Question:
With developments going from bad to worse for the Iranian regime, the mullahs have decided to play a 40 year-old card. They have orchestrated an attack on a U.S. embassy, this time the one in Baghdad. President Trump summarized the situation in this tweet: Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified. Trump’s expectation of protection from the Iraqi government

Reply 1 - Posted by: DCGIRL 1/1/2020 5:41:47 AM (No. 275766) Last night watching the news, I was thinking that all of these Iran protester were gather in one spot. What an easy target. Problem solved. Click Here if you Like this Comment 5 people like this. people like this. Report

Reply 2 - Posted by: George R. 1/1/2020 6:42:17 AM (No. 275775) Why were these "protestors" allowed into the Embassy undeterred? $1000. to $1. not one magazine was emptied in it's defense. The Marines look real pretty in their red striped pants, but maybe some Boy Scouts from Texas could do a better job, at least they know how to shoot. The feckless Marines put on Embassy Duty evidently are deployed there to be decoration not a deterrence. The US Army should have relieved the marines of Embassy Protection after their performance in 1979. Click Here if you Like this Comment 1 person likes this. person likes this. Report

Reply 3 - Posted by: Chuzzles 1/1/2020 8:19:51 AM (No. 275801) And therein lies the rub. Will the Iraqi government step up to protect our embassy? Or should we just pull out and let them fend for themselves. Their government has not been the most reliable in the past. Poster #2 is so filled with ignorance it breaks my heart. It is not up to the boots on the ground to decide to fire. It is up to the commanders at the Pentagon who decide. And IIRC, Carter disarmed those Marines in 1979. The most trouble embassies ever have is when a democrat is in the WH. Clinton allowed for many bombings, Carter had the hostage crisis, and Obama had Benghazi. Give the Marines a break and stop with the disrespect. Click Here if you Like this Comment 17 people like this. people like this. Report

Reply 4 - Posted by: jar 1/1/2020 8:58:03 AM (No. 275826) When Obama pulled the troops out of Iraq, Iran came in in full force. Iraq has become a satellite of Iran. Iranian blocks control the Iraqi Parliament, and the caretaker Prime Minister of the Iraqi government is an Iranian puppet. Iran is stealing Iraqi wealth and using Iraq to bypass US sanctions, Yes, we need more troops there by the thousands. Click Here if you Like this Comment 3 people like this. people like this. Report

Reply 5 - Posted by: udanja99 1/1/2020 9:21:45 AM (No. 275850) Thank you, #3. The Marine Security Guard Detachments can only protect the embassies if they are allowed to do it. There are still many desk-riding 0bama generals in the Pentagon. PDT needs to get rid of them too while he’s cleaning up the swamp. Click Here if you Like this Comment 6 people like this. people like this. Report

Reply 6 - Posted by: MDConservative 1/1/2020 9:47:49 AM (No. 275873) FTA: "...the number of troops will initially be less than a 1,000. A larger force of several thousand soldiers has also been placed on stand-by..." Another "surge" to secure a $750 Million embassy that was supposed to be the most secure in the world. Waiting for a useless "government" to protect it, even after nearly two decades of training and "liberty". More American lives potentially on the line...to what end? Any "orders" sent down by Jimmy Carter, who left office in 1981, are easily rescindable today, and have been ever since then. Somehow these orders survived several CINCs, from Reagan to Trump. Seems an empty excuse for exactly what #2 wrote. These Marines, following orders or otherwise, are clearly nothing more than decoration if unable to use their skills and weapons for the purported purpose they are stationed at our embassies. Click Here if you Like this Comment 1 person likes this. person likes this. Report

Reply 7 - Posted by: HotRod 1/1/2020 10:13:17 AM (No. 275902) I think direct conflict with Iran is inevitable, as much as it is unwanted. It will not be a nuking of cities or bombing of the population, but will be targeted action against the leadership, military facilities and nuclear development locations. We will not go it alone either. Israel is at the tipping point too. The Russians and Chinese will make a lot of noise, but will end up influencing the remaining leadership to surrender. They need the oil. Click Here if you Like this Comment 4 people like this. people like this. Report

Reply 8 - Posted by: udanja99 1/1/2020 10:30:26 AM (No. 275919) I’ve just gone back and re-read some articles about this posted here yesterday and found that this is not the first time that #2 has bashed the Marines. I wonder what his issue is. Was he tossed out because he couldn’t cut it at boot camp? My husband walked in and volunteered to be a Marine in 1969, even though he had a high draft number and at a time when some of his friends were burning their draft cards and high-tailing it to Canada. He served for 2 years and got orders for Nam, but they were rescinded because, by then, the Pentagon was beginning to pull the Marines out in accordance with the “first in, first out” rule. I also served at 2 American embassies overseas, one behind the Iron Curtain, and have tremendous respect for ALL Marines. Click Here if you Like this Comment 11 people like this. people like this. Report

Reply 9 - Posted by: bighambone 1/1/2020 11:21:39 AM (No. 275949) Most of the media reports on what is occurring at the US Embassy is misleading as the “protesters” have not taken over the Embassy grounds, what they have actually done is take over part of a wall and a couple of buildings on the compound perimeter setting fires and vandalizing US property there. The US Marine guard force has kept the “protesters” away from the main embassy buildings. Right now it will tell a lot as to the competence and motives of the Iraqi government and military by what happens next, as while the Iraqi military should never have allowed the “protesters” to even approach the embassy outer perimeter in the first place, and should now be moving the “protesters” from the embassy grounds. Click Here if you Like this Comment 3 people like this. people like this. Report

With developments going from bad to worse for the Iranian regime, the mullahs have decided to play a 40 year-old card. They have orchestrated an attack on a U.S. embassy, this time the one in Baghdad.

President Trump summarized the situation in this tweet:

Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified.

Trump’s expectation of protection from the Iraqi government may be too optimistic. Indeed, Trump seems to recognize this. Reportedly, he is sending additional forces to keep U.S. personnel in Iraq safe.

According to CNN, the number of troops will initially be less than a 1,000. A larger force of several thousand soldiers has also been placed on stand-by and could also be deployed to the region if the need arises.

Let’s hope that Trump is able to avoid an embassy takeover or similar disaster. And if there is an embassy takeover, let’s hope that Trump handles it a whole lot better than Jimmy Carter did 40 years ago.

Apple Could Start Using Imagination GPUs Again For iPhones And Beyond

Apple disrupted the status quo when it started making its own chips for its mobile devices. That was true not just for Qualcomm and its processors or Intel and its LTE modem but even for Imagination and its mobile graphics chips. The latter, however, seemed to follow in Qualcomm's footsteps and engaged in a legal battle with Apple. Now Apple and Imagination have apparently made up but also raises questions about what the future may hold.

Once upon a time, Imagination and its PowerVR were the household name when it came to graphics in mobile devices, especially phones. Over time, its market share dwindled but was largely kept afloat by Apple's use of the technology in its iPhones. That changed in 2017 when Apple announced that it would be making its own GPUs as well, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.

That announcement naturally meant Apple was dropping Imagination as a partner. The latter even blamed Apple for its sharp decline in revenue and filed a complaint about the sudden termination of their deal. To make matters worse, Apple has reportedly poached Imagination employees to work on its own mobile graphics chips.

Now the two have apparently settled their differences even before things got messy. Imagination announced that their agreement with Apple has been changed from "multi-year, multi-use license" to "multi-year license". Furthermore, that agreement gives Apple access to a "wider range of Imagination's intellectual property".

The terse and cryptic announcement naturally leaves the matter open to the imagination, no pun intended. The company just announced a new IMG A-Series GPU tech that it claims is the fastest in the market to date and it could very well be in the next iPhones. The wording, however, does also suggest that Apple may be cooking up something that will need more than just smartphone GPUs, possibly to power its AR glasses or even ARM-based MacBooks.

Paramount Pictures has revealed the first full-length trailer for A Quiet Place 2. The studio had previously revealed a brief teaser that offered a tiny glimpse of what's to come in the sequel to 2018's inventive horror hit. This, however, offers a much more thorough look at what the studio has cooked up, with most of the core cast returning to once again face down the horrors of this post-apocalyptic, silent wasteland. But the horrors aren't limited to deadly, sound-seeking monsters this time around.

The initial A Quite Place 2 teaser trailer picked up following the events of the first movie. John Krasinski's character gave his life to protect his children, ultimately making it so they could survive with their mother. The family managed to figure out a way to kill the beasts that have invaded Earth, which gave them a leg-up in the survival game. However, as we can see, they are having to step off the sandy path that had kept them safe for so long and will be forced to head into uncharted territory. Emily Blunt is back as the head of the Abbott family, with Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe also returning as her children.

John Krasinksi, who directed and co-wrote the original, returns to the director's chair this time around. Krasinski also wrote the screenplay. Original writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods stepped back to focus on original endeavors but remain involved in a more limited capacity. New cast members include Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins) and Djimon Hounsou (Captain Marvel). Details regarding any characters were being kept under tight lock and key during production.

A Quiet Place 2 picks up following the deadly events of the first movie. The Abbott family is forced to face the terrors of the outside world as they continue their fight for survival in silence. As they hesitantly journey into the unknown, they quickly realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path. Allyson Seeger, Joann Perritano and Aaron Janus, Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller serve as producers.

Released in 2018, A Quiet Place went on to become one of the most unexpected hits of the year. The movie was embraced widely by critics, currently boasting a 95 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences agreed and moviegoers turned up in droves to see it. The movie, working from a relatively modest budget of just $17 million, went on to gross $340 million at the global box office. With that, a sequel became a top priority for the studio. The question is, was this a lightning in a bottle situation? Or can they manage to strike gold twice? A Quiet Place 2 is set to hit theaters on March 20, 2020, from Paramount Pictures. Be sure to check out the new trailer for yourself.

Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 1

Trend:

“Our international positions have strengthened further. During the year, more than 40 heads of state and government visited Azerbaijan. Our bilateral ties have significantly expanded. We successfully cooperate in a multilateral format, several prestigious international events have been held in our country. I should specifically mention the Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States. As a result of the summit, Azerbaijan assumed chairmanship in the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States,” said President Ilham Aliyev in his message of congratulation to the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of the Day of Solidarity of World Azerbaijanis and the New Year.

“A meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit was held in Azerbaijan and by a unanimous decision of 120 countries, Azerbaijan will chair this large organization for three years. It is a sign of great confidence in us. This shows that the vast majority of the world community supports Azerbaijan and treats us with great respect,” the head of state said.

“This year, Baku hosted the Summit of World Religious Leaders, and religious leaders from 70 countries gave a very positive assessment to the processes taking place in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan asserted itself at the summit as a multicultural country committed to its traditions, national and religious values,” President Ilham Aliyev emphasized.

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McCONNELSVILLE, Ohio –From building to brewing, the Ponchak family is on track for an early 2020 opening for its newest business venture.

“McConnelsville is making a comeback,” said Dean Ponchak, as he walked through a brick building that sits north of the village square on West Main Street directly across the street from not only the town’s grocery store, but its iconic steel bridge.

Dean and his wife, Jennifer, bought the building in January 2018, and the pair works with their sons Blake, 30, and Dirk, 26, in Jennifer’s construction business, Follow the River.

Now the family is opening its second joint-venture with Dean at the helm of Old Bridge Brewing Co.

“Leading into the taproom, I want it to reflect that bridge, get a mural up there that makes it look like you’re walking up to the bridge as you walk to the tanks,” he said as electricians added lighting.

The property is the former vehicle showroom for Gutbertlet Chevrolet before its closure a decade ago. It served as several vehicle showrooms prior to Gutbertlet and survived an explosion in 1914 when it operated as a garage.

“It’s been a long process and a lot of work getting a 100-year building converted from a garage to a restaurant,” said Blake, noting working as a family on construction is nothing new–and hoping the business appeals both to local historians and visitors to the town.

In the last year, Morgan County has seen several restaurants close, including breakfast/lunch options like Kenny’s and The River Queen.

“We are all hopeful they get it open soon and are successful,” said Adam Shriver, who not only runs Twin City Opera House in McConnelsville but also serves as a Morgan County commissioner.

Recent closures don’t scare the Ponchaks since they own not only the brewery building but also the location of a Mexican restaurant opening across the parking lot and plan a partnership with Maxwell’s Pizza.

“Both Maxwell’s and El Palenque will deliver right to your table once we’re open,” said Dean. “And we’ve already held some small weddings in the banquet space and plan to use this as both a special event area and a place for overflow if we get really busy.”

Dean and Jennifer Ponchak learned to brew (at a larger scale than the home brewing Dean has practiced for the last few years since retirement from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency) through an immersion learning course in Colorado.

“We went to beer school and part of that immersion is working in a brewery–learning how that runs and we get to use the recipes we practiced there,” Dean said. “I’ve always liked the red ales and a stout, but out there in Brighton we even learned to make this raspberry hibiscus beer and fruity isn’t usually what I gravitate to but it was pretty good.”

Blake said his favorite brew thus far is a session IPA his dad makes, one of the four staples the family plans to have on tap once it opens.

“I hope people walk in, look around and see how this 100-year-old building has grown from what it was beforehand, and hopefully now is a place for people to want to go on a weekend or when they get off work,” he said. “The biggest thing is you have to have good beer, as long as we have good beer anybody can enjoy it.”

Dean said he hopes to capture brewery tourists en route from Zanesville, Athens and Marietta as well.

“We are within about 30 miles of all of these and the interstate. I want a place where you can come, relax and enjoy a drink with me in my version of retirement,” he said.

The brewery is anticipated to open by spring, with an approximately 160-person capacity space.

To stay updated on progress, follow the business on Facebook.

Janelle Patterson can be reached at jpatterson@mariettatimes.com.

The mood of the market turned quickly at the end of last year. Photo / Getty Images

The mood of the market turned quickly at the end of last year. Photo / Getty Images

The 2010s were a turbulent, transformative and testing time for the global economy but there was not a recession.

That is extremely rare. In fact, it is the first decade in the post-world war II era without a downturn in the UK and US.

A year ago many economists thought the global economy would be crawling over the line into the 2020s and would suffer a recession soon after.

READ MORE:

• 'Indicators are flashing red': Warning signs recession is looming

• A recession will come, but how bad will it be?

• Jared Bernstein: Just how likely is a recession?

• Experts warn the next recession will be 'worse than the Great Depression' and predict it will hit US within two years

The trade war had escalated at a frightening pace, Brexit was in deadlock, global factories were heading into a deep industrial recession and central banks appeared to be oblivious to the threat of a downturn. The market's most-trusted recession signal - the US Treasury yield curve - then flashed red, predicting one within 24 months.

But the mood on markets has turned on a pinhead.

An ageing, and in some parts of the world record-long, economic cycle appears to have been given a shot in the arm. City forecasters have pencilled a slight acceleration in global growth from 2019's post-financial crisis low of 3pc to 3.1pc this year and 3.2pc in 2021. What changed?

The headwinds that threatened to tip the world into the next economic crisis have waned substantially. The US and China have reached an agreement for a "phase one" trade deal, potentially putting a pause on the protectionist wave sweeping the globe.

Boris Johnson's decisive victory in the election will not only get his Brexit deal over the line but gives him more wriggle room in the next stage of negotiations.

And crucially central banks have moved from tightening financial conditions to cutting interest rates and ploughing more money into markets.

The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, cut borrowing costs three times this year and moved from reversing quantitative easing - its bond-buying programme - to expanding its balance sheet again. The European Central Bank has also extended its experimental policies to revive growth, cutting rates deeper into negative territory and restarting its QE programme after an ill-conceived attempt to end it a year ago.

While many economists fret central banks will now not have the firepower to fight a recession if one does strike, the latest burst of stimulus has catapulted stock markets to new record highs. Global stocks have followed their worst year since the financial crisis in 2018 with their best, gaining 25 per cent last year.

But with growth still languishing at post-crisis lows, are investors sleepwalking into the next recession?

Most Wall Street analysts have predicted that the US-China breakthrough and the Fed's policy U-turn will be enough to stave off recession.

The US became the focus of recession jitters earlier this year given its importance to global growth. When America sneezes, the rest of the world still catches a cold - even as economic powers in the east rise.

However, Philip Marey, Rabobank's senior US strategist, warns the euphoria on markets over the trade deal has been "overdone", predicting the US will enter a recession in the second half of this year.

The deal struck by Beijing and the Trump administration picks the low-hanging fruit of agricultural products and rolling back tariffs but fails to tackle the key sticking points between the two countries, such as intellectual property.

Marey also argues that business investment remains low and the slack left in the US economy - the resources of an economy not being used - is very small, capping the room for growth. A key risk is that business worries feed through into the jobs market and hit the confidence of consumers, whose spending accounts for around 70 per cent of US GDP.

More rate cuts from the Fed would not be able to support growth further, he argues.

"It is really ineffective in supporting business investment and that is where the real bottleneck is at the moment," he says.

"For businesses, interest rates are low anyway so that is not their main concern."

The US election in November will start to come into focus for investors, generating another source of uncertainty for businesses.

Signs of a recession brewing in the US could severely dent Donald Trump's chances given the strong economy is seen as stopping his approval rating sliding any lower.

Four more years of Trump will increase the risk of another trade standoff but some of his Democratic challengers are equally problematic for businesses and investors.

Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren - who are currently polling in second and third place ahead of the Democratic primaries - are two leftist populists with plans to radically redistribute wealth and take on Wall Street.

Citi global chief economist Catherine Mann says uncertainty from trade and politics "matters for the global economy".

"The several risks that have been weighing on the global outlook have not dissipated, and there is a non-small probability that these intensify in 2020."

While most investment banks believe the threat of an immediate downturn has been pushed back, she warns that the "risk of recession still does loom over the economy".

The relief from a prolonged and economically damaging period of uncertainty in the UK could also be brief.

Even with the Brexit deadlock broken, economists expect growth in the UK to be tepid again this year, slowing further from around 1.3 to 1.1 per cent.

With the prime minister insisting on a final trade deal with the EU being agreed before the end of the year, more uncertainty could plague businesses and the UK economy. No-deal Brexit worries could return in the second half of the year.

Berenberg UK economist Kallum Pickering is more optimistic, predicting that growth will hit 1.8 per cent this year after being boosted by the fiscal stimulus promised by the Conservatives.

"An orderly Brexit can lift confidence and spending in the next two years after more than three years of heightened uncertainty and gradually softening momentum," he says.

Economists expect much of the business investment lost over the last three years to return but estimates of how much can be lured back vary from around a quarter to a half. Some of the investment will be lost forever, however.

Torsten Bell, chief executive of think tank the Resolution Foundation, warns that Britain's buoyant jobs market could turn in 2020. This could weaken the economic boost provided by record employment levels and shoppers enjoying their biggest pay rises since the last recession.

"Our best guess is that 2020 will be very different from the last few years," Bell says. "We may well see a welcome return to record pay levels, but a less welcome retreat from record employment, with worrying signs including falling vacancies and rising youth unemployment."

Meanwhile the eurozone economy is expected to be weighed down again by Germany in 2020, with the impotent ECB unable to provide much stimulus and Northern European governments refusing to boost spending.

China, which has been hit hardest in the industrial recession triggered by the trade war, is also expected to slow further. City forecasters are predicting its growth will sink below the symbolic 6 per cent mark despite Beijing's huge fiscal and monetary stimulus efforts to pep up the economy.

While most economists believe a recession will now be avoided in 2020, the ability of policymakers and central bankers to revive growth is severely limited, if one does strike.

The world economy is facing at the very least a prolonged period of stubbornly slow growth that will be difficult to escape.

- Telegraph

Instruction: Retrieve semantically similar text.


Question:
PNN/ Bethlehem/

Dr. Ola Awad, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) President presents a brief on the status of Palestinian people at The end of 2019 as follows:

More than 13 Million Palestinians in the world by the End of 2019

An increase in population of Palestinians in the world

The projected number of Palestinians in the world is 13.350 million, of whom 5.039 million are in State of Palestine, 1.597 million in 1948 Territory, 5.986 million in Arab countries and around 727 thousand in foreign countries.

More than one-third of population reside in Gaza Strip

The projected number of Palestinians living in State of Palestine at the end of 2019 is 5.039 million: Around 3.020 million reside in the West Bank and 2.019 million in Gaza Strip. Palestinian refugees make up 42% of the Palestinian population in State of Palestine: 26% of them in the West Bank and 66% in Gaza Strip.

Decline in fertility rate

The total fertility rate declined during (2011-2013) to 4.1 births (compared to 5.9 births in 1999). In Gaza Strip the rate was 4.5 births compared to 3.7 births in the West Bank during 2011-2013.

Total Fertility Rate in the State of Palestine, Selected Years

Decrease in average household size

The average household size in the State of Palestine was 5.1 persons in 2017 (compared to 6.1 in 2000): 4.8 persons in the West Bank and 5.6 persons in Gaza Strip.

Average Household Size in State of Palestine by Region in 2000, 2017

Decrease in crude birth and death rates

The crude birth rate is 30.2 births for every 1000 of population in the State of Palestine 2019: 27.7 in the West Bank compared to 34.0 in Gaza Strip. The crude death rate is 3.7 deaths for every 1000 of population in State of Palestine 2019: 3.9 in the West Bank compared to 3.5 in Gaza Strip.

.

High fertility rate among Palestinian women in Jordan compared Palestinian women in Syria and Lebanon

The total fertility rate for the Palestinian women living in Jordan was 3.3 births in 2010 compared to 2.5 in Syria in 2010 and 2.7 for the Palestinian women in Lebanon in 2017.

Selected Demographic Indicators by Country of Residence, Selected Years

Country of Residence Average Household Size Total Fertility Rate Jordan 5.1** 3.3* Syria * 4.1* 2.5** Lebanon 4*** 2.7*** * Data represent for 2010

** Data represent for 2011

*** Data represent for 2017

The Palestinian population in 1948 Territory is a young population

The number of Palestinians living in 1948 Territory is 1.597 million at the end of 2019, of whom the percentage of individuals under 15 years was about 32.8% for males and 31.8% for females, while the percentage of individuals 65 years and above was 4.4% for males and 5.3% for females at the end of 2018.

The Palestinian population around the world has increased to over 13 million, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.

In a year-end report, the governmental body said more than five million are inside Palestinian territories and nearly six million in Arab countries.

Around three million reside in the West Bank and two million in the Gaza Strip, the report said.

Palestinian refugees make up to 42 percent of the Palestinian population in Palestinian areas, it said, adding 26 percent of them are in the West Bank and 66 percent in Gaza.

Meanwhile, the report cited a decline in fertility rate in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the past decade, saying this may be detected in the decrease in average household size, 5.1 persons in 2017 compared to 6.1 in 2000.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – The President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), Patricia Affonso-Dass is predicting that 2020 will be an exciting and fruitful year for the sector.

“As we look ahead through the crystal ball to 2020, data received from CHTA members indicate we may have more to celebrate. While there are challenges and there is always the unknown, most indicators point to continued steady economic conditions in our key source markets and robust visitor expenditures,” she said in an end of year message.

Affonso-Dass said that Caribbean hoteliers have much to be proud of in 2019 after taking up the challenges of the past 12 months “and successfully folded them into an optimistic canvas for the New Year”.

She said that the destinations hardest hit by the 2017 hurricanes have made impressive progress to pre-hurricane levels and are back on track with new and improved product.

'Their fortitude has encouraged many of our members who were spared the wrath of the storms to reassess their product, spurring many of them to greater heights. The silver lining on the dark clouds of hurricane devastation was the fact we were not only able to rebuild but we also were able to bolster our structures to withstand the wrath of future storms.”

The CHTA official said that arrivals throughout the region, in fact, are very high and on pace for a record year in 2019.

“The vast majority of destinations recorded marked increases and the Caribbean is on pace to reach its highest annual RevPAR in history by year-end,” she said, noting that “while external factors like the global economy are key to our success, it would not be possible without the aggressive efforts by the region's public and private sectors over the past decade to expand and modernize airports and attract significant hotel investments – both in new and refurbished properties.

“We continue to see arrivals growth fuelled by accommodation disruptors in the form of vacation home rentals; this will continue to be an important part of the accommodations sector – it is ever more important therefore to ensure that it is better regulated, taxed and integrated into the collaborative efforts of all tourism industry stakeholders.”

In her message, Affonso-Dass singled out the Bahamas, still recovering from the passage of Hurricane Dorian on September 1 that killed nearly 70 people and left damage estimated at US$3.4 billion.

“Our sincere thanks also goes out to all those who supported our efforts to ease the suffering of the islanders by giving generously to our recovery fundraising initiatives.

“Through one of our support initiatives, the Caribbean Tourism Job Bank, we were pleased to see the number of organisations from areas unaffected by the storm, offering jobs to some 2,500 Bahamian hotel workers who were displaced by Dorian. We are working collaboratively with our partners in The Bahamas to support their recovery with the funds which were raised.”

She said she was also pleased that the CHTA Education Foundation has been organising and offering scholarships and special assistance for the education and training of Caribbean tourism industry personnel and students pursuing tourism and hospitality careers.

“Over the past year the foundation and its partners have made special efforts for students from hurricane-afflicted islands as well as focused on the critically important issue of diversity to better equip our team members to warmly welcome, respect and embrace the world.

“We are committed to being leaders in this space and are happy that our efforts have begun to open doors for discussions on issues that urgently need to be addressed so that all people living in and visiting our beautiful region – irrespective of gender, sexual or religious preference – feel safe, welcomed and truly part of our Caribbean community.”

She urged participation at the January 21-23 Caribbean Travel Marketplace to be held in the Bahamas as well as the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF) and Taste of the Caribbean to be held in Miami in June.

JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Governor Tate Reeves announced disaster assistance for Mississippi businesses and residents affected by the Pearl River flooding on February 10-14, 2020.

He sent a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) requesting a Federal Declaration for Public Assistance to make loans available to those impacted. The declaration covers Hinds and Madison counties, as well as the following adjacent counties: Attala, Claiborne, Copiah, Holmes, Leake, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Warren, and Yazoo. Residents and businesses in those counties can apply for low-interest disaster loans from SBA.

“The historic flooding we experienced in February was more than anyone anticipated—and more than anyone should have to recover from alone. The people and businesses in the path of the Pearl River are still recovering from the recent devastation and deserve a helping hand. Working with the U.S. Small Business Administration, I am committed to helping Mississippi businesses and communities get back on their feet and thrive,” said Governor Tate Reeves.

For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at Disasterloan.sba.gov. Anyone applying through the website can also receive one-on-one assistance by calling the SBA helpdesk and speaking with a customer service representative.

Businesses and individuals may also obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can also be downloaded at www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be returned to the center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Dream11 Prediction - Central Hinds vs Otago Sparks

CMW vs OSW in Women's Super Smash 2019-20 Dream11 Team: Fantasy cricket predictions and tips for Central Hinds vs Otago Sparks match today, January 2.

Central Hinds vs Otago Sparks Dream11

Wicketkeeper: Katey Martin, Natalie Dodd

Batsmen: Emily Cunningham, Anlo Van Deventer, Eden Carson

Allrounders: Jess Watkin (C), Suzie Bates, Hayley Jensen

Bowlers: Rosemary Mair, Amanda Wellington (VC), Hannah Darlington

CHW vs OSW My Dream11 Team

Katey Martin, Natalie Dodd, Emily Cunningham, Anlo Van Deventer, Eden Carson, Jess Watkin (C), Suzie Bates, Hayley Jensen, Rosemary Mair, Amanda Wellington (VC), Hannah Darlington

CHW vs OSW Probable Playing 11

Central Hinds(Playing XI): Jess Watkin (Co-Captain), Emily Cunningham, Natalie Dodd (WK), Anlo Van Deventer, Hannah Rowe (Co-Captain), Mikaela Greig, Melissa Hansen, Claudia Green, Monique Rees, Rosemary Mair, Georgia Atkinson.

Otago Sparks (Playing XI): Suzie Bates, Millie Cowan, Katey Martin (C & WK), Hayley Jensen, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Hannah Darlington, Bella James, Sophie Gray, Eden Carson, Emma Black, Sophie Oldershaw.

Check Dream11 Prediction / CHW Dream11 Team / Central Hinds Dream11 Team / OSW Dream11 Team / Otago Sparks Dream11 Team / Dream11 Guru Tips / Online Cricket Tips and more.

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Every coach who was asked about the top candidate for Orange County girls volleyball coach of the year had the same reply.

The No. 1 choice was Isaac Owens of Esperanza.

Owens coached the Aztecs to the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 championship and a 29-8 record.

ALL-COUNTY VOLLEYBALL | Player of the Year | Coach of the Year | All-County Teams

Those results and the support of his peers makes Owens the Orange County girls volleyball coach of the year.

Esperanza defeated Murrieta Valley in five sets in the CIF-SS Division 2 championship match at Cerritos College. The Aztecs lost the first two sets of the Division 2 final, and had lost the second set by a larger margin than the first. Owens managed to rally the team, and the team rallied to win three sets in a row to capture Esperanza’s third CIF-SS girls volleyball title.

Owens, 49, has coached at Esperanza since 2001. He has coached the boys and girls teams there during his tenure, and since 2014 has exclusively been the girls coach.

Owens played his high school volleyball at Huntington Beach.

Esperanza had excellent players this season.

“Elyse Stowell was amazing,” said Owens of the junior outside hitter who was the CIF-SS Division 2 player of the year. “(Senior setter) Maddy Harkey did a wonderful job for us, (outside hitter) Julia Waugh was outstanding as a freshman with her ability to pass and hit, and our junior middle Taylor Jones was great, too.”

Put those players together with a coach of the year and the result was a championship season for Esperanza.

Arizona led the drive to give women the right to vote. 100 years later, it's paying off Opinion: A century ago, Arizona led the nation in women's rights. As we begin 2020, the state's women are poised to lead great reforms once again.

Show Caption Hide Caption Arizona treated men and women as equals. Where will that take us? Arizona politician Eileen Klein discusses Frances Willard Munds, who fought for suffrage in Arizona, and what women face a century later. David Wallace, The Republic | azcentral.com

Editor's note: As 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment that opened the door for eventually all American women to vote, we invited Eileen Klein, a leading light for years in Arizona government, to write about the accomplishments of Arizona women and the challenges ahead. She does so in this open letter to Frances Willard Munds, who helped lead the crusade for Arizona women’s suffrage a century ago.

Dear Ms. Munds:

The dawn of this new and significant year seems a fitting time to recall Arizona’s role in women’s suffrage and share a bit of good news about the state of our state’s women today. We’ve come a long way over rocky ground, Ms. Munds; maybe farther than you ever dreamed?

One of the last states to join the union, Arizona was among the first 10 to recognize the women’s vote and has consistently supported women leaders since. Your quest for women’s suffrage, inseparable from the quest for statehood, speaks to the smarts, tenacity and can-do attitude of women in the American West and spotlights their courage.

Looking for the other side of the story? Subscribe today for access to even more opinions.

Today more than 3 million women who call Arizona home have the benefit to live in one of the freest states in America, forged from the strength of our shared native, pioneer and immigrant heritage.

Still young, Arizona finds herself entering her second century of statehood at the forefront of America’s population and economic growth, presenting new chances, if not obligations, to build on the competencies and character of Arizona women.

Suffrage was once considered a threat

Perhaps it is just coincidence that your own grandfather, Alexander Hamilton Willard, was a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, which recorded the first vote by a woman, Sacagawea. The lone woman and a kidnapped Native American, her very presence was instrumental to the expedition’s success, and her “equal fortitude and resolution” was praised by its leaders.

In any case, Ms. Munds, it was you who would reset the suffrage strategy, abandoning appeals to male legislative reason and instead go after the male popular vote following decades of legislative defeat — including a veto by a territorial governor who feared that granting women the right to vote might jeopardize the campaign for statehood.

After statehood was safely secured in 1912, you took advantage of our new state Constitution’s provision for citizen initiative, built a larger coalition of support, and with help from outside the state, won women’s suffrage immediately and impressively with nearly 70% of the vote.

We must pause and duly credit Arizona men with their important role in the victory. The use of citizen initiative, race and immigration would influence state debate and policy for years to come.

Arizona women vote and get involved

Elation quickly turned to election, and by 1914 women had secured seats in the Arizona Legislature, with you, Ms. Munds, as our first female state senator. Legislation to regulate the workday and increase wages were among the first to be considered.

It would take another two generations before statutes would be revised to remove the requirement that officeholders be men. Although you did not live to see the day, in 1988 Arizonans would use the title Madam Governor for the first time.

Today, women lead our electorate. Nearly 70% of eligible Arizona women are registered to vote and nearly 60% voted in the 2018 election cycle, with large increases in participation nationally coming from young women.

While not yet equal in number, Arizonans are known to elect larger percentages of women and more female governors than other states, once electing all women to statewide office and creating a national sensation.

Phoenix, now our nation’s fifth-largest city, is led by a woman mayor, Kate Gallego, and its public safety is led by a woman police chief, Jeri Williams, and fire chief, Kara Kalkbrenner.

Arizona elected her first United States senator, Kyrsten Sinema, in 2018. Her counterpart, Martha McSally, is the first female fighter pilot to command a fighter squadron in combat.

Women prosecutors bring wrongdoers to justice in our oldest (Sheila Polk in Yavapai) and largest counties (Allister Adel in Maricopa).

As a teacher, you will appreciate that several of our university and college presidents are women, including Rita Cheng, president of Northern Arizona University, and Maria Harper-Marinick, chancellor of the Maricopa County Community College District.

Many of them are America's leaders

Arizona women of color, who even after 1912 and 1920 would be excluded from voting in Arizona due to discrepancies in state and federal law and English literacy requirements, are making their mark.

Tucson has just elected its first Latina mayor, Regina Romero. Flagstaff’s mayor, Coral Evans, is African-American.

Beyond local communities, Hispanic, African American and Asian-American women hold statewide constitutional offices (Lea Márquez Peterson and Sandra Kennedy, Corporation Commission; Kimberly Yee, State Treasurer). Native American women lead several of Arizona’s 22 tribal nations.

Arizona has given America some of her most iconic women leaders. Shortly after statehood, an Arizona woman, Sarah Herring Sorin, was the first to try a case unaccompanied by a man before the United States Supreme Court.

Later, a woman who grew up on a ranch in southern Arizona would become the nation’s first majority leader in the state Senate and go on to become America’s first female U.S. Supreme Court justice – Sandra Day O'Connor.

Sandra Day O'Connor: Breaking glass ceilings on rise to the Supreme Court Sandra Day O'Connor was raised on an Arizona ranch and would become the first female Supreme Court justice. She'd break barriers all along the way. David Wallace, Arizona Republic

The federal bench includes an Arizonan who is America’s first female Native American judge, Diane J. Humetewa.

An Arizona woman, Barbara Barrett, serves as secretary of the United States Air Force.

Our nation celebrated a Navajo woman, Annie Dodge Wauneka, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work in public health.

A Tucson troubadour, Linda Ronstadt, who fused her Hispanic heritage with a mix of musical styles has won the highest of praises with a National Medal of Arts and Kennedy Center honors.

It is hard to imagine that the women’s vote once threatened Arizona statehood. Today, women define it.

Education is making womens' lives better

Thanks to further changes in federal law, coupled with improvements in health care, education and the economy, a baby girl born into Arizona in 2020 is more able to direct her own life and flourish here, certainly when compared to the baby girl of 1920.

She has independent access to the modern predicates of financial success, namely higher education and credit markets, giving her more opportunity to increase her earnings, build (and pass on) wealth and overcome hardship no matter her race or life circumstance at birth.

She has fewer children than generations before, but she – and they – are more likely to live longer. In Arizona, she can send them to the school of her choice, whether district, charter or private, or she can educate them at home.

Though her economic status is still likely improved by a spouse, it does not depend on one. In fact, with most jobs requiring learning beyond high school, a young woman’s future prospects depend more on her own level of education.

Young women seem to be getting this message. More of them attend and graduate college today, taking advantage of higher education institutions and subjects once closed to them, and opening doors to new career opportunities. (Even Barbie, the nation’s most popular fashion doll, has explored some 200 careers since arriving on the scene 50 years ago dressed in her swimsuit.)

But challenges still persist

Even so, a woman’s journey in the next 100 years is not guaranteed to be of ease. Wage and health disparities persist. More Arizona women and children live in poverty than the national average, a trend that has not improved even amid a growing economy. Women still marry but more also lead households with children, half of which receive federal assistance.

Arizona’s best opportunity and future success lies in addressing these challenges, which will be aided by improving educational opportunity and outcomes.

We hope women’s expanded freedoms and direct participation in self-government bring about a better life for them and their families, and that their increased presence in decision-making and empathic leadership traits bring about a better America, not just a different one.

After 100 years of tremendous change, we still are sorting out our relationships, family structures and lifestyles, working to reconcile that change with societal expectations and economic reality.

Few reforms in the name of women’s rights have enjoyed the same cohesion as suffrage. Some, like abortion, contribute to some of our largest partisan divides.

As women debate these and other issues and as they grow their influence, we hope they will value diversity of thought and demonstrate through civil discourse that a person does not find her voice by shouting over or shutting down the voice of others.

What's next for women in Arizona

Where last century’s reform efforts focused on statehouses and courtrooms, they are now being pursued in board rooms. More companies are recognizing the competitive advantage – and profitability – of fairness and opportunity.

Businesses across industries are working to increase leadership diversity, address pervasive sexual harassment, increase flexibility to accommodate family and move more capable women into management roles – the first step to increasing the pipeline of women executives.

Arizona is well positioned for this next round of reform. Women lead our state’s largest business and trade associations and hold top executive positions at privately held and publicly traded Arizona-based companies.

Arizona is recognized among the top states for growing clout among women-owned businesses. Arizona women lead the state’s largest philanthropic ventures and social service non-profits. Women as consumers drive 70% of the market.

If ever there is to be a perfect convergence of leadership, policy, business practices and social responsibility that benefits all people, it will happen here. As is Arizona tradition, we hope the next round of change will be made in in tandem with men – not as their subordinates, nor their superiors, neither in spite of them nor in lieu of them, but with them – in equal partnership and with equal responsibility.

And so, Ms. Munds, we gladly join America’s centennial celebration of women’s suffrage and pray for ongoing fortitude and resolution to continue the expansion of freedom for all people. For the Arizona we enjoy through your work and that of your contemporaries, and for lighting the path to a more just and equitable life, you have our enduring thanks and respect.

Yours truly,

An Arizona woman

Born in Alaska, raised in Florida, Eileen Klein has chosen to make her home and career in Arizona, where she has served as state treasurer, chief of staff to a governor and president of the Arizona Board of Regents.

Instruction: Retrieve semantically similar text.


Question:
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize has called on society to transform so that the newborns are raised in a peaceful South Africa.

JOHANNESBURG/CAPE TOWN/DURBAN - As the world settles into a new decade, KwaZulu-Natal officials said 66 newborn babies have been recorded in the province so far.

Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said this is a special decade for the country as it prepares to implement the highly-debated National Health Insurance.

Mkhize said all the newborns have been issued with birth certificates and this will be the standard practice once the NHI is fully implemented.

#2020NewYear Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is at the newly refurbished King Dinizulu Hospital in Durban to welcome New year’s babies. @NkoRaphael pic.twitter.com/i7pjNpv5Q3 — EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) January 1, 2020

It’s a joyous occasion at Dbn’s King Dinizulu Hospital as nurses welcome #2020NewYear’s babies. Earlier, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize was at the hospital accompanied by KZN Premier @sziks. Officials say in total, 32 babies were born in KZN between 00:30 & 10:30. @NkoRaphael pic.twitter.com/b0Ir2YpWyd — EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) January 1, 2020

Mkhize has also used the occasion to call on parents to ensure that their children are immunised as soon as possible.

"We have actually almost lost the status of a polio-free South Africa simply because of the faltering in the level of immunisation. We need this to be picked up on all preventable diseases."

Mkhize has called on society to transform so that the newborns are raised in a peaceful South Africa.

"Non-natural causes of death are also a big issue. When you talk about the issue of violence against women and children, car accidents, as well as homicides - all of these are preventable. They are all about societal transformation."

22 NEW YEAR'S BABIES BORN IN THE WESTERN CAPE

Ten boys and 12 girls have been born so far on the first day of the new decade in the Western Cape, making a total of 22.

Health MEC, Nomafrench Mbombo, visited the Khayelitsha District Hospital where one birth has been recorded for New Year's Day so far.

Weighing 3.3 kilograms, a baby boy was the first birth registered in the province at Mowbray's Maternity Hospital.

The second baby boy was born at 00:13 at Paarl Hospital weighing 3.65 kilograms. The hospital has been the busiest since midnight, with five births recorded at the facility

Mbombo said it's important for parents to create a healthy environment for the newborns from day one.

#NewYearsBabies Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo, this morning visited Khayelitsha District Hospital where Baby Mlungwana was born at 03:50. She weighs 3.15 kg. KB pic.twitter.com/UnsdMfGzKB — EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) January 1, 2020

GAUTENG RECORDS OVER 200 NEW YEAR BIRTHS

The Gauteng Health Department said 213 newborn babies have been born in the province's public hospitals so far on New Year's Day.

Health MEC Bandile Masuku congratulated the parents of the newly born babies.

Nthuthulezo Mlungwana gave birth to a baby daughter, Mlungwana, at the Khayelitsha District Hospital on New Year's Day. Picture: Courtney Africa / African News Agency (ANA)

Cape Town – The number of New Year babies born at public health facilities in the Western Cape has more than doubled since this morning. Earlier, the Western Cape Health Department said 22 babies had been born, but the figure has now been revised to 58.

The first baby, weighing 3.3kg, was born to Zahraah Abrahams in Mowbray at exactly midnight.

Thirteen minutes later, the second baby in the Western Cape was conceived at the Paarl hospital – another boy weighing 3.6kg. A total of seven babies have been born so far at the Paarl hospital today.

The newborns in the province comprise 32 boys and 26 girls.

While Orange County was reveling in the spirit of the holidays this week, a group of marine mammals held a party of their own.

On Tuesday, Dec. 24, Capt. Steve Plantz, on board the Manute’a — a catamaran operated by Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari — came across a festive sight involving three gray whales, and some dolphins and sea lions.

Plantz had taken the Manute’a out on its first public cruise on Christmas Eve morning and was looking for marine mammals — including gray whales which have started to show up off the Orange County coastline during their annual migration from the Bering Sea in Alaska.

He first saw a group of common dolphins which led Plantz about three miles straight out of Dana Point Harbor, where he caught sight of the whale spouts. As the boat got closer, Plantz saw three whales — two adults and one juvenile. The common dolphins continued to frolic with the whales who were cruising south.

Two hours later, Plantz took out a second group of passengers. This time he found the whales off Camp Pendleton, surrounded by about 20 Pacific white-sided dolphins and three sea lions.

“The dolphins were diving around them and under them,” Plantz said. “The sea lions were just jumping.”

“Had this been any day of the year, to get a sighting like this would have felt like Christmas,” he added. “To get this on Christmas Eve, it added a special element.”

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.

Chuck Todd’s Sunday commentary on “Meet the Press” equating Trump supporters to Bible believers willing to embrace “fairy tales” is outrageous, displays an ignorance of the manuscript evidence for the authenticity of the Bible (“more than 25,000 partial and complete manuscript copies of the New Testament”), shows a dearth of understanding for the geological and historical evidence for a worldwide flood, and a lack of respect for and sensitivity to the millions of people – both Jews and Christians – who believe the biblical narrative is a true account of this catastrophe of immense proportions that went on to reshape the Earth’s geology.

Todd’s characterization of the biblical narrative of the worldwide flood as a “fairy tale” was dragged up from an almost year-old letter-to-the-editor written to the Lexington Herald.

The letter stated: “…People support Trump … because people have been trained from childhood to believe in fairy tales... This set their minds up to accept things that make them feel good... The more fairy tales and lies he tells the better they feel... Show me a person who believes in Noah's ark and I will show you a Trump voter."

There is abundant evidence right here in our own country for Noah’s flood such as the Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. These geological wonders show evidence of horizontal sedimentary deposition, the result of catastrophic, hydrological forces. Flood waters, carrying millions of tons of sediment, drained off the continent into the oceans hundreds of miles distant carving the canyons and leaving behind the immense buttes and mesas in their wake.

Native Americans have revered these sites for centuries. The larger buttes and mesas in Monument Valley have names like Totem Pole, Three Sisters, Yei-Bi Chei, and Merrick Butte. Each has spiritual significance in the Navajo culture. The Mittens—two buttes standing 978 and 1,023 feet, respectively—were supposedly left behind by the Holy People, deities or spiritual beings who lived on Mother Earth in the beginning of time. Many Native American tribes trace their origin to the Grand Canyon.

The Havasupai believed it to be the birthplace of the human race. The Hopi believed it was where all living things came through another dimension into our world.

But perhaps the Hualapai have the most interesting tradition about the origin of the Grand Canyon. They believe the earth was once covered by a flood. “The Great Hero” then stuck the Earth with a huge knife, rocking it back and forth, creating deep gorges so that the water could drain away.

How did such beliefs persist among Native Americans for so many centuries? The Hualapai aren’t the only people with such a story. Genesis 7:19 states: “…The waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high hills under the whole heaven were covered.” The Bible goes on to recount how God—The Great Hero of the Judeo-Christian tradition—caused the flood waters to recede from the Earth.

Noah's flood is mentioned throughout the Old and New Testaments. Psalm 104 and Job 22 refer to the great deluge as does Jesus in the Gospels. The apostle Peter also mentions Noah's flood in both of his epistles. But the event first appears in Genesis chapters 6 through 9, where it is described in detail.

“The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So, the Lord said, I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth -- men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air -- for I am grieved that I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:5-8).

God told Noah exactly how to build the ark and gave him 120 years to complete the task. Along with his sons and quite possibly, plenty of hired help (although the Bible doesn't specifically mention this), Noah built a huge cargo ship out of gopherwood and pitch.

When the rains came, Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives went into the ark. Along with them, they brought two of almost every kind of animal and bird. (Noah was instructed to take seven pairs of every animal and bird considered clean for sacrificial purposes.)

Imagine the stories that spread through the region about that "crazy old man building the big boat." People possibly traveled for miles to see this sight -- because it had never rained. The Bible describes the conditions on the antediluvian Earth as vastly different from our present-day weather patterns (Genesis 2:6).

During the many years that the ark was under construction, anyone could have been spared by believing in Noah's preaching. The Bible says that he warned his neighbors of God's impending judgment. "God did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others" (2 Peter 2:5).

When the ark was completed, it stood laden with cargo on dry ground for seven days. God left the door open -- anyone could have walked in and been saved. But aside from Noah's family, no one else entered. At the end of the week, the Lord shut the door and the disaster began. The rain started and the underground springs burst open.

The vast extent to which the Earth's surface is covered with water is only one of many evidences for a massive, worldwide flood. Other evidence abounds.

Fossil graveyards, containing many different types of remains, have been found; these collections suggest that herds of animals massed together to escape a catastrophe or that their carcasses were deposited in low-lying areas and then buried under tons of water-borne sediment. Marine fossils have been discovered on top of mountains rimming the Mediterranean Sea. I often find these fossils in my annual treks through the Peruvian Andes at altitudes above 12,000 feet. And horizontal sedimentary layering in the Grand Canyon and other places points to a global deluge.

In the fall of 2000, an issue of U.S. News and World Report reported "an amazing archaeological discovery beneath the surface of the Black Sea." Robert Ballard (who found the Titanic) led an archaeological team that discovered "a large wooden building 12 miles offshore at a depth of more than 300 feet." Ballard said, "Apparently there is an ancient coastline some 550 feet below the present sea level.

"It was a find beyond our wildest imaginations," he said.

Scientists have claimed there is photographic evidence that may be the remains of Noah's Ark. Military and private satellite snapshots of Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey reveal an anomaly that researchers say might be the remains of Noah's Ark. The first pictures of what has come to be known as the Ararat Anomaly date back to 1949. U.S. intelligence officials analyzed aircraft imagery of Mount Ararat taken in June of that year. The photos show a unique feature at 15,500 feet on the northwestern plateau.

Porcher Taylor, an assistant professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia and an expert in satellite imaging, has gathered evidence on the Ararat Anomaly since 1993. He estimates the anomaly to be approximately 600 feet long.

Another expert, a naval engineer and architect, has examined the photographs and believes that the structure shows "prongs" or "ribs" similar to what one would expect to find on the keel of an ancient marine vessel. The most recent satellite evidence comes from Space Imaging's Ikonos 2, which can resolve images as small as one meter across. From October 1999 through the summer of 2000, the mountain was photographed. It was reported that a “seven-person team of independent scientists and analysts scrutinized the batch of images. While the photos clearly show some type of feature, the team was divided in their interpretation. While some felt the anomaly could be human-made, others voted for rock or deferred to inconclusive data.”

This evidence is not just interesting on its face but demonstrates the number of scientists, historians, theologians and open-minded journalists willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

To those of us who embrace the Bible’s narratives as being true accounts of historical events, none of the evidence comes as a surprise. “We have not followed cunningly devised fables,” (2 Peter 1:16) but we have the accounts of “eyewitness.”

These eyewitnesses – the writers of both the Old and New Testaments – have created the expectation that the evidence demonstrated by the Earth’s geology, Native American traditions and archaeological discoveries would support the Bible's accounts of events.

As it turns out, Trump voters are in good company with a lot of other, really smart people.

(MENAFN- IMARC Group) According to the latest report by IMARC Group, titled 'Digital Pathology Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2020-2025,' the global digital pathology market size reached US$ 520.6 Million in 2019. Digital pathology refers to the technique of analyzing high-resolution, digitally scanned histology images generated from a digitized glass slide. The specialized equipment was first used to capture images from a microscope onto photographic plates. In recent years, digital pathology has rapidly gained momentum as this technology helps in reducing laboratory expenses, improving operational efficiency, enhancing productivity, and improving treatment decisions and patient care.

Request Free Sample Report: https://www.imarcgroup.com/digital-pathology-market/requestsample

Global Digital Pathology Market Trends:

Digital pathology allows improved analysis, offers live zoom and multiple angle views, provides a dashboard view of data and annotations, and reduces errors by eliminating breakage and minimizing risk and misidentification. Apart from this, it is increasingly used by top clinical research organizations (CROs) and large biopharmaceutical manufacturers to streamline drug development processes in discovery, pre-clinical and clinical trials. This, along with the advancements in technology and software applications, such as the whole slide imaging technique, and LIS/LIMS interfacing, and high-speed networking, has fully integrated digital pathology into pathology workflows. Moreover, many leading companies are entering into a partnership to gain more profits. For instance, Huron Digital Pathology has collaborated with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) on artificial intelligence-based image search. This helps in presenting a pathologist-centric approach to image retrieval at pathology informatics. Looking forward, the market value is projected to reach US$ 984.4 Million by 2025, registering a CAGR of 11.2 % during 2020-2025.

Market Breakup by Type:

•Human Pathology

•Veterinary Pathology

Market Breakup by Product:

•Scanners

•Software

•Storage Systems

•Communication Systems

Market Breakup by Application:

•Training and Education

•Consulting Services

•Intraoperative Consultation

•Routine Diagnostic Consultation Services

•Others

Market Breakup by End-User:

•Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Companies

•Hospitals and Reference Laboratories

•Academic & Research Institutes

Market Summary:

Region-wise, the market has been segmented into North America (the United States and Canada) Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia and others), Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Italy, Russia and others), Middle East and Africa (Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and others ), and Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Columbia, Chile, Peru and others). The competitive landscape of the market has been examined, with some of the key players being:

•3DHISTECH Ltd.

•Apollo Enterprise Imaging Corp

•Corista LLC

•Hamamatsu Photonics

•K. K.

•Huron Digital Pathology

•Indica Labs

•Koninklijke Philips N.V.

•Leica Biosystems Nussloch GmbH

•Objective Pathology Services

•Ventana Medical Systems

•Visiopharm A/S

•XIFIN

Ask Analyst and Download Full Report with TOC & List of Figure: https://www.imarcgroup.com/digital-pathology-market

About Us

IMARC Group is a leading market research company that offers management strategy and market research worldwide. We partner with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses.

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MENAFN1703202000709559ID1099866092

A meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chaired by its president and Home Minister Amit Shah is underway at the party headquarters here on Wednesday.

BJP working president Jagat Prakash Nadda and general secretary (organisation) B L Santosh are also present at the meeting.

The meeting comes two days after Nadda conducted a meeting of party general secretaries.The meeting was held over different issues including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) outreach programme and party's organisational elections.On December 26, party sources had said that senior cabinet ministers and BJP leaders will be deployed across the country in an effort to dispel misgivings about the CAA and Register of Citizens (NRC) being allegedly spread by the opposition.All these senior leaders will be contacting eminent personalities of their respective fields and common people to spread awareness regarding the CAA, sources had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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With all the 'new year, new me' mantras floating about for the new decade - why not take the plunge and apply for a new job?

There are hundreds of vacancies across Staffordshire, but we've plucked out 20 that almost anyone could apply for today - with little experience needed.

Whether you fancy making coffee, answering the phone, or selling beauty products - you'll find a job in this list that you can apply for.

Intu Potteries

Ann Summers sales assistant

Front of house at Ann Summers in the intu Potteries centre. Applicants need to be over 18 and flexible to work Thursday to Sunday.

For more information, click here.

Security officer for intu

Carrying out regular patrols of the car park and ensuring compliance with all internal procedures and site processes.

To apply, follow this link .

Monsoon Assistant Manager

Monsoon looking for an experienced Assistant Manager to join their busy Hanley Monsoon Accessorize branch.

Apply online here .

Waiting-on staff at Burger Priest

Full time and part time vacancies at one of Hanley's newest eateries with a religious theme.

For more information on the role, click here .

Affinity Outlet

BB’s Team Member

Bakers and Barista's are looking for someone to serve coffee and cake with a smile. Experience isn't essential - so perfect for a first job!

View the job advert here .

Charles Clinkard sales assistant

This footwear store is looking for a part time staff member for a temporary contract until February.

For more information, click here .

Cotton Traders sales assistant

Cotton Traders inside Affinity Outlet are looking for a sales assistant over the age of 18. As well as 50% discount, staff also get a clothing allowance.

Apply online here .

Edinburgh Woollen Mill apprentice

This popular store is offering the opportunity for a candidate to work a 16 hour apprenticeship at Edinburgh Woollen Mill.

For details on how to apply, click here .

Sports Direct sales assistant

Sports Direct are looking for a sales assistant with 'fantastic customer service, commitment, enthusiasm and the flexibility to work weekends and late nights'.

If that sounds like you, click here for more information.

Beauty Outlet store manager

If you're interested in makeup and are 'confident and bubbly', then this Beauty Outlet role could be for you.

Apply for the position here .

Trespass store supervisor

Trespass are on the hunt for a part time supervisor to run the store when the manager is away.

For more information, click here .

Affinity Staffordshire cleaning operative

Get hands on at North Staffordshire's biggest retail park, with no need for previous cleaning experience.

To learn more, click here .

GAP floor manager

GAP are searching for a sales and team driven floor manager to join the team in Affinity Staffordshire.

View the job advert here .

Talke Scents fragrance advisor

This fragrance store are looking for temporary staff for a 12 hour contract. The right candidate should have a minimum of 12 months retail/customer service experience.

For details on how to apply, click here .

Costa barista

If you've got 'bags of personality' and great with customers, then Costa would love to have you on their Affinity Outlet team.

To learn more, click here .

Burger King cleaner

Burger King need someone to ensure that areas are 'cleaned to the highest standards at all times'. Cleaning experience is preferred but full training will be provided if necessary.

For details on how to apply, click here .

Burger King crew member

As well as a cleaner, Burger King are hiring two crew members to join the team in the kitchen.

To learn more, click here .

Royal Stoke and Stafford County Hospitals

Apprentice Administration Support

Stafford County Hospital are looking for someone to join the Endoscopy team to support with admin on the busy reception desk.

View the job advert here .

AdministrationAssistant

Royal Stoke's Urology department are on the hunt for an administrative assistant to join the secretarial team to get their foot in the door of working in the NHS.

To apply, click here .

Sleep Receptionist

Join the team in the Sleep and Ventilation clinic at Royal Stoke to work on the reception, taking calls and inputting referrals.

Find more information on the role here .

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