William Barr holds press conference on Operation Legend
U.S. announces nearly $204 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Iraq
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that the United States is providing nearly $204 million in additional humanitarian assistance for the people of Iraq, Iraqi refugees and communities hosting them.
“This assistance will provide critical shelter, essential healthcare, emergency food assistance, and water, sanitation, and hygiene services across Iraq. It will also improve access to civil documentation and legal services, the capacity of health care facilities and increase access to education and livelihoods opportunities,” Pompeo said in a statement.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iraq-aid-idUSKCN25F245
Security forces kill Taliban commander in Afghanistan
KABUL: Afghan security forces on Tuesday repelled a Taliban attack, killed one of the terror group's commanders, and injured several other terrorists in the eastern Nangarhar province, the press office of the provincial government said on Wednesday.
"Yesterday, the Taliban attempted to attack security forces in the Sherzad district, a local Taliban commander was killed and two others were injured," the press office said in a statement. According to the local government, Afghan forces also discovered and dismantled eight mines planted by the Taliban in the Nazyan district of the province.
The movement has not yet commented on the incident.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2020/aug/19/security-forces-kill-taliban-commander-in-afghanistan-2185663.html
3GD / Three Gorges Dam Live Multicam + Radar
Floodwaters in China creep over giant Buddha’s toes for first time in 70 years
Floods in southwest China have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate in recent days, with water levels rising over the toes of a 1,200-year-old giant statue of Buddha for the first time since Mao Zedong swept the Communists to power in 1949.
Southwest China’s Sichuan province raised the flood emergency to its highest level for the first time on record, warning water in some areas was guaranteed to be at least 5m above flood protection levels.
Seasonal flooding hits large swathes of China each year, but the rainfall levels this year have been the highest in decades, displacing two million people and leaving more than 200 dead or missing.
Officials said more than 100,000 people were evacuated so far this week out of the Leshan region of Sichuan alone, on the upper reaches of the Yangtze river.
Water lapped at the toes of the 71m Leshan Giant Buddha – an 8th century statue carved into a mountainside at a point where three rivers converge – as rescue workers and volunteers used sandbags to try to protect the Unesco world heritage site.
State media said it was the first time water levels had reached as high as the feet of the giant Buddha since the People’s Republic of China was formed by Mao Zedong in 1949.
An ancient local saying forewarns that if the Buddha’s toes get immersed, the provincial capital of Chengdu and its surrounding plains are sure to flood.
Some streets in Chengdu were turned into rivers this week, following several days of record-breaking deluges.
Landslides blocked roads and destroyed homes across the region, and in some low-lying areas rooftops and treetops were all that could be seen protruding from the flooded plains.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/floodwaters-in-china-creep-over-giant-buddha-s-toes-for-first-time-in-70-years-1.4334137
Cargo Ship Fire Kills 1, Injures 1
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek-flagged cargo ship with 18 crew on board caught fire in the Arabian Sea early on Wednesday, leaving one crew member dead and another one injured, Greece's Shipping Ministry said.
The ship had been sailing without cargo from the United Arab Emirates to Port Elizabeth in South Africa when the fire broke out in the middle of the night, the ministry said. It was not immediately clear what had caused the blaze.
The fire was extinguished by mid-morning, and the ship was drifting without steering, far from land, the ministry said. Nearby ships had been notified to render assistance.
The ministry said the ship’s 55-year-old second engineer had died in the blaze, while the 26-year-old third engineer was injured. Both are Greek.
https://www.manufacturing.net/home/news/21172118/cargo-ship-fire-kills-1-injures-1
Germany to test merits of universal basic income by giving out $1,400 a month
German researchers will test whether universal basic income could work by handing out around $1,400 per month to a group of people for three years.
The German Institute for Economic Research experiment will involve 1,500 people randomly selected throughout the country, though only 120 will receive the cash payments, the Times of London reported.
Funded by about 140,000 private donors, the pilot program will give out the equivalent of $1,430 a month, putting the participants just above the poverty line.
The entire group will fill out regular surveys about their lives to gauge how their attitudes and behaviors change, the outlet reported.
“So far the debate has resembled a philosophical salon at best, and a religious war at worst,” Jurgen Schupp, who will lead the study, told German outlet Der Spiegel, according to the Times.
“On both sides, it is characterized by clichés: critics claim a basic income would make people stop working and lie on the couch with fast food and streaming services. Supporters say people would carry on with meaningful work, become more creative and pro-social, and rescue democracy.”
So far, 90 percent of the participants said they will continue working despite the new cash flow, the report said.
One of the participants has said she will use the payments for her own entrepreneurial pursuits instead of joining her family’s hotel business, the outlet reported.
“I’ve asked myself: ‘What am I spending my time and my money on? Am I doing this because I have to, or because I want to? What can I achieve with it?’” she said.
https://nypost.com/2020/08/19/german-study-will-test-merits-of-universal-basic-income/