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<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New York City Jobs lot [/INST] Opinion/View news. Title: New York City Already Has Lots of Jobs, Thank You. Short_description: New York City Already Has Lots of Jobs, Thank You. Description: (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Amazon.com Inc.’s decision to pull the plug on locating a big new sort-of-second-headquarters complex in New York City has generated so many takes that by this point they should probably count as their own form of job creation. I’m not going to add to the supply! But I do have some context to offer., After treading water for almost half a century, , has taken off since the late 1990s, with the most spectacular gains since 2010. And yes, cutting off the y-axis at 3 million does accentuate the spectacle, so in case that bothers you , ), here it is with the y-axis set to zero:, New York City has added almost a million jobs since the end of 2003 and almost 800,000 since 2009. The 25,000 jobs that Amazon said it would bring to the city over the next decade certainly aren’t nothing, but they’re much less of a big deal than they would be in any other U.S. city — or than they would have been in the New York City of the 1950s through 1990s., The numbers above are reported by employers, so they show the number of jobs in New York rather than the number of New Yorkers with jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics , an estimate of the latter going back to 1976, so here are the two on the same chart:, The main dynamic at work here, I think, is that after decades of losing jobs to its suburbs, New York City has over the past 15 years reclaimed its role as the region’s employment engine. Since December 2003, payroll employment is up 27.2 percent in the city versus 5.9 percent in the rest of the , . It would be hard for employment , to keep up with that blistering pace, so the divergence between the two lines since 2010 isn’t necessarily worrying. But the slowdown in employment growth for New York City residents over the past couple of years might be., Here’s another way to look at jobs in the city, by dividing employment (using the second measure) by population:, New York City’s employment-population ratio has gone from miles behind the national average to pretty close. But again, the gap has stopped narrowing lately. I wouldn’t make too much of this; the New York City numbers , , and differences in the demographic profiles of the U.S. and New York City may explain some of the disparity., It is nonetheless at least possibly a signal that New York City’s jobs boom is failing to benefit a lot of New York City residents. Here’s another possible signal:, The gap between New York City’s poverty rate and the nation’s has gotten smaller, but it still seems like quite a chasm for a city that has added payroll jobs at nearly twice the national pace over the past 15 years. If you wanted to make the argument that New York City is already creating more than enough jobs — and ought to be focusing its attention on other priorities — there are a lot of data to back you up., I’m not going to make that argument. I’ve gotten this far without really offering a take, so I’m not going to mess that up now. Plus, it seems like the optimal economic strategy would involve continuing to pull in new jobs while , building lots of housing, improving public transportation and fighting poverty (and somehow finding a way to keep government spending from exploding). Without the jobs boom of the past 15 years, it’s hard to envision how New York City could even hope to make progress on the other areas, and I’ve been ,  of those , that the jobs boom has ruined New York. Still, one can’t really deny that New York City is already quite successful at attracting jobs, and less so at just about everything else., They don't seem to, though, given that 44.5 percent of New York City's population is in the prime working years of 25 through 54, compared with 39.5 percent for the U.S., This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners., Justin Fox is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business. He was the editorial director of Harvard Business Review and wrote for Time, Fortune and American Banker. He is the author of “The Myth of the Rational Market.”, ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Justin Fox. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 6:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to FBI Chief McCabe Urges Mueller Report [/INST] Politics news. Title: Former FBI Chief McCabe Urges Mueller Report Be Widely Released. Short_description: Former FBI Chief McCabe Urges Mueller Report Be Widely Released. Description: (Bloomberg) -- Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said he believes Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election should be publicly released, a commitment that President Donald Trump’s new attorney general has refused to make., “I think that report should be shared immediately with Congress, and I think it should be shared as broadly as possible with the American public,” McCabe said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program Wednesday., Mueller is due to submit conclusions explaining his decisions to prosecute or decline filing charges to new Attorney General William Barr, who was sworn in last week. Barr will decide what to do with that information., During his Senate , , Barr -- who described Mueller as a longtime close friend -- refused to commit to sharing the special counsel’s findings with Congress and the public. He said regulations call for Mueller’s report to be confidential, and “the report that goes public would be a report by the attorney general.” He also suggested he might exclude criticism of Trump from any such public report in light of the Justice Department’s policy that a president can’t be indicted while in office., McCabe, who is promoting a new book, told CNN Tuesday night that “it’s possible” Trump is working as a Russian “asset.” McCabe said officials began the investigation into whether Trump and his campaign had been colluding with Russia in the days after the president fired FBI director James Comey in May of 2017., McCabe, who served as acting director after Comey’s firing, said he briefed top congressional leaders -- known as the “Gang of Eight” -- about the Trump probe at the time., “The most important thing is that people should be confident that what they ultimately hear from Director Mueller and his team is the honest, straight-up, complete result of the investigation that they did -- whether it finds the smoking guns that you think might be there, or nothing at all,” McCabe said in the interview. “I know from working with Director Mueller over the course of about 12 years that he is perfectly equipped to do this job -- he’ll do it thoroughly, honestly and independently.”, Trump ripped McCabe on Wednesday, likening him to former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, the longest-serving director of the agency who was often accused of abuses of power., “Andrew McCabe has made a fool out of himself over the last couple of days and he really looks to me like sort of a poor man’s J. Edgar Hoover,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “I think he’s a disaster. And what he was trying to do was terrible. And he was caught. I’m very proud to say we caught him.”, McCabe has generated controversy this week by saying he was present in the wake of Comey’s firing when Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein brought up the idea of wearing a wire to secretly record Trump as well as the possibility of invoking the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove the president on the grounds he was unfit for office. The Justice Department has disputed McCabe’s depiction of the conversations., Trump has been tweeting his outrage over McCabe’s assertions, saying on Monday that he and Rosenstein “were planning a very illegal act, and got caught.”, Rosenstein plans to leave the Justice Department soon. On Tuesday, Trump announced that he intends to nominate Jeffrey Rosen, who’s now deputy secretary of the Transportation Department, to succeed him., While Barr is now in place at the Justice Department, Democrats in Congress have suggested he should recuse himself from overseeing the final phase of Mueller’s investigation, citing a memo he sent to the Justice Department last year criticizing Mueller for looking into Trump’s firing of Comey as possible obstruction of justice., Barr refused in his confirmation hearing last month to commit to recusing himself, saying he’d seek the advice of career ethics officials., ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Terrence Dopp &. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 7:28 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Bans Sports Fans New Virus Emergency Tokyo Bars Japan Shuts [/INST] Politics news. Title: Japan Shuts Tokyo Bars, Bans Sports Fans in New Virus Emergency. Short_description: Tokyo Virus Emergency Starts Sunday and Will Close Some Bars. Description: Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a new state of emergency running from Sunday to May 11 in Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures, imposing some of the toughest measures yet to control a surge in virus cases., Suga told reporters Friday night the country needs to take strong actions as it heads into a string of holidays in late April and early May, known as “Golden Week,” a peak travel season. He also said the government will earmark 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion) to help businesses hurt by the restrictions., “If we don’t act, there is a concern that the virus surge we are seeing in big cities could spread nationwide,” he said. The measures will be short-term and focused, he said, adding he’s not thinking of another supplemental budget., The government is instructing bars and restaurants to stop serving alcohol, and seeking to ban fans from major sporting events. Establishments with karaoke equipment and commercial facilities with floor space of more than 1,000 square meters (10,764 square feet) will be asked to close during the state of emergency., The declaration will cover Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo, which together make up about a quarter of the country’s population. Japan is trying to end a worrying rise in Covid-19 cases that comes three months before Tokyo hosts the Summer Olympics. Its vaccination program has reached less than 2% of the country’s 126 million people -- well behind the rates in many advanced economies., Bars and restaurants in several major urban areas are already closed by 8 p.m. under existing lighter restrictions. But that has not been enough to stem infections, which have hit daily records this month in Osaka and climbed in Tokyo to levels not seen since January, when the capital was under its second state of emergency., “We’ve reached the limit of virus measures based on people voluntarily changing their behavior,” Toshio Nakagawa, head of the Japan Medical Association physicians’ lobby, , Thursday., But civil liberties enshrined in the Japanese Constitution prevent imposing lockdowns backed by police actions, which means the government is putting the onus on the likes of bars, bowling alleys and baseball leagues to try to keep people from gathering., Suga’s government is calling for people to avoid unnecessary travel and stay away from crowded places. The premier urged businesses to have staff work from home, with the aim of cutting commuter numbers by 70% -- bringing back a , for reducing contact reminiscent of restrictions a year ago., The new moves could delay economic recovery, deal a heavy blow to struggling businesses and deliver another hit to a tourism sector that is reeling from the pandemic., While Japan has so far succeeded in keeping infections and deaths at far lower levels than those in much of Europe and the U.S., its vaccine program has yet to kick into high gear, meaning restricting activities is the most powerful tool Suga has for reining in cases. Meanwhile, the country is seeing an increasing number of cases involving virus mutations., The impact of stricter curbs could even nudge Japan toward a , , economists said., “There will be an economic hit for sure, but I also wonder if the latest restrictions will be strong enough to contain the spread of the virus,” said Mari Iwashita, chief market economist at Daiwa Securities Co. “If they have failed to do so by mid-May, I can’t see the Tokyo Olympics going ahead.”, Suga also said at the news conference that he will implement policies to stage a safe Olympics. Fears have risen in Japan that the international sporting spectacle could become a superspreader event. The games have already been delayed a year due to the pandemic, and 73% of those surveyed in Japan by broadcaster ANN over the weekend said they were against holding the event this summer., International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach told reporters the emergency declaration was not related to the event. Bach is set to visit Japan May 17-18, two months before the Olympics, Kyodo said Wednesday, citing sources close to the matter., There is no law that prohibits the Olympics from taking place under an emergency, but it will likely impact the number of domestic spectators allowed. Overseas fans are already banned from the event., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Isabel Reynolds &. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 4:44 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Climate Laggard Canada criticism Trudeau [/INST] Politics news. Title: Trudeau Hits Back Against Criticism of Canada as Climate Laggard. Short_description: Trudeau Hits Back Against Criticism of Canada as Climate Laggard. Description: Justin Trudeau defended Canada’s climate record against criticism its emissions targets aren’t ambitious enough, arguing his government’s carbon tax represents a more concrete plan., In an interview with Bloomberg News, the prime minister vowed the country will be able to reach its , of reducing emissions by between 40% and 45% of 2005 levels by 2030 -- despite missing previous targets., Trudeau has been facing increased scrutiny since the release of data two weeks ago showing Canada is the only country in the Group of Seven to see its harmful emissions , between 2015 and 2019., Canada’s new target, announced at Joe Biden’s climate summit last week, falls short of both the , set by the U.S. president and Boris Johnson’s goal of cutting , 78% from 1990 levels by 2035., “We don’t just want to talk about a great target,” Trudeau said in an interview that aired Tuesday during the Bloomberg Green Summit. “We need to have a concrete plan to that’s going to bring us to that target.”, Central to that plan is the carbon tax, which got a major boost last month when it was upheld by , at the Supreme Court of Canada, effectively settling years of political debate about its legality., The policy, Trudeau’s most ambitious environmental move since his Liberals took power in 2015, would see the , on carbon rise to C$170 ($137) per metric ton by 2030. In its budget last week, his government proposed , to help green the economy, develop clean technology and slash industrial emissions., However, Canada is home to the world’s third-largest oil reserves and the energy sector accounts for about 10% of its total economic output., “The fact that we have one of the realest prices on pollution of all our peer countries and that we are at the same time an exporter of energy and a producer of energy -- that is a challenge that not all other countries have,” the prime minister said., Trudeau blamed his country’s record on emissions to date on the previous Conservative government, which in 2011 withdrew from the Kyoto protocol, a precursor to the 2015 Paris agreement. The prime minister added that four years of climate skepticism in the U.S. under Donald Trump also effectively held Canada back., Trudeau said Biden’s arrival at the White House means the U.S. and Canada are now more aligned on climate policy, even if friction remains over specific projects like TC Energy Corp.’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline and Enbridge Inc.’s existing Line 5 conduit under the Great Lakes., A cross-border plan that cuts across all sectors of the economy is critical for both countries to achieve their emissions-reduction targets, the prime minister said., Trudeau also argued that Canada can’t be blamed for helping meet global demand for fossil fuels, even as it attempts to curb domestic consumption habits through its carbon tax., “It’s not just about the oil sands themselves. It’s also about consumption,” Trudeau said. “As long as the world is still dependent on oil, there will be a business case for continuing to look for more reliable sources.”, The prime minister’s efforts won an endorsement from former central bank chief and United Nations climate envoy Mark Carney., “The issue is getting the gaps between those commitments and the underlying policies closed,” he said in a separate interview at the Bloomberg Green Summit, when asked whether he’d hold the Trudeau government to account., Carney, who led the Bank of England after his stint at the helm of the Bank of Canada and is still an adviser to Johnson’s government, has been a sounding board for Trudeau on fiscal policy throughout the pandemic. His address at the Liberal Party’s recent policy convention was viewed as potential prelude to an eventual electoral run., “We’ve just increased our target,” Carney said. “That means more policies consistent with that. We have more work to do in aligning our financial institutions with net zero as well.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kait Bolongaro &. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 6:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Distancing Rules Tightens Borders Singapore Reinstates [/INST] Politics news. Title: Singapore Reinstates Some Distancing Rules, Tightens Borders. Short_description: Singapore Reinstates Some Distancing Measures, Tightens Borders. Description: Singapore will reinstate some social distancing controls and tighten borders with countries that are seeing a persistent rise in coronavirus cases to stem a virus spread in the city., The government will allow fewer people at malls and large stores, and close campsites for two weeks from May 1, according to a statement from the health ministry on Friday. It will reduce the operating capacity of attractions to 50% from 65% for a week from May 7, and urged people to limit social gatherings to two per day and stay home where possible, it said., Visitors and long-term pass holders from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be barred from entering or transiting through Singapore from May 2. In addition, all travelers from these countries will have their quarantine extended to 21 days. People arriving from Thailand will have to complete quarantine in a dedicated facility for 14 days, it said., “We will continue to review the current suite of measures and will take further steps to tighten and significantly reduce the level of interactions in the community should transmission persist,” the , ., The move comes as Singapore experiences a higher than usual number of new Covid-19 infections, reporting the , in more than nine months on Thursday. The cases stem from one , in one of the country’s biggest hospitals and another from an immigration officer in Changi Airport. On Saturday, the nation reported nine new cases in the local community., Both Singapore General Hospital and Sengkang General Hospital have reported a high number of patients in their emergency wards on separate Facebook posts since Friday, with Sengkang General Hospital adding that wards are also running at full capacity., Authorities will also close all public places visited by the cases during their likely infectious period for two days for cleaning, and to facilitate testing of staff there. These places include supermarkets, food centers, mosques and a church., For office workers, the government is asking employers to allow them to work from home if they are able to, and avoid social gatherings. This directive comes about a month after authorities , workplace rules to allow more people back to offices., “We know these new restrictions will create inconvenience for everyone,” Lawrence Wong, the minister who co-chairs the virus taskforce, said at a briefing on Friday. “This is the only way we can ensure we slow down the spread of the virus in the community.”, Singapore will need to tighten measures against Covid-19 where necessary promptly to avoid going into a second circuit breaker, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at a May Day Rally on Saturday, according to , ., After months of near-zero new locally-transmitted virus cases, the island nation had been moving toward easing restrictions put in place last year, including moving ahead to revive an air , with Hong Kong. A combination of virus containment and rolling out vaccines at one of the fastest rates in Asia saw Singapore top Bloomberg’s , this month, dethroning New Zealand for the first time., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Philip Heijmans. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 4:19 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Mamata Banerjee Record win West Bengal chart [/INST] Politics news. Title: In Charts: How Mamata Banerjee Scripted A Record Win In West Bengal. Short_description: The detailed math behind Mamata Banerjee’s big victory and the BJP’s loss of face in West Bengal. By Amitabh Tiwari.. Description: Mamata Banerjee has taken oath as Chief Minister of West Bengal for a third term after leading her party to a landslide victory in the assembly elections, results of which were declared on Sunday. While political pundits and exit polls were suggesting a close contest, the Trinamool chief proved everybody wrong by registering even a bigger victory than what she won in 2016., This is the math behind Mamata Banjere’s big victory and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s loss of face., The BJP fancied its chances in 2021 after winning 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections (up 16 from 2014). That 2019 election had reduced the Trinamool tally to 22 seats (-12), Congress to 2 seats (-2), and completely decimated the Left Front (-2). In 2019, a bulk of the support that backed the communist parties in previous elections moved to BJP. That had helped the BJP cross the magic 40% vote share, just 3% lower than the Trinamool. In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured roughly 60% support from the Hindu community in a state where minorities account for 27% of the population., Going into these 2021 assembly elections, the BJP pushed hard against the Trinamool on the narrative of ten years of local anti-incumbency, allegations of cut money, corruption during Amphan relief, charges of minority appeasement, and the exodus of key Mamata aides like Suvendu Adhikari (The only consolation for the BJP was Adhikari defeating Banerjee in Nandigram)., BJP needed to reach a 45% vote share (up 4% from 2019) to win this election. For that, it needed to (i) hold onto its 2019 general election vote share and (ii) make a dent amongst Hindu community supporters of the Trinamool Congress, especially those belonging to lower caste groups. The Left-Congress combine had bottomed out, in a sense, for BJP to make more inroads. Half of the Left-Congress support base in 2019 consisted of minority community voters, and the other half consisted of its core ideological voter base., Except for Uttar Pradesh among big states, it has registered a decline of anywhere between 10-25%, in relative terms. This is because of the boost BJP receives in Lok Sabha elections on account of the ‘, ’, which is not available to the same degree in state elections as local factors come into play., The BJP’s worst nightmare held out to be true as the party lost about 3% vote share in 2021 against what it got in 2019, while on the other hand, Trinamool gained 4%, giving it a record mandate., While the decimation of the Left and the Congress (-24%) helped BJP make big gains in the state in 2019, their complete rout in 2021 (-5%) helped Trinamool retain power at a time when one out of every four state government has been voted out of power since 2014 (excluding the 2021 results)., In 2019, BJP was leading in almost all the seats which the Left and Congress had won in 2016, barring nine assembly segments dominated by the minorities in the Malda region. On the other hand, it had also made inroads in Trinamool’s stronghold of Scheduled Castes reserved seats wooing the Matua community, and Scheduled Tribes reserved seats on the back of social projects done by the RSS in these regions., In 2021, BJP needed 27 more seats compared to 2019 to secure a simple majority, and these needed to come from the Trinamool tally. The state has a high percentage of SC-ST population, almost 30%, and 84 reserved seats. BJP was leading in 46 such seats in 2019., By promising permanent citizenship to the influential Matua community and with the help of Sangh’s groundwork among the tribals, the party hoped to increase its tally substantially, weaning away a large portion of the 38-seat leads of Trinamool in reserved seats and breaching the halfway mark., However, BJP failed to better its 2019 record in the reserved seats, its tally declined by seven seats in 2021. Some Matuas were unhappy at the delay in the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act., BJP’s loss of 3% vote share in 2021 is accounted for by the loss of support amongst SC, ST, and OBC communities as shown in the table below. This went to the kitty of independents and smaller parties. Additionally, Trinamool gained from further consolidation of the minority votes in its favor due to the growing perception of a BJP victory., The CPI (M) politburo admitted that the urge to defeat the BJP led to a sharp polarisation, squeezing out the Sanjukta Morcha., There has been a lot of discussion on how the consolidation of minority voters led to Trinamool sweeping the Muslim community-dominated seats. Malda region which has a Muslim majority accounts for 49 seats. In two seats, elections were postponed due to the death of candidates., The truth is that these seats had already shifted to Trinamool in the 2019 elections. Left and Congress, which had won 37 seats in Malda in 2016, was left with only nine leads in 2019 (-26)., Trinamool was leading in 26, BJP in 14, and Left-Congress in 9 seats of the Malda region in 2019. In 2021, Congress and the Left further lost all the 9 seats held by them to Trinamool., Trinamool reclaimed 31 out of the 38 seats it had lost to BJP in 2019 helped by the additional Muslim community votes in these seats., Region-wise analysis reveals that BJP gave away the leads gained two years ago in Medinipur despite Suvendu Adhikari joining the party. It couldn’t hold onto its 2019 leads and suffered big losses in Burdwan (-15) and Presidency (-13), retaining only the gains made in Jalpaiguri (Hill region)., It needed to make inroads in the biggest region Presidency accounting for 108 seats but it failed miserably. This predominantly urban region including Howrah / Kolkata and seating the , seems to have been swayed by the insider versus outsider campaign of the Trinamool Congress and feared an end to Bengal’s exceptionalism if BJP came to power., In this election, BJP was viewed as a party of subaltern Hindu caste groups while South Bengal houses the elite who take great pride in the rich culture and heritage of Bengal. The Bengali , (pride) card worked here in favor of the Trnimaool just like it worked in favor of the Modi-Shah duo in a tight contest in Gujarat in 2017., In 2019, the BJP had led in those assembly segments that now went to polls in Phase-1 in 2021 and had tied with Trinamool in those that polled in Phase 5 and 7. It needed to make a dent in TMC’s strongholds in 2021’s Phases 2, 3, and 8. However, results show that this year, BJP trailed Trinamool across all phases, even in its stronghold region of Jangalmahal that went to the ballot in the first phase., BJP’s tally fell by more than half from 2019 in the last three phases as the second wave of Covid-19 infections surged., Many qualitative factors impacted BJP’s performance as well. The party was over-reliant on turncoats (only 6 out of 148 won), lacked a chief ministerial face, had factionalism, was unable to exploit anti-incumbency on the ground, lacked organisational machinery, was over-dependent on Modi, and drove a shrill negative pitch to the campaign, with slogans that put off women voters., For now, BJP has established itself firmly as the principal opponent to Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal. The post-poll violence that has played out this week suggests the going won’t be easy and it will need to slog hard for the next five years to remain in contention for victory in 2026.. Publisher: Amitabh Tiwari. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 7:21 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Indian Diaspora Struggles Homeland Air [/INST] Politics news. Title: Indian Diaspora Struggles to Help Homeland ‘Gasping for Air’. Short_description: Scale of Covid challenge is leaving many feeling ‘helpless’. Billionaires, ordinary Indians piling in with funds, supplies.. Description: , Jaspreet Rai is desperately trying to do her part for the country she left more than 30 years ago: help its people breathe., Rai, 53, who moved to Endicott, New York -- the birthplace of IBM -- from Punjab, in India, is the founder of Sanrai International, a provider of oxygen concentrators. With India now the epicenter of the pandemic, counting about 3,500 Covid-19 deaths daily, and oxygen supplies running out, Rai has rushed to help her former homeland cope with its worst crisis in recent history., “This is probably the hardest time they’re going through,” Rai said of her 100-strong staff on the ground, who will supply 30,000 units across India in May, several times the 1,500 Sanrai normally provides in a year. “When you don’t have equipment, and you’re trying to hold people, and they’re gasping, literally gasping for air. And you’re like, look, I’ve sold my last unit, I have to wait until the next stock comes in.”, Like Rai, millions of Indians spread across the globe -- one of the world’s largest diasporas -- are trying to do what they can to help their country of origin as heart-wrenching images of people lining up for oxygen cylinders, waiting outside hospitals for a bed or huddling around funeral pyres flash across their screens. Some have been unable to do anything to save family members who have succumbed to the disease., The number of daily new coronavirus cases in India on Saturday topped the 400,000 mark for the first time, pushing the total infections to more than 19 million. , The diaspora is collecting funds, lobbying governments in countries where they reside and making pledges to shuttle essential supplies and equipment. But the scale of the task is leaving many feeling helpless as the health-care infrastructure in the world’s second-most populous country teeters on the brink of collapse., “They need doctors and hospitals,” said Venktesh Shukla, general partner at Monta Vista Capital in Silicon Valley. “I’ve been struggling for the last three to four days to figure out what to do. Like a lot of Indians, we want to do something. We just can’t find a short-term solution to help.”, In spite of that frustration, the need to “do something” in the face of the unfolding tragedy is spurring many into action., Like Sudhir Ravi. Little did Ravi know he would be embarking on a humanitarian mission when the Chicago-based private equity boutique TJM Capital Partners, where he is an operating partner, bought the largest U.S. supplier of military-grade oxygen generators in a strategic acquisition in April., But with Covid raging, Ravi soon identified 11 industrial strength oxygen concentrators between the U.S. and Germany that can be distributed to hospitals in India. The devices can offer oxygen to 50,000 people in the next six months., For the last week, he and Raghu Gullapalli, a close contact and executive director at the LV Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, have been frantically looking for ways to get them to India, requesting the services of Amazon and FedEx. A consortium of Indian philanthropists have committed to cover the $100,000 cost of shipment, and Ravi said they’re hoping to get the cargo in the air on May 5., “Right now, time is measured in lives,” said Gullapalli., Indian-born billionaires and executives are also piling in with help. Tech investor Vinod Khosla tweeted that he’s willing to send supplies by the “planeload.” Google, headed by Sundar Pichai, , $18 million in cash assistance to victims’ families and medical equipment. Microsoft Corp., led by CEO Satya Nadella, pledged to draw on the company’s network to provide essential supplies., In the U.K., home to around two million Indians, aid has come from people like steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and Karan Bilimoria, who helped draw support from companies as the first Indian head of the Confederation of British Industry., “We are focused on getting this help that is desperately needed as quickly as possible,” said Bilimoria, whose company produces Cobra beer, a staple of Indian restaurants in the U.K. Air Liquide SA, the French gas supplier that helps create the bubbles in Bilimoria’s beer, has pledged its oxygen production in India to support Covid patients., Mittal’s Indian operations are providing 210 metric tons of liquid oxygen a day. “Helping the people of India means helping India, and that’s crucial for the entire world,” he said in an emailed statement., The charitable foundation of U.K.-based billionaire brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who bought supermarket chain Asda, donated 2.5 million pounds ($3.5 million) to four hospitals in the western Indian state of Gujarat, from where their family hails., As life in the U.K. and the U.S. edges ever closer to pre-pandemic normal, for Indians abroad worrying about family and friends, the unequal access to vaccines is becoming evident. Only 2% of the people in India have been fully vaccinated compared with 30% in the U.S. and 21% in the U.K., according to the , ., Monta Vista’s Shukla said he and 60 other influential Indians lobbied to convince the Joe Biden administration to free up vaccine supplies and steroids. The U.S. has decided to start shipping drugs like AstraZeneca’s vaccine and Remdesivir to India., Yet for all that, there’s only so much even powerful Indians can do remotely as raw material and equipment shortages, freight delays and labor limits hamper efforts on the ground., “There’s only so many oxygen concentrators available in the market,” said Jitesh Gadhia, a British politician and a trustee of the British Asian Trust who has helped lead the U.K. government’s response and engagement with suppliers. “I am concerned that so many people trying to buy a limited stock will just raise prices. What we need is more supply.”, And that won’t be easy. While in Endicott Rai is trying to find charter flights to get around bottlenecks to transport her oxygen concentrators to India from China, she said units her company can provide in a month “could probably just be used in one day.”, Rai, who started her company after her asthmatic grandmother died in 2008 needing oxygen, said she’s saddened by the continued fight in India over something as essential as the air one breathes., “I couldn’t understand how something so basic as oxygen was so complicated,” she said. “And that question is what I’ve been trying to answer for the past 13 years.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Todd Gillespie &. Date Created: 01 May 2021, 3:31 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to South Carolina Senator Tim Scott Biden Speech Rebuttal [/INST] Politics news. Title: South Carolina Senator Tim Scott to Give Biden Speech Rebuttal. Short_description: South Carolina Senator Scott to Give Biden-Speech Rebuttal. Description: Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina will give the Republican Party’s nationally televised rebuttal Wednesday to President Joe Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress., Scott, 55, brings a compelling background story to the national platform the rebuttal speech brings. The only Black Republican senator, he grew up in a poor, single-parent household in North Charleston. He has served in the Senate since 2013, and in the House before that., He is currently leading negotiations for his party on a police reform bill., “Senator Tim Scott is not just one of the strongest leaders in the Senate. He is one of the most inspiring and unifying leaders in our nation. I’m glad he’ll be delivering the Republican address following the president’s remarks on Wednesday,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, in a joint statement with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy., “I’m excited and honored for this opportunity to address the nation,” Scott said in a statement. “We face serious challenges on multiple fronts, but I am as confident as I have ever been in the promise and potential of America. I look forward to having an honest conversation with the American people and sharing Republicans’ optimistic vision for expanding opportunity and empowering working families.”, The annual response is often awarded to promising politicians to heighten their profiles. In 2020, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered the Democratic response after President Donald Trump’s final State of the Union address., But the rebuttal is broadcast after a sometimes-lengthy presidential address, so it often turns out to either be not memorable or remembered for unflattering reasons., Biden’s own speech will be unique because of plans to limit lawmakers and others inside the House chamber because of Covid-19 concerns and security worries., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Billy House. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 1:44 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Johnson Risks Probe Conduct Watchdog Parliament U.K. [/INST] Politics news. Title: U.K.’s Johnson Risks Probe by Parliament’s Conduct Watchdog. Short_description: U.K. Parliamentary Sleaze Watchdog May Investigate Johnson. Description: The U.K. parliamentary sleaze watchdog may probe whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke the code of conduct for Members of Parliament by failing to properly declare how the refurbishment of his government residence was funded., Labour MP Margaret Hodge on Thursday wrote to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards in the House of Commons Kathryn Stone requesting the investigation, a day after the Electoral Commission announced its own probe into the matter. Johnson has denied wrongdoing., “With this matter the prime minister would appear to have repeatedly broken the general principles of the Code of Conduct, failing to be either honest, open or accountable when questioned by the media and in Parliament,” Hodge wrote, according to the letter released by her office., Johnson’s government is already mired in a series of ‘sleaze’ investigations -- U.K. political shorthand for scandals of corruption or other shady dealings -- that threaten to dent the prospects of his Conservative Party ahead of local elections across the country next week., Even so, a YouGov poll for The Times late on Thursday showed the Tories enjoy an 11-point lead over the main opposition Labour Party, which has spent weeks trying to capitalize on the slew of negative headlines for the government. Conservative members of Parliament told Bloomberg earlier this week that the stories of ‘sleaze’ , with voters., Stone said in a , she will not publish the names of any MPs she’s investigating until the week starting May 10, after the local elections., If she does decide to investigate the matter, it would be at least the fourth probe into the renovation of Johnson’s flat at 11 Downing Street, adding to ones by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests Christopher Geidt, who was appointed to that role by Johnson on Wednesday, and the Electoral Commission, which regulates political donations., Several Parliamentary committees are also probing the access the now defunct lender Greensill Capital had to ministers and officials as it sought access to government contracts and emergency coronavirus aid programs., Unlike the Electoral Commission, which is investigating the action of Johnson’s party, Stone is able to probe his personal conduct. If she upholds the complaint, she can refer the case on to Parliament’s Committee on Standards, which is able to recommend , of an MP., The ultimate decision would be made by the House of Commons, where Johnson enjoys an 85-strong , ., The probes follow weeks of speculation about who paid for the renovations to Johnson’s apartment and when, amid U.K. , that the works cost as much as 200,000 pounds ($279,000)., Johnson’s office has been facing questions over whether he used a loan from Conservative donors to pay for the refit of his residence last year -- and whether he disclosed the funding properly to regulators., The controversy exploded last Friday when Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings went public with claims that the premier tried to get party donors to pay for redecorating the apartment., Johnson’s alleged plan would have been “unethical, foolish, possibly illegal and almost certainly broke the rules on proper disclosure of political donations,” Cummings wrote in an incendiary , ., During heated exchanges in Parliament on Wednesday, Johnson denied that any laws had been broken and insisted he had done nothing wrong. “I paid for the Downing Street refurbishment personally,” he said., He was asked three times by opposition leader Keir Starmer to say who had covered the costs of the initial invoice for the work, but declined to name anyone., It is “unacceptable that the prime minister refuses to publicly declare exactly where the upfront costs for this redecoration came from, exactly how much these costs amounted to, and who the prime minister is re-paying or has re-paid to cover these costs,” Hodge wrote., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Alex Morales. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 4:03 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Covid Vaccinations Ramp step Europe [/INST] Politics news. Title: Europe Takes Steps to Reopen as Covid Vaccinations Ramp Up. Short_description: Europe Takes Steps to Reopen as Covid Vaccinations Ramp Up. Description: , Western Europe is beginning to loosen restrictions to contain the coronavirus, offering relief for the pandemic-weary region as vaccination programs turn the corner., Italy will ease many restrictions on Monday, Greece will follow suit in early May, and Germany is mulling privileges for people who have been immunized. On Thursday, French Prime Minister Jean Castex told reporters there will be “a cautious and progressive” re-opening of the country from mid-May., After a slow start to inoculation programs, Western Europe is starting to see progress in protecting its people against Covid-19, which has caused more than 640,000 deaths across the continent., As supplies increase, Germany may be in a position to lift vaccination prioritization by June, a step that would open access to all adults, according to Health Minister Jens Spahn., “If it’s earlier than that, then I will be pleased but we shouldn’t raise expectations,” Spahn said in a speech to the upper house of parliament on Thursday., As the pace of contagion slows in Italy, Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government is restoring free travel between moderate-risk regions, and people can go to more at-risk areas under certain conditions, including a pass certifying vaccination. Bars and restaurants will also be allowed to open outdoor areas, according to the new rules., In France, curbs on inter-regional travel will be lifted on May 3, four weeks after they were announced by President Emmanuel Macron. But a curfew between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. will remain in place, a government spokesman said., “The peak of the third wave seems to be behind us,” Castex said during the press conference. In discussing the plans for re-opening, he emphasized that the time-line is conditional and that not all venues will re-open at once., Greece will ease its main pandemic restrictions -- including allowing outdoor dining -- in early May, ahead of the country’s opening to international travel in the middle of the month, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday. Tourism is one of the country’s most important industries, accounting for about a fifth of the economy and more than a quarter of jobs., To accelerate immunizations, Greece will start administering unused doses of AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine to people between 30 and 39 years old., To be sure, the situation remains tense. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel secured passage of a , on Thursday, which triggers tighter restrictions in virus hot spots, including nighttime curfews and closing schools and non-essential stores., While Germany’s contagion rate has stabilized in recent days, it’s still well-above levels the government has determined to be manageable and the number of patients in intensive-care facilities continues to rise., Vaccine progress also varies widely across the continent, casting doubt over the timing of reopening in some countries, especially in the east., While the island nation of Malta has already administered 67 doses per 100 adults, Bulgaria is only at 11 doses per 100. The average for the whole EU is 31.6, with countries including Hungary, Estonia and Denmark leading the push, and Latvia and Croatia among those lagging behind., “Without a doubt, there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Merkel said in a speech on Thursday. “And it will get lighter in the summer, but we’re still stuck in the tunnel.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: John Follain, . Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 2:09 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Nuclear Deal Hinges Swift Return Iran move U.S. [/INST] Politics news. Title: U.S. Says Swift Return to Nuclear Deal Hinges on Iran’s Moves. Short_description: U.S. Says Swift Return to Nuclear Deal Hinges on Iran’s Moves. Description: The U.S. and Iran could revive their nuclear agreement with world powers as early as this month if the government in Tehran proves its willingness to rein in its atomic work in exchange for sanctions relief, according to a U.S. official., Diplomats will enter a fourth round of indirect nuclear talks in Vienna on Friday with sides closing in on an agreement that could restore the accord struck in 2015 and abandoned by the Trump administration three years later., A decision to rejoin the deal would arguably be President Joe Biden’s riskiest foreign policy move a little more than 100 days into office. The agreement with Iran has riven the U.S. from some Middle East allies and deeply divided domestic politics., Urgency to rejoin the deal has mounted with Iran’s nuclear work “galloping forward” in the absence of restrictions imposed by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a senior State Department official told reporters on Thursday, asking not to be identified in return for discussing the status of talks. While there isn’t any certainty that a deal can be reached before next month’s presidential election in Iran, the possibility has increased over the last several weeks, he said., The U.S. comments follow , by European officials last week. They’re seeking restoration of the accord by the middle of May, before a key monitoring deal expires with International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors., The talks aim to choreograph a U.S. return to the landmark 2015 accord abandoned by then-President Donald Trump and the rollback of Iran’s nuclear program to , by that pact. That’s a complex task. Trump imposed penalties on the Iranian economy, including its critical oil sales, but also on government and military officials in what was seen as an attempt to make it harder for a future administration to dismantle the sanctions regime., Diplomats are focused on ensuring equivalence on both the U.S. and Iranian sides, according to the U.S. official, who nixed the possibility that the White House would re-enter an accord if Iran did anything less than the original deal required., Negotiations have become more urgent as the clock ticks toward May 22, a deadline agreed by Tehran and the IAEA that’s central to efforts to ensure Iran isn’t hiding uranium enrichment work. The sides made a deal in February that permits IAEA cameras installed at key facilities to record activities. Inspectors will only gain access to those recordings if an accord is reached in the Vienna talks. Otherwise, Iran says it will erase them., Should an agreement be reached, the U.S. official expects follow-on talks about ballistic missile proliferation and regional security, part of an effort by the Biden administration to go beyond the 2015 deal. The official declined to say if the release of U.S. citizens is a precondition to the U.S. returning to the JCPOA, describing it instead as a priority regardless of what happens with the agreement, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jonathan Tirone. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 10:42 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Variants Compound Africa Coronavirus woe [/INST] Politics news. Title: Rapidly Spreading Variants Compound Africa’s Coronavirus Woes. Short_description: Rapidly Spreading Variants Compound Africa’s Coronavirus Woes. Description: New coronavirus variants have proliferated across southern and eastern Africa, exacerbating the challenge of bringing the pandemic under control, analysis of the genomics data shows., A strain first detected in South Africa late last year is “completely dominating all infection in southern Africa and seems to be entering East Africa,” said Tulio de Oliveira, director of Krisp, a genomics institute in the port city of Durban, which is leading a group that’s evaluating the data. “Another variant is completely dominating infections in Uganda and Rwanda, and is spreading through truck routes.”, Africa is the world’s least-vaccinated continent, with many countries’ inoculation programs dependent on Covax -- a global initiative that aims to ensure there is equitable access to the shots. The spread of variants has raised alarm because some of them appear to be more transmissible than the original virus and may be resistant to some inoculations. The longer populations go unvaccinated, the higher the risk that mutations will occur., is working with authorities in more than 40 African countries to collect and analyze all available data so the prevalence of the South African strain and others identified in Nigeria and in travelers from Tanzania can be assessed., “We do risk that Africa could become a reservoir for variants,” De Oliveira said in an interview on Tuesday. The continent needs to control their introduction and scale up its vaccination plans, he said., Krisp is credited with first identifying the B.1.351 strain in South Africa, as well as the variant first identified in the travelers from Tanzania. Two months ago, De Oliveira described that strain as the most mutated yet to be detected., The latter strain has since been found in Uganda and the danger it poses is still being assessed, said Phionah Atuhebwe, the New Vaccines Introduction Medical Officer for Africa for the World Health Organization., For now, it has been classified as a “variant of interest” rather than a “variant of concern,” as more research needs to be conducted, she said in an interview., Ugandan health authorities weren’t able to confirm the presence of the variant. Variants first identified in South Africa, England, India and Nigeria have ben found in the country, Pontiano Kaleebu, the executive director of the Uganda Virus Research Institute said in an interview., De Oliveira said the lineage of the strain found in the travelers from Tanzania derives from the original virus first found in Wuhan in China, and is similar to the variant that’s been spreading through East Africa., “East Africa had a dormant epidemic variant that has been circulating, it has started adding some mutations that could increase transmissibility and the ability to neutralize antibodies,” he said. “It’s quite a concern.”, Two separate strains have been identified in Nigeria, one of which has spread to more than 50 other countries, the Krisp director said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Antony Sguazzin. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 10:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Vaccine Patent Waiver Merkel Pushes row U.S. [/INST] Politics news. Title: Merkel Pushes Back on Vaccine Patent Waiver in Row With U.S.. Short_description: Merkel Pushes Back on Vaccine Patent Waiver in Clash With Biden. Description: German Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in against a U.S. proposal to waive patent protections for Covid-19 vaccines, casting doubt on whether the idea has enough international support to become a reality., The U.S. plan would create “severe complications” for the production of vaccines, a German government spokeswoman said Thursday in an email. Without the incentive of profits from research and development spending, drugmakers might not move as aggressively to make vaccines in the future, the industry has argued., Pharmaceutical stocks that had sunk on the news of the U.S. proposal rebounded on Merkel’s stance. Moderna Inc. was down 2.1% after falling as low as 12% earlier. CureVac NV fell 5.4%, an improvement from its earlier 13% decline, while BioNTech SE was down 3.5% after earlier dropping 15%., The U.S., Germany and other countries will take up debate over the idea in the coming weeks via the World Trade Organization, pitting the idea of sharing proprietary know-how against the need to boost global supplies, especially in developing countries that have struggled to get their populations inoculated. Merkel’s position shows she’s sympathetic to the argument of drugmakers such as Mainz, Germany-based BioNTech, whose vaccine with Pfizer Inc. uses cutting-edge messenger RNA technology., “The limiting factor for the production of vaccines are manufacturing capacities and high quality standards, not the patents,” the German government spokeswoman said. “The protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and this has to remain so in the future.”, Officials and diplomats in Brussels cautioned that such discussions will take months and will likely result in partial waivers only, as there’s little chance the EU and the U.S. will agree to cede intellectual property for the revolution of its mRNA technology with China. In any case, most poor countries in the world have neither the capacity nor the expertise to produce such advanced treatments. A more immediate solution to the problem, the officials said, would be for the U.S., the U.K and others to follow the EU’s lead and export more vaccines to those who need it., The head of the European Union’s executive arm, Ursula von der Leyen, had earlier on Thursday backed Biden’s proposal, though she added that the priority should be to ramp up production. EU leaders will discuss the issue over a summit in Porto on Friday evening., The U.S. and Europe have been strong supporters of IP protections at the WTO, particularly as a way to enforce problems like Chinese patent infringement. As the pandemic leads to some of the world’s more monumental and lucrative scientific discoveries, defenders of IP rights are warming to some exceptions on ethical grounds even though the drug companies argue it’ll do more harm than good., As the U.S. inoculations advanced and outbreaks diminished in recent weeks, the White House came under pressure from progressive Democrats and public-health advocates to take a stance while India in particular suffers from surging deaths and infections., “In terms of how soon the WTO can deliver -- that literally depends on the WTO members, collectively, being able to deliver,” U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in an interview Wednesday. “I am the first one to, that what we are leaning into is a process that is not going to be easy.”, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed the U.S. decision to support the waiver and wants countries to come to a decision by the time of the organization’s ministerial meetings in December, spokesman Keith Rockwell said., Many WTO members see the issue as important, and the U.S. and EU have “taken note” of U.S. support, Rockwell said in an online press briefing Thursday after the second day of a general council meeting in Geneva., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Arne Delfs &. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 9:22 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to House Democrats Border Emergency Trump Resolution [/INST] Politics news. Title: House Democrats to File Resolution on Trump's Border Emergency. Short_description: The resolution is likely to pass the House and may get enough Republican support to pass the GOP-led Senate.. Description: (Bloomberg) -- Democrats in the U.S. House plan to file a resolution on Friday seeking to block President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to build a wall on the southern U.S. border., Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas outlined plans to introduce the measure in an email circulated to colleagues that was obtained Wednesday by Bloomberg News. The resolution has 92 co-sponsors in the Democratic-controlled House., The resolution is likely to pass the House and may get enough Republican support to pass the GOP-led Senate. Trump has vowed to veto it., Trump last week signed an emergency declaration to divert certain military funding for wall construction, after Congress approved only $1.375 billion of the $5.7 billion he sought in a bipartisan budget bill., The president plans to unilaterally shift nearly $7 billion in federal funds to construct physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border., In addition to the resolution from the House, 16 states have filed a lawsuit challenging the declaration., The draft of the House resolution being circulated would state that the national emergency declared by Trump on Feb. 15 “is hereby terminated.” If the House were to pass it, the Senate would be required to take it up within 18 days, creating a difficult choice for Republicans who control that chamber 53-47., Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday night in her own “Dear Colleague” letter invited all fellow Democrats to co-sponsor the resolution. She said the House would “move swiftly” to pass the bill, reporting it out of committee within 15 calendar days and considering it on the floor within 3 calendar days after that., If passed by the Senate and vetoed by Trump, each chamber would need a two-thirds majority to override the veto. That threshold would be difficult to achieve even in the House, which Democrats control 235-197., The resolution presents a potential political headache for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, in any initial vote and possible veto override effort against a president from his own party., McConnell said on the Senate floor that he told the president he , the emergency declaration as Trump decided to sign a spending bill to avoid a second government shutdown. The majority leader had said two weeks earlier he hoped to avoid such a declaration., But a number of McConnell’s Senate Republican colleagues said they’re concerned that the president is overreaching his executive powers., GOP Senator Susan Collins said in her home state of Maine Wednesday that she would vote for a congressional resolution disapproving of Trump’s emergency declaration, as long as it focused only on the declaration, the Associated Press reported. She said the president’s action “completely undermines” the role of Congress and is of “dubious constitutionality,” the AP said., Other Republican senators expressing doubts about the declaration include Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Some Republicans also have opposed taking defense funds to pay for the wall., ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Billy House. Date Created: 21 Feb 2019, 2:53 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Rodent Complaints Soar NYC deploy Trash Cleanup [/INST] Politics news. Title: NYC Deploys 10,000 for Cleanup as Trash, Rodent Complaints Soar. Short_description: New York City Really Needs to Solve Its Trash Problem. Description: New York City is waging a campaign to win back residents and tourists after a pandemic shut down the rarefied restaurants, raging nightlife and high-flown culture that drove the city’s economy. First, it’s got to deal with the trash., Mayor Bill de Blasio this week announced a , . Earlier this month, he started hiring workers for a newly created City Cleanup Corps— a  10,000-employee force to eradicate graffiti, collect litter and beautify parks— and pledged to restore some of the sanitation budget cuts he made last year. But the mayor, who will depart City Hall this year due to term limits, will leave completion of the task to his successor., Among the more than a dozen candidates in the June 22 Democratic primary, perhaps no one has a more detailed plan to address the trash problem and beautify streets than former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia. She’s pledged to increase funding to public spaces, parks and gardens, restart recycling programs and send zero waste to landfills by 2030., “When we see dirty streets, people intuitively think either government isn’t doing its job or things are really bad,” Garcia said in an interview with Bloomberg News editors and reporters. “When you cut the sanitation budget by more than $100 million, you have to understand the implications of that.”, Sanitation intersects with climate, public health, safety, transportation and the city’s economic recovery. Cleaning the streets will reinvigorate the culture and tourism that keeps money flowing into New York, said Margaret Chin, a City Council representative for Lower Manhattan and a member of its sanitation committee., “People may not think that’s a priority, but it’s very important for businesses, tourists, community residents to have their neighborhoods clean,” Chin said. “It just makes people feel better when you walk down the street and it’s not full of garbage.”, Before the pandemic, Garcia’s steps to keep filth in check made New York City the cleanest it’s been in years, according to annual sanitation data. She increased the number of waste baskets and pickup frequency, bought smaller trucks to traverse narrow streets outside Manhattan and expanded the city’s curbside organics and recycling program., That progress skidded to a halt last year after Covid-19 hit. Garcia, 51, said the city’s trash data was an early indicator that quarantines and surging infection rates would overwhelm the city if it was unprepared. ,  “I knew that people had left the city immediately, because I saw waste fall in Manhattan by 20% instantaneously, and then start to rise in the outer boroughs at the same time,” Garcia said., In a bid to conserve cash, de Blasio slashed the sanitation budget. That led to reduced collection, rat mitigation and composting services. The city couldn’t hire additional workers and New York was soon drowning in nearly twice the trash of pre-Covid levels. Garcia said she resisted the cuts and told de Blasio they would hurt sanitation and severely injure the city. When it became clear de Blasio wasn’t listening to her, Garcia said, she quit., Read More: , Garbage bags piled up. Litter spilled into the streets. Rat sightings multiplied. Citizen complaints about dirty conditions spiked 150% between March and August 2020, and rodent complaints , , according to the city’s 311 service request data., Bill Neidhardt, a spokesman for de Blasio, said the pandemic required cuts to all agencies, and that the mayor has restored litter-basket pickups with federal stimulus dollars., Now, Garcia is trying to finish what she started. She said a good mayor understands the benefits of keeping the sanitation department running well., “When I am talking with New Yorkers, they often make a decision about my work when they open their door: ‘Snow plowed? Yes or no. Garbage picked up? Yes or no. Do I feel like it’s clean? Yes or no,’” she said., Trash levels are now higher than last year’s peaks as people return to the city, office workers remain at home, and a surge in grocery delivery and other online goods creates packaging waste. By the end of March, waste tonnage was up about 15% compared with the early months of the pandemic, city data show., Even though pickup service is being restored, New Yorkers appear to have reached a breaking point: The number of complaints to a hotline about missed collections, dirty sidewalks and improper disposal more than tripled in March. The number of rodent complaints increased by 80% to 2,906 in March from a year ago, , ., Garcia’s seven years of leading the sanitation department and serving as the city’s de facto crisis manager could help pull New York City from a deep fiscal hole and close a $5 billion budget gap, said Harry Nespoli, president of Teamsters Local 831, the city’s sanitation union, which has endorsed Garcia., “What you need in this city is somebody that’s going to be able to solve problems,” Nespoli said. “When she wants to do or get something done that she feels is better for the public, she’s going to do it.”, The problem for Garcia is that only 2% of likely voters have ranked her as their first choice, according to a , by Core Decision Analytics and Fontas Advisors. Among the crowded field of Democrats such as former presidential candidate Andrew Yang and civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley, those voters ranked Garcia seventh. , Garcia ranked eighth in a separate , from NY1 and Ipsos released Sunday, garnering support from 4% of likely voters, compared to 22% for Yang and 13% for Adams., Several of the candidates have seized on trash as an issue that could vault them ahead. The city has done a “poor job keeping our streets clean because of short-sighted budget cuts,” said Scott Stringer, the city’s comptroller, who has pledged to increase trash pickups and park funding., Former city housing commissioner Shaun Donovan this month slammed de Blasio for failing to keep New York clean and proposed a plan called CleanStat to use data to better target garbage pickup. Along with , , Donovan has pledged to increase recycling and zero out landfill waste by 2030. Former Citigroup banker Ray McGuire proposed restarting the city's composting program and using private hauling in certain neighborhoods., Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has criticized de Blasio’s sanitation cuts, but, like Yang, hasn’t released a formal plan to tackle the trash crisis. Adams and Yang didn’t respond to requests for comment., However the race turns out, the city’s next leader will have to get a handle on garbage as residents return to the city and a vaccine rollout spurs activity, said Chin, the longtime council member. , The next mayor will have to undo the “devastating effects” of the sanitation budget cuts, she said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Gerald Porter Jr. &. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 2:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Vaccine Website Pfizer Shot clamor Hungary [/INST] Politics news. Title: Hungary’s Vaccine Website Crashes Amid Clamor for Pfizer Shot. Short_description: Hungary’s Vaccine Website Crashes Amid Clamor for Pfizer Shot. Description: Hungary’s vaccine registration website crashed after the government allowed the general public to register for a Pfizer coronavirus shot for one day only., Authorities blamed “irresponsible people” for the crash, saying the site had come under attack. But in Hungary’s major cities, people stood in lines -- some almost a kilometer-long -- outside of vaccine centers on Friday as they sought to get Pfizer doses, local media reported., Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has touted vaccines from China and Russia as being more effective than western shots. The country broke ranks with its European Union peers and was first to purchase and administer the Sinopharm and Sputnik V injections, which still haven’t been authorized by the EU’s drug regulator., The purchases of the Chinese and Russian doses helped Hungary, which has had the world’s highest coronavirus death rate, accelerate its immunization program when EU-brokered western shots were slow to arrive. Hungary has given 40% of its population at least one dose of a vaccine, the second-highest level in the EU after Malta., The government stepped up its campaign on Monday by allowing Hungarians to register online. Initially, people could only do so for Sinopharm vaccines but authorities have since added AstraZeneca shots. Pfizer’s version won’t be available again for weeks, as they’ll be reserved inoculating of 16 to 18 year olds, Orban told state radio on Friday., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Zoltan Simon. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 6:59 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Drawing White House Rebuke Haiti Resigns U.S. Envoy Protest [/INST] Politics news. Title: U.S. Envoy to Haiti Resigns in Protest, Drawing White House Rebuke. Short_description: U.S. Envoy to Haiti Resigns in Protest, Drawing White House Rebuke. Description: The U.S. envoy for Haiti resigned over President Joe Biden’s treatment of Haitian migrants along the border with Mexico, drawing an unusually stern rebuttal from the White House and State Department., Special Envoy Daniel Foote, a career diplomat appointed to the job in July, resigned in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. He called the Biden administration’s decision to send Haitian migrants back to their own country “inhumane” and said his recommendations for how to address the issue “have been ignored and dismissed.”, The State Department initially issued a statement thanking Foote for his service. Then, a few hours later, department spokesman Ned Price delivered a sharp rebuke, saying the administration had considered his proposals, some of which it deemed harmful to efforts to promote democracy in Haiti., “No ideas are ignored, but not all ideas are good ideas,” Price said. “It is unfortunate that, instead of participating in a solutions-oriented policy process, Special Envoy Foote has both resigned and mischaracterized the circumstances of his resignation.”, Price’s statement was highly unusual for its criticism, especially given Foote’s status as a career diplomat and onetime ambassador, and was echoed later Thursday by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki., “I would note that Special Envoy Foote had ample opportunity to raise concerns about migration during his tenure,” Psaki said. “He never once did.”, The tone of the response is a sign of the increasing pressure on the administration over the situation at the border. Biden and his team took office promising a more humane border and immigration policy following widespread Democratic criticism of former President Donald Trump’s approach, but they’ve struggled to stem the flow of prospective migrants. , Thousands of Haitian migrants have massed near the Texas town of Del Rio, and immigration activists have criticized the Biden administration for apprehending those who cross the border and quickly returning them on daily flights to Haiti, citing the coronavirus pandemic. , That criticism intensified when images of Border Patrol agents on horseback menacing some of the migrants emerged earlier this week, with top Democrats -- including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer -- criticizing the tactics, and the White House pledging a thorough investigation., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Nick Wadhams &. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 10:25 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to India Polls Amid Modi opponent Covid-19 Mayhem [/INST] Politics news. Title: Modi Opponents Seen Leading in India Polls Amid Covid-19 Mayhem. Short_description: BJP appears to be trailing in exit polls in key state elections that are seen as a barometer of Modi’s popularity.. Description: India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party appears to be trailing in exit polls in key state elections that are seen as a barometer of his popularity amid the world’s worst outbreak of Covid-19 infections., As ballots drew to a close late Thursday in an electoral exercise that stretched over a month, voters in the battleground state of West Bengal look set to hand victory to the incumbent , , according to most exit polls. Four other elections were also held, in the states of Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and union territory of Puducherry. Ballots will be counted on May 2., The coronavirus pandemic overshadowed the elections and has overwhelmed India’s fragile health system, with daily infections topping 300,000 for the past week. Modi has come under increasing pressure as hospitals run out of beds, oxygen and even medical supplies in many parts of the country. The death toll has been mounting and images of crematoriums working non-stop have flooded newspapers, television and social media., India’s benchmark equity index fell Friday amid the exit polls and the extension of lockdown-like curbs in some states. The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 0.8% to 49,378.82, as of 12:23 p.m. in Mumbai, while the NSE Nifty 50 Index dropped 0.6%., “With hundreds of thousands affected directly by the health crisis, and so many more impacted by the hit to their livelihoods, the BJP will not be able to avoid the blame,” said Shumita Deveshwar, senior director of India research at TS Lombard. “His policies will now face greater scrutiny than ever before, making it a far harder challenge for him than it would have been had his government managed the Covid crisis better.”, Modi’s ruling , mounted a fierce campaign in West Bengal to unseat the regional leader Mamata Banerjee, one of his main challengers. He faced extensive , for addressing rallies that drew thousands of voters in the middle of a raging pandemic., The BJP attempted to use these elections to expand the party’s footprint in the eastern and southern parts of the country. Exit polls indicate it has retained power in northeastern state of Assam, where a religion-based , was a major issue. If confirmed, its victory there could further embolden the government to implement the controversial law across the country., A coalition including a regional party and the main opposition Congress may win in Tamil Nadu, while a left-led alliance looked set to retain power in Kerala, exit polls showed., “If the Trinamool Congress wins, Mamata will become the most important opposition leader in India,” said , , assistant professor of politics at Ashoka University and a senior visiting fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research. “She will have shown that she can craft a narrative to take on the majoritarian vision of the BJP.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bibhudatta Pradhan. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 9:10 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to U.K. Voters Love chaotic Johnson rule [/INST] Politics news. Title: Chaotic Johnson Always Struggled With Rules, and U.K. Voters Love It. Short_description: Chaotic Johnson Always Struggled with Rules, and U.K. Voters Love It. Description: As a schoolboy, Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson appeared to be convinced that the normal rules did not apply to him., “I think he honestly believes that it is churlish of us not to regard him as an exception, one who should be free of the network of obligation which binds everyone else,” wrote Johnson’s Eton College house master, Martin Hammond, in 1982, as quoted in Andrew Gimson’s biography of the premier., The approach seems to have stayed with Johnson throughout his career, repeatedly landing him in hot water. For weeks, the government has been fending off allegations of “sleaze” -- British shorthand for scandals of corruption, questionable sexual behavior, or other shady dealings. Adding to the impression of disarray, it emerged that Johnson’s , number is still available on the Internet, from a press release published 15 years ago., The political donations watchdog has now opened an official inquiry after concluding there were , to believe the law had been broken in the way refurbishments to Johnson’s apartment were paid for., Potential penalties include fines or criminal charges, depending on which rules may have been breached. On the face of it, just a week away from crucial local elections on May 6, the political price could be high., Johnson insists he broke no laws and is complying fully with the rules on political funding and the investigations into what happened. “I don’t think there’s anything to see here,” he said on Thursday, describing the row as a “farrago of nonsense.”, While most Conservatives believe their leader will ride out the storm, few are happy about it. One senior Tory figure attributes the premier’s difficulties to his “casual” approach, which has become worse since the pandemic suspended or compromised the usual procedures for holding ministers to account., In the words of one of Johnson’s own ministers, this “ridiculous” row about expensive wallpaper in the Downing Street flat is typical of the premier’s “carelessness” and shows he probably didn’t think through the implications of his actions., Yet overall, Johnson seems to have been right. So far in his career, his disregard for the normal rules of engagement has not held him back for long. In fact, it has been a large factor in his appeal as a politician who isn’t part of the mainstream., For Gimson, author of ‘Boris: The Making of the Prime Minister,’ one reason why Johnson is so popular and has won over people who voted Labour all their lives is because he deliberately shuns political correctness, speaking out controversially and obviously flouting normal rules., “Boris makes things interesting, sometimes by things going wrong,” Gimson said. “He has never really been at all conscientious about following rules and he is obviously more tolerant of chaos and strife around him than other people.”, Johnson plays up the performance, too. When he is getting ready to be photographed or to appear on television, the prime minister does the exact opposite of a slickly-styled politician. Instead of tidying himself up for the cameras, he runs a meaty hand through his blond hair to make it messy., He shrugged off allegations of an affair with American businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri, who was given taxpayer funding while Johnson was Mayor of London. None of this mattered much in 2019, when he led the Tories to a historic 80-seat majority at the general election., Tory MP James Sunderland said voters are “very supportive” of Johnson and want a prime minister who is “visual” and outspoken. “Boris Johnson is a personality.”, He said voters are “not bothered” by the row over the apartment “because this is just another attempt to find sleaze and scandal when it’s just not there.”, One senior party official said the premier would be fine as long as next week’s elections in local English districts go well. Johnson and the Conservatives are ahead of the Labour opposition in opinion polls, with a YouGov survey for the Times giving the Tories an 11-point lead on Thursday., But the sheer weight of allegations piling up against Johnson and his Conservatives remains a risk. For one thing, regulators may be less tolerant than voters. In 2018, parliamentary authorities rapped him for repeatedly being late in disclosing payments he’d received., In another report in 2019, the authorities were even less impressed that he had failed to register his ownership of a share of a house in the countryside. Parliament’s Committee on Standards concluded “with concern” that these two investigations demonstrated “a pattern of behavior” by Johnson., While he wasn’t trying to hide anything, Johnson displayed “an over-casual attitude toward ob, the rules” along with “a lack of effective organization” within his office, the panel said. Further breaches could lead to more serious sanctions in future, it warned., The big danger for the premier is that the investigations into the Downing Street flat take months or longer to conclude, while the drip-drip of allegations continues. Johnson has made an enemy of his former aide, Dominic Cummings, who is now on the warpath and ready to give evidence under oath., “If this episode hurts him, it will be because it bolsters an impression of untrustworthiness and of casualness that the Lex Greensill , and other recent disclosures have fanned,” said Bronwen Maddox, director of the Institute for Government. “After a year when many people have lost relatives and friends to the virus or lost their jobs and struggled to support themselves, revelations that the prime minister’s girlfriend has recruited a designer to overhaul the flat, spending tens of thousands of pounds, will seem graceless.”, In the end, even with a forgiving public, the most popular prime ministers run out of road, according to Gimson. “Every sort of charm wears off eventually.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Tim Ross &. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 9:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Taliban Victory inevitable Pentagon Afghanistan [/INST] Politics news. Title: Pentagon Insists Taliban Victory Isn’t Inevitable in Afghanistan. Short_description: Pentagon Insists Taliban Victory Isn’t Inevitable in Afghanistan. Description: The fall of the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan to the Taliban isn’t inevitable after American forces leave the country in the coming months, top Pentagon officials insisted on Thursday., While a Taliban victory isn’t a “foregone conclusion,” the Pentagon is considering ways to continue training Afghan government forces in third-country locations after U.S. troops leave, General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at a news conference with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin., “The Afghan security forces can fight, and they are fighting for their own country now,” Milley said, adding that Afghanistan’s Air Force conducts 80% to 90% of air strikes in the nation. “There’s a significant military capability in the Afghan government and we have to see how this plays out.”, But the U.S. top two military leaders conceded that Afghanistan’s government faces a challenge in fending off a resurgent Taliban, nearly 20 years after the U.S. ousted the group from power following the Sept. 11 terror attacks., “We expect that this will be a challenge for them,” Austin said., Biden has said the approximately 2,500 American troops deployed to Afghanistan will be gone by Sept. 11. The withdrawal is being coordinated with NATO allies who have several thousand forces in the country as well., But the departure of Western forces has raised difficult questions about the stability of President Ashraf Ghani’s government, with the Taliban controlling large swaths of the country and at their strongest level since being ousted from power. Human rights activists have also warned about the loss of women’s rights if the Taliban -- who barred females from most jobs and educational opportunities -- retake Kabul., “I think there is a high likelihood that the Taliban will be back in control of the country, maybe as early as the end of the year,” Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said during a news conference in Kentucky on Thursday. “And I worry about the future of Afghan women and girls, and that we will end up in a situation much like we found ourselves in before.”, U.S. support will continue to flow to Afghanistan after the withdrawal in the form of funding and logistics, though it will be conducted from abroad, Austin said. No plans have been finalized for military training in other countries., As it prepares to depart, the U.S. has so far closed one base in Helmand province, flown out the equivalent of 60 C-17 cargo planes worth of equipment, and transferred 1,300 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for destruction or to the Afghan security forces., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Travis Tritten. Date Created: 07 May 2021, 12:40 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to little extra Weight Raises risk severe Covid study [/INST] Politics news. Title: Just a Little Extra Weight Raises Risk of Severe Covid in Study. Short_description: Just a Little Extra Weight Raises Risk of Severe Covid in Study. Description: Carrying even a little extra weight raises the risk of developing a severe form of Covid-19, especially in younger adults, according to a new study., The findings published Thursday offer fresh insights into who is most at risk of complications, laying out the effects for certain age and ethnic groups and showing how weight gain matters., The study comes as repeated lockdowns and pandemic stress lead to , in many developed countries and quashes the perception that only the obese face worse outcomes., Those with a body mass index above 23, which is considered at the upper end of the healthy range, are already at higher risk, according to the U.K. researchers. They found that each one-point increase in BMI raises the chance of hospitalization by 5% and of intensive-care admission by 10%., The impact was greatest in those under age 40, and the risks were amplified for Black people compared with other ethnic groups, the scientists found after studying the health records of almost 7 million people in England., Being overweight had little effect on outcomes for people older than 80. The research was published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Marthe Fourcade. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 7:05 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Job Contenders line Macron [/INST] Politics news. Title: Macron’s Job Is on the Line and These Contenders Might Just Grab It. Short_description: Macron’s Job Is on the Line and These Contenders Might Just Grab It. Description: In exactly 12 months time, the French will start the process of deciding whether they want to keep Emmanuel Macron as president, or dismiss him., The 43-year-old former investment banker-turned-president has been bruised by his government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, rallies against , and strikes against his pension reform, as well protests by , that demands greater economic equality. And then, there’s a perception , ., Even so, Macron’s approval rating is around 40% in recent surveys. He can count on a strong base of loyal voters and with the left- and right-wing parties in disarray and bickering over who will represent them in April 2022, he’s almost certain to make it to the second round of the election —  probably finding himself again facing off with far-right leader Marine Le Pen., It’s a crowded and moving field, though, so don’t rule out a surprise. After all, a year before Macron was elected, few would have bet on him., Here’s a look at some of the candidates who’ve already entered the race:, The National Rally leader , her third attempt to win France’s top job will be the lucky one., In the decade since taking over the party from her father, Le Pen has been working hard to move it to the mainstream. She made it to the second round in the previous presidential ballot in 2017, but suffered a crushing defeat when progressives rallied around Macron to keep her out of the Elysee., As Le Pen, 52, , , she’s been tapping into anger over economic inequality and the dominance of Paris over the regions. She’s also lashed out at Macron for not having closed borders early enough to prevent the arrival of Covid-19 variants, as well as for the slow start to France’s vaccination campaign., Le Pen says she’s learned from her mistakes. To broaden her appeal, she’s abandoned her pledge to take France out of the EU and condemned racism. And she’s embarked on a public relations campaign, appearing regularly on TV and radio to sell her new image to more voters. The , between Le Pen and Macron. Yet, she’s still perceived by a majority of French as “aggressive” and “worrying,” according to a recent poll., What could help her? Massive abstention from left-wing voters who backed Macron in 2017. Second round polls show a much tighter margin between the president and Le Pen than before, with progressives reluctant to step in rescue him again after his tack to the right on issues ranging from taxation to immigration and Islam., The leader of the far-left France Unbowed party , for the third time as well, after winning 20% of the vote in the first round of the 2017 election., Melenchon, 69, says the health crisis demanded a change in tactics so he’s no longer calling on people to create chaos and disobey — or as he says, he wants to move on “from the period of sound and fury.” He says he has dusted off his program and sought new ideas from key supporters, who tend to be highly-educated with lower revenue., Melenchon’s policy positions are firmly anchored to the left of the mainstream Socialist Party. He’s a staunch critic of the EU as it is and defends protectionism as well as strong social benefits. He advocates boosting public debt, which he says will eventually not be repaid by the state, and wants to cancel debt owned by the European Central Bank., A Melenchon win would likely be just as market adverse as a Le Pen win. His path to power includes uniting with the Green Party — it had a strong showing in last year’s city elections and its leaders have agreed they must forge an alliance with the left to contest the presidential ballot., The president of the working class, northern region of Hauts-de-France left the conservative Les Republicains party after a hardliner was elected to its helm. He’s currently an independent., Often described as compatible with centrists, the 56-year-old former Minister for Labor, Employment, and Health in Nicolas Sarkozy’s government had been talking about throwing his hat in the ring for more than a year before finally saying that given the current political climate, it was “his duty” to run., He’s coming up with strong-handed proposals on security and terrorism, including lowering the age of penal responsibility to 15 years old, in a bid to win the backing of Les Republicains., One recent survey had Bertrand running third in the first round. He’ll need to win upcoming regional elections to show he stands a chance to get the top job., In 2014, the Spanish-born Socialist became the first woman to lead the French capital’s city hall, a political springboard for the late president Jacques Chirac. She began her tenure with a baptism of fire — a deadly attack by jihadists on the Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo followed months later by an even worse assault on venues including the Bataclan concert hall. Her handling of the crises earned praise from world leaders including Barack Obama., When a fire partially destroyed , in June 2019, Hidalgo was still mayor, she’d go on to win a second term about a year later. She has overseen the city’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and led a successful bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games., Hidalgo, 61, is regularly criticized by opponents for the dirtiness of some areas of Paris as well as her push to progressively ban cars from the city center, while some voters see her as part of a Parisian elite that doesn’t have a good grasp on what happens outside the capital. She has yet to reach the 10% voting intention threshold in polls., Still, Macron advisers reckon she’s a serious threat. Her tough measures on vehicles are in-line with demands by the Green Party, meaning she could potentially unite with them, and/or eventually attract the votes of social democrats who backed the president in 2017. , Philippe, 50, hasn’t said he’s running, but he’s included here because, according to polls, he’s France’s most popular politician —  or, as he puts it, the “least unpopular.”, Philippe was heading France as prime minister when the Yellow Vests protests and strikes against Macron’s planned pension reform emerged. He handled the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and pushed to keep the country under lockdown. He was replaced with Jean Castex last July, just as his popularity was climbing and he was threatening to steal his boss’s thunder with his poised, down-to-earth style., Now mayor of the northern, working-class town of Le Havre, Philippe has been raising his profile while out promoting his upcoming book, “Impressions and Clear Lines,” a chronicle of his experiences as prime minister that he co-wrote with a former adviser., Philippe’s always been loyal to Macron and makes a point of remaining ambiguous on his election plans. He could emerge as a replacement for the president’s La Republic En Marche movement should his popularity plummet., The list of potential other candidates is endless and on the right includes figures like Bruno Retailleau, president of the Republican group in the Senate; former industry minister Arnaud Montebourg and Philippe Juvin, the right-wing mayor of the northern city Garenne-Colombes who rose to prominence during the pandemic as head of emergency services at the Georges-Pompidou hospital in Paris., Depending on the outcome of the regional elections, and whether Les Republicains decides to hold a primary, other candidates could include the party’s president of the Senate Gerard Larcher or Brexit negotiator , , who despite being featured in a lot of international press coverage, remains unknown to many in France, including those outside elite circles and the Brussels bubble., The Greens haven’t picked a candidate yet. The field includes Yannick Jadot, a member of European Parliament, the mayor of Grenoble, Eric Piolle and economist Sandrine Rousseau. Their problem is that all parties are talking about the climate and ecology now, even Le Pen’s nationalists. They contend they’re the original while others are pale copies, but they’re being upstaged and the debate is moving on to other issues, such as religion and the economy. , Still, the Greens have the potential to rally a large part of the left and Macron’s lieutenants have been on the attack, well aware that just across the Rhine, a German and more centrist version is running neck-and-neck with the incumbent government, five months before an election., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Ania Nussbaum. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 9:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to german Parties tax plan cost [/INST] Politics news. Title: Counting the Costs of German Parties’ Tax Plans. Short_description: Counting the Costs of German Parties’ Tax Plans. Description: Ahead of Sunday’s German election, the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Left Party have proposed tax hikes targeting higher income households as well as a continuation of the solidarity surcharge and a new wealth tax, while the CDU/CSU alliance and the liberal Free Democrats are running on a platform of tax cuts for corporates and higher earners. Overall, the fiscal stance of more right-leaning coalitions, such as Jamaica and Mickey Mouse, would likely be more expansionary, according to calculations by Bloomberg Economics. They would offer more support to growth, although the likely reinstatement of the debt brake from 2023 could end up ironing out those differences., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bjorn Van Roye &. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 2:04 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to democratic Leaders Meeting GOP Biden [/INST] Politics news. Title: Biden Plans First Meeting With GOP, Democratic Leaders in May. Short_description: Biden Plans First Meeting With GOP, Democratic Leaders in May. Description: President Joe Biden plans to host his first meeting since taking office with House and Senate leaders from both parties on May 12, a White House official said Wednesday., House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have already been to the Biden White House, but the session will be the first trip for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell., The official said Biden plans to discuss policy areas where he and the lawmakers can find common ground. He plans to talk about how they can work together on “restoring trust in government, ensuring that government delivers for the American people, and keeping the nation safe and competitive in the world,” the White House said in a statement., The meeting is to take place two weeks after Biden’s Wednesday night address to lawmakers, in which he’ll unveiling a sweeping $1.8 trillion plan to expand educational opportunities and child care for families, funded in part by the largest tax increases on wealthy Americans in decades., The proposal follows a $2.25 trillion infrastructure plan that has yet to be taken up by Congress and a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief plan that Biden has signed into law., Biden and his staff have already hosted more than 130 members of Congress at the White House, the official said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jennifer Epstein. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 2:09 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to EU Stimulus Fund ready Tuesday Poland [/INST] Politics news. Title: Poland Says Ready to Ratify EU Stimulus Fund on Tuesday. Short_description: Poland Says Ready to Ratify EU Stimulus Fund on Tuesday. Description: Poland will most likely ratify the European Union’s pandemic stimulus in a parliamentary vote on Tuesday after the government won backing for the plan from one of the opposition parties., The three-way coalition has for weeks lacked the majority to approve the bloc’s 800 billion euro ($968 billion) recovery fund due to internal disagreements. In the end, the ruling Law and Justice party agreed to demands from the Left in exchange for its support., “Everything indicates there’s a majority in favor of the pact,” Waldemar Buda, a deputy minister of EU funds and regional policy, said on Friday. “Our understanding is that the support from the Left is real.”, With its decision to call a special parliament session next week, the bloc’s largest eastern member is seeking to allay concerns it’ll be a laggard in the ratification process., Polish government will send its European Union-funded national recovery plan for approval by the European Commission on Friday even as the deadline for submissions has been extended., “Poland doesn’t want to wait and intends to be somewhere in the middle between the countries that are ready with the Fund and those that have yet to work on it,” Buda said., The government’s more comprehensive investment and development plan known as the New Deal is likely to be unveiled on May 15. It’s going to outline in detail how the Poland wants to help the economy emerge from the pandemic, he said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Dorota Bartyzel. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 7:59 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Health Chief Blames Bolsonaro Covid Crisis Probe Ex [/INST] Politics news. Title: Ex-Health Chief Blames Bolsonaro for Covid Crisis at Probe. Short_description: Brazil Ex-Health Chief Sets Anti-Bolsonaro Tone at Covid Probe. Description: A former Brazilian health minister set a harsh tone at the beginning of a congressional probe into Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the pandemic, accusing the president of fueling the coronavirus crisis and the economy minister of doing nothing to prevent it., Luiz Henrique Mandetta, the first of Bolsonaro’s four health chiefs during the pandemic, mentioned a long list of mistakes he sees as committed by the president since the virus appeared in Brazil last year. He frequently repeated the mantra “I warned him” during more than six hours of testimony on Tuesday. The investigation continues on Wednesday with former Health Minister Nelson Teich scheduled to speak. , Poor diplomatic relations with top vaccine producer China and disregard for social distancing and sanitary measures were major mistakes made by Bolsonaro, according to Mandetta. He also accused the president of ignoring data about the exponential increase in cases and deaths by Covid-19 and touting unproven medication against the virus., “I warned the president we would have more than 180,000 deaths by December of 2020,” Mandetta, who was fired by Bolsonaro during the first peak of the pandemic in March 2020, told lawmakers. The Covid-19 death toll reached 190,000 last year and spiked to more than 400,000 so far in 2021., The senate probe represents an attempt to hold the far-right president accountable for one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, and follows dozens of impeachment requests already filed against him. While the outcome of the investigation is uncertain, it will likely provide Bolsonaro’s foes with a platform to attack him for months, possibly delaying the approval of reforms by congress., “Mandetta left the government because he tried to warn the government about the seriousness of the pandemic,” Senator Simone Tebet said after his testimony. “We’ll seek the truth, who was responsible, who was absent when thousands were dying every day.”, Mandetta said Bolsonaro could be prosecuted for pushing chloroquine, an anti-malaria medication unproven against the coronavirus, as part of the government’s anti-Covid treatment. , He also accused Economy Minister Paulo Guedes of underestimating the severity of the crisis and being dishonest when talking to lawmakers about the issue. Guedes was one of the voices that influenced Bolsonaro to focus on the economy instead of curbing the virus spread, he added., The economy ministry and the presidential office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment., Mandetta is the first former health chief to testify in the senate. General Eduardo Pazuello, who headed the ministry between June 2020 and last March, requested his testimony to be postponed due to a suspected reinfection by the coronavirus., The senate committee is collecting evidence, interviewing experts and government officials over the next tree months and its conclusions could potentially hurt Bolsonaro ahead of his re-election campaign in 2022. In 1992, former President Fernando Collor de Mello was removed from office after a congressional committee found evidence of corruption in his government., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Simone Preissler Iglesias. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 3:52 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Deal Brexit Concern Downgrade Amid U.K. Rating risk [/INST] Politics news. Title: U.K. Rating at Risk of Downgrade Amid No-Deal Brexit Concern. Short_description: It notes that while an extension of the Article 50 withdrawal process is possible, that would require the agreement of EU members.. Description: (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. has been put on a formal downgrade warning by Fitch Ratings, which pointed to increased risks that the country could tumble out of the European Union without an agreement in place., In a surprise move that came outside of its normal ratings calendar, Fitch placed the AA grade on rating watch negative, and said that a no deal outcome, or a new relationship with the EU that “undermines” the economy, may result in a downgrade., The U.K is due to leave the bloc -- with or without a deal -- on March 29, and Fitch indicated that it will look to make a decision on the rating in the first half of this year., “A ‘no-deal’ Brexit would lead to substantial disruption to U.K. economic and trade prospects, at least in the near term,” it said. The statement cited “heightened uncertainty," adding that avoiding a chaotic exit could remove the risk of a cut., Concern over Britain’s economic future has been growing as Prime Minister , to get fresh concessions from the EU in order to put a reformed divorce deal to a vote in the House of Commons as soon as next week. She was dealt a blow Wednesday with the defection of three high-profile members from her Conservative Party, who will join a group of former Labour politicians who also quit their party., Fitch said that the scope for fundamental renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement appears limited and that for an accord to be approved by the U.K. ahead of the March 29 deadline, “the government would need to substantially widen its support.”, It notes that while an extension of the Article 50 withdrawal process is possible, that would require the agreement of EU member states., “The macroeconomic outlook is highly sensitive to Brexit developments in the next few weeks,” Fitch said., The pound fell against the dollar after the statement, and was around $1.3050 as of 10:27 p.m. in London. Amid the back and forth on Brexit, it’s swung between $1.24 and $1.32 since the start of the year., ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Benjamin Purvis &. Date Created: 21 Feb 2019, 4:04 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to era tax Plan Collides SALT Rebels GOP Biden [/INST] Politics news. Title: Biden’s 1970s-Era Tax Plan Collides With GOP and SALT Rebels. Short_description: President Joe Biden to unveil a plan that would raise taxes on income, investments and estates of wealthiest Americans.. Description: President Joe Biden is poised to unveil a plan that would raise taxes on the income, investments and estates of the wealthiest Americans to levels not seen in more than four decades, a move that will trigger intense debate in Congress about whether and how to address income inequality., Biden’s “American Families Plan,” itself featuring the biggest expansion of federal support for lower-income and middle-class Americans in decades, will be offset by a series of tax increases on the wealthy, administration officials say. The president will unveil his program in a Wednesday night speech to Congress., To pay for a bill that could top $1 trillion, Americans earning over $400,000 will face higher marginal income tax rates. Those taking in $1 million or more will get hit with a levy of , 43.4% on their capital gains. The last time rates got close to that, Jimmy Carter was president., Biden is also likely to propose increases on the number of Americans subjected to the estate tax. He campaigned on closing popular tax breaks including a provision that lets appreciated assets go untaxed when they are inherited, along with eliminating the carried-interest tax break, which lets private equity managers cut their Internal Revenue Service bills., Republicans are likely to oppose the tax increases en masse, but the White House is also risking a struggle with Democratic lawmakers. Some of those from New York, New Jersey and other high-tax states in particular were already mobilizing to demand relief for their constituencies even before Biden’s official announcements. With the 50-50 Senate and a narrow margin in the House, monthslong negotiations loom., Biden’s individual tax measures, coming on top of corporate tax hikes released last month that go to pay for his $2.25 trillion infrastructure-focused “American Jobs Plan,” could also pose a test for markets. News of the capital-gains measure sent stocks sliding Thursday, before a Friday rebound., “The administration’s policies are no longer so unambiguously positive now that it is pursuing tax hikes on corporates, individuals and investors to fund stimulus 2.0 (infrastructure) and 3.0 (social programs),” JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists led by John Normand wrote in a note Friday on market implications., After an initial tumble last week after news that Biden is eyeing almost doubling the capital gains tax, U.S. equities on Monday were headed toward all-time highs amid solid corporate earnings and signs of robust growth., Democrats are eager to raise taxes on high-earners whom they say have been able to pay less than their fair share of the burden for decades, and further benefited from Trump’s 2017 tax cut, while investment in public services and the social safety net have languished., Republicans counter that higher rates would depress economic activity. While they’re open to talks on a slimmed-down, targeted infrastructure package, a group of them last week suggested offsetting the cost with fees and repurposing unspent Covid-19 relief money., “President Biden’s proposed capital-gains tax increase would dissuade investment, leading to slower economic growth while limiting worker productivity and wage growth,” Senator Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, said in statement., Without the GOP, Biden will need to craft a deal with his own party’s lawmakers. Some Democratic moderates, such as West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, have said they want to limit the size of the tax increases., A bigger constituency Biden will need to woo is a group of House lawmakers largely representing districts in New York, New Jersey and California, who demand an expansion of a tax deduction that Trump limited in 2017. More than 20 Democrats have said they won’t vote for Biden’s plan unless the $10,000 cap on state and local tax, or SALT, deductions is addressed., That bipartisan group, which organized into a congressional caucus earlier this month, will have even greater cause given the concentrated effect on wealthy taxpayers in their districts of the tax proposals on capital Biden is set to unveil., California and New York are the No. 1 and No. 2 states where millionaires, who would be affected by the capital gains proposal, reside, according to IRS tax return data. Lawmakers say without a more generous SALT deduction, their residents will flee to low-tax states, such as Florida or Texas., “With backing from our recently announced bipartisan SALT Caucus in the House, it’s clear any package that does not address the SALT deduction cap will not move,” Representative Mikie Sherrill, a New Jersey Democrat, , on Thursday., The tussle with the White House, which has telegraphed there won’t be a repeal of the SALT cap in Biden’s proposals, will likely be an expensive battle to resolve. The cost of a full removal of the SALT cap is $88.7 billion a year, and advocates are pushing for a multiyear repeal., The trade-offs for a bigger SALT tax break could end up meaning even more tax hikes, doing more to harm than help the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area, said Erin Sykes, chief economist for Nest Seekers International, a real estate brokerage firm., “This capital-gains increase would make the struggle so much more for the Northeast to recover after Covid,” she said. “The negotiation of SALT doesn’t really help anybody all that much because the high net worth individuals will be paying more taxes through their businesses.”, The SALT deduction has also generated some controversy because a full restoration of the tax break would largely benefit the wealthy -- more than half of the tax savings would go to those making more than $1 million, according to the nonpartisan scorekeeper the Joint Committee on Taxation. That’s criticism from some Democrats. Progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York called it a “giveaway to the rich” and said that Biden’s infrastructure package shouldn’t be held hostage to a full repeal of the SALT cap., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Laura Davison. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 11:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Climate Setback Court Rebuke conservative merkel [/INST] Politics news. Title: Merkel’s Conservatives Suffer Climate Setback After Court Rebuke. Short_description: Merkel’s Conservatives Suffer Climate Setback After Court Rebuke. Description: Germany’s top court ruled that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s climate-protection efforts are falling short, a stinging setback for her conservative bloc just months before national elections., The constitutional court in Karlsruhe on Thursday said the government was putting future generations at risk by delaying the bulk of planned cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions to after 2030. It now has until the end of next year to specify how it plans to limit global warming in subsequent years., “For this target to be reached, the reductions still necessary after 2030 will have to be achieved with ever greater speed and urgency,” the court said in a , . “These future obligations to reduce emissions have an impact on practically every type of freedom.”, The ruling set off a blame game in Merkel’s coalition, with cabinet members from her Christian Democrats and the junior Social Democrats saying the other party was at fault for the debacle. Unless the government acts fast, fixing the climate law could fall to the next government, which will likely include the Greens -- the strongest force in recent polls., Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, a member of the CDU, called the ruling “historic.” Environment groups including the Fridays for Future movement and Greenpeace backed the challenge to the , ., “We’ve received a warning notice that we haven’t done enough in the past,” he told reporters in Berlin., He defended his own initiatives, saying he made proposals last September for setting concrete annual reduction targets until reaching climate neutrality in 2050. On Twitter, he said he was blocked by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, the Social Democrats’ candidate for chancellor., Hubertus Heil, the Social Democratic labor minister, fired back saying he “bitterly remembers” that Altmaier and others in the conservative bloc thwarted his party’s efforts. Svenja Schulze, the environment minister who is also from the SPD, said she will propose fresh legislation this summer., The back-and-forth underscores the growing political tension ahead of September elections, which will determine who runs Europe’s largest economy after 16 years under Merkel., With Germans already frustrated by the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the rebuke of its climate policy could provide fresh momentum to the Greens. The environmental party -- a distant sixth in the 2017 vote -- has emerged as a serious contender to take the chancellery for the first time., “Climate protection protects our freedom and the freedom of our children and grandchildren,” Annalena Baerbock, the Greens’ chancellor candidate, said on , , calling for a quick overhaul of the law. “The next few years are crucial.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Karin Matussek &. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 5:48 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New Data Suggest Latino Vote Surge Key States Biden [/INST] Politics news. Title: Latino Vote Surge Helped Biden in Key States, New Data Suggest. Short_description: Latino Vote Surge Helped Biden in Key States, New Data Suggest. Description: Nearly a third more Hispanic voters participated in the 2020 presidential election as did in 2016, providing a boost to Democrat Joe Biden that swamped the small inroads that Republicans made in the share of the Hispanic vote., New data from the U.S. Census Bureau show Hispanic voters made up 10.6% of the national electorate in 2020, an increase of 1.4 percentage points and rivaling Black voters who made up 12% to 13%. Non-Hispanic White voters comprised 71% of all voters, down from 73.3% in 2016., Latino rights group said the increase in Hispanic voters is the highest ever recorded., “These trends underscore the reality that presidential campaigns cannot be successful unless they engage Latino voters,” said Arturo Vargas of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials., It also marks a demographic shift that may have helped tip the balance in some key states., Republicans have touted inroads that former President Donald Trump made among Latino voters, especially , form an especially influential voting bloc. Exit polls there show Biden won 53% of Florida Latinos voters compared to 46% for Trump, even as Trump carried the state., But Biden still won two thirds of Latino voters nationally in 2020, according to exit polls form Edison Research, and the increase in Latino turnout was large enough that it could have changed the outcome in a number of battleground states., In Arizona, a state Biden won by just 10,457 votes, about 271,000 more Latinos turned out to vote in 2020 than in 2016. In Georgia, which Biden won by 11,779 votes, Latino turnout increased by 17,000. And in Nevada, which Biden won by 33,596 votes, Latino turnout increased by 43,000., Biden won Michigan by a more comfortable 154,188-vote margin. But the number of Latino voters there more than doubled, from 74,000 to 165,000, the Census Bureau said., Asian-Americans saw the largest increase in voting in 2020, up 36.4% from 2016. Exit polls showed they voted 61% to 34% in Biden’s favor, but their influence is largely in Democratic states Biden was expected to win anyway., White voters increased by 11.1% and Black voters increased by 10.5%, slower than the overall increase of 12.4%., Because most states don’t ask for ethnicity in voter registration, the Census Bureau survey of voting and registration patterns is the most comprehensive source for the racial and ethnic makeup of the electorate. Last year’s survey included 54,000 households with citizens 18 years or older from Nov. 15-24, 2020., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Gregory Korte. Date Created: 01 May 2021, 1:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to U.S. adult July Goal shot Biden [/INST] Politics news. Title: Biden Sets Goal of Shots for 70% of U.S. Adults by July 4. Short_description: Biden Targets 70% of U.S. Adults Getting Vaccine Shot by July 4. Description: President Joe Biden set a target of 70% of U.S. adults receiving at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by July 4 and said the government will “wind down” mass vaccination sites, as his administration seeks to stem a dropoff in inoculations., Biden said Tuesday at the White House that he’s also aiming for 160 million adults to be fully vaccinated by Independence Day. And he said that if the Food and Drug Administration authorizes Pfizer Inc.’s vaccine for use in children as young as 12, as anticipated, 20,000 pharmacies across the country are prepared to give them shots., “We’re going to have to bring the vaccine to people who are less eager,” Biden said. But he added: “We’re going to make it easier than ever to get vaccinated.”, To help Americans more easily obtain shots, Biden said, the government has begun encouraging vaccination sites to offer walk-in appointments., “Walk into your local pharmacy without an appointment,” he said. “Every adult is eligible. Go get the shot as soon as you can.”, As of now, 56% of U.S. adults, or 145 million, have received at least one dose and nearly 41%, or about 105 million, are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention., The U.S. is quickly exhausting the pool of people who want a vaccine and is shifting efforts to focus on those who are less motivated, or who are skeptical about the Covid-19 vaccine. Vaccinating large numbers of people is key to limiting the emergence of dangerous new variants of the virus, health experts say., Biden said vaccine hesitancy can be best overcome by Americans seeing people close to them getting shots without ill effect. “As more and more Americans see their friends and family get vaccinated, they’re making the choice to get vaccinated themselves,” he said., “This is not a Democrat or Republican issue,” he said, though polling shows , to have reservations about being vaccinated. “Science behind the vaccines has been under development for decades.”, Biden’s goal would be attainable if the U.S. manages to vaccinate Americans at roughly half the pace as over the past month. Administration officials defended the goals as sufficiently ambitious, saying they would still need to administer close to 100 million doses to adults over the next two months. That pace wouldn’t include additional doses that would be administered to adolescents if the vaccine is authorized for those under 16 years old., Also Tuesday, the White House told governors in a phone call that any unclaimed shots in their states will be redirected to a pool of doses available for distribution elsewhere, according to people familiar with the discussion. The administration had previously allocated shots evenly to states, based on adult population, regardless of how many injections were given., The White House said the administration is making nearly $1.5 billion in funds from the coronavirus rescue package available for community organizations, rural health clinics, and state and local governments as part of the push to increase vaccination and testing rates in underserved areas., Biden’s moves come as the seven-day average of shots has fallen to 2.3 million, from 3.4 million, in about three weeks, according to data compiled by the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker. The U.S. administered 1.2 million shots on Monday, the lowest daily total since February, though Monday is typically a slower day for vaccination data., The federal government has delivered 312.5 million doses of vaccines, of which 246.9 million, or 79%, have been recorded as administered., Biden has regularly implored Americans to get a vaccine, avoid large crowds and continue Covid-19 mitigation efforts a bit longer to drive the caseload down in time for July 4 celebrations., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Josh Wingrove &. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 11:15 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New Blow Romanian Courts prosecutor government [/INST] Politics news. Title: Romanian Courts, Prosecutors Get New Blow From the Government. Short_description: Romanian Courts, Prosecutors Get New Blow From the Government. Description: (Bloomberg) -- Romania’s government moved to hamstring the country’s anti-corruption office and threaten the judicial independence with a decree that may weaken the fight against graft and halt investigations., The move triggered a new , about democratic backsliding from the European Union as the bloc battles efforts by governments, including those in Poland and Hungary, to subject courts to more political control. Romania’s case is fueled by the ruling Social Democratic Party’s fight to ease convictions that have put scores of its members behind bars and blocked its leader, Liviu Dragnea, from becoming prime minister., Ignoring calls from the European Commission to avoid hasty legislative changes that could weaken the rule of law, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila’s cabinet passed a bill Tuesday to limit the power of the prosecutor general, give more sway to a newly established body that investigates magistrates and prevent interim appointments for chief prosecutor positions., “The changes will block the activity of the anti-corruption office,” the anti-graft directorate said in a statement Wednesday. Dancila, the prime minister, defended the changes and said she wants an “independent judiciary and a continued fight against corruption.”, Because investigations require the sign-off of chief prosecutors, banning interim positions will effectively prevent the anti-graft directorate from moving ahead on any cases. Aside from the top anti-graft and judicial prosecutors, many more magistrates are working in an acting capacity., The European Commission “is following with great concern the latest developments concerning the rule of law in Romania,” spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters in Brussels. “Both the content and the procedure of the latest changes -- using emergency ordinances without any consultations with the judiciary and stakeholders -- seem to be in direct contradiction with the recommendations of the commission.”, The anti-graft office argued there’s not enough time to replace its current leadership, whose interim positions end on March 20. The acting head of the directorate, Calin Nistor, is the second interim holder of the office since Laura Codruta Kovesi was , last year., Nistor, who took over the office after the president rejected a cabinet-proposed candidate to replace Kovesi, would be removed next month, according to the statement. For Kovesi’s part, she’s the front-runner to become the EU’s top prosecutor. But she’s now under investigation by the new judicial body, which may undermine her candidacy., The decree drew sharp criticism from legal experts, opposition parties and President Klaus Iohannis, who has clashed with the government over its efforts to overhaul the courts. The opposition Liberal Party initiated a motion against Justice Minister Tudorel Toader to compel him to cancel the decree. It said it plans to ask the opinion of the Venice Commission, a panel of constitutional experts that advises the Council of Europe, which is the continent’s leading human rights body., Similar attempts by the ruling party to amend the judiciary legislation and weaken an anti-corruption drive led to the largest protests since the fall of Communism in 2017. Since then though, other , to prompt massive demonstrations., “The Social Democrats have acted again against the judiciary and the rule of law, against Romania and its citizens,” Iohannis said. “Romania cannot be at the beck and call of those who want to impose political control over the judiciary.", ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Andra Timu &. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 7:39 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Biden Climate Summit Poland Heads Path neutrality [/INST] Politics news. Title: Poland Heads to Biden Climate Summit With Own Path to Neutrality. Short_description: Poland Heads to Biden Climate Summit With Own Path to Neutrality. Description: Poland, the European Union’s most coal-dependent country, plans to spell out its own conditions for reaching climate neutrality at U.S. President Joe Biden’s summit this week., President Andrzej Duda plans to say during the summit on Friday that getting to net zero emissions needs to be “fair and just” for Polish society, while preserving the nation’s energy security, according to Krzysztof Szczerski, one of his top advisers., Biden , to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 ahead of the virtual summit in a bid to demonstrate renewed American resolve to fight climate change and pressure wary nations to raise their own ambitions. Earlier this week, EU leaders made the bloc’s ambitious climate goals , , paving the way for a torrent of new rules and standards to overhaul the bloc’s economy., Poland, a country of 38 million that burns coal to generate 70% of its electricity, has said its energy transition would cost 1.6 trillion zloty ($424 billion) and that it needs more time and bigger resources to reach climate neutrality than EU peers. While backing ambitious greenhouse reduction targets, Duda will most likely reiterate his country’s unique position on reaching neutrality at the summit., “We have to build our individual path to climate neutrality,” Szczerski, a presidential minister in charge of international affairs, said by phone on Thursday. “We will need to use natural gas for a longer time, while our departure from coal needs to be gradual.”, Szczerski said Poland was ready to amend its priorities with the U.S. after the departure of coal-industry supporter Donald Trump, one of Duda’s biggest political allies in the past four years. It seeks to focus more on renewable energy as well as continuing negotiations on Warsaw gaining access to nuclear technology., “Climate and climate-related technologies could be a very important area for cooperation,” he said. “We’re talking mainly about nuclear energy, but also about other fields. We’re ready to strike partnerships.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Maciej Martewicz. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 8:13 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Pandemic Spending Package Ratify EU Rebel Poland [/INST] Politics news. Title: Rebel Poland Is Set to Ratify EU’s Pandemic Spending Package. Short_description: Rebel Poland Is Set to Ratify EU’s Pandemic Spending Package. Description: Poland is set to ratify the European Union’s pandemic stimulus plan as the threat of losing billions of euros of aid galvanizes support in parliament to stop a rift within the government from torpedoing the deal., The bloc’s largest eastern member had loomed as a potential spoiler for the 800 billion-euro ($966 billion) package after teaming up with Hungary to protest efforts by Brussels to attach strings to the money based on adherence to democratic rule of law. The two countries backtracked at the 11th hour of talks in December, but in Poland the U-turn , within the three-party coalition over whether to approve it., That left the Law & Justice Party weakened, and its leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski without enough support among government ranks. Lawmakers from opposition parties said in conversations with Bloomberg, though, that the deal will pass because -- as of now -- they can ensure the necessary numbers., “The fund needs to go ahead,” Piotr Zgorzelski, deputy speaker of the lower house of parliament and a member of the opposition Peasants’ Party, said in an interview. “There’s no other way.”, On Tuesday, the cabinet approved the EU spending fund and sent it to parliament for ratification. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also met with lawmakers from the opposition Left party, who said the government had agreed in principle to their conditions, which would open up the door for their support of the stimulus fund., Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Morawiecki declined to say when the parliament is going to vote to ratify the fund. The next sitting is scheduled for May 19-20, but Morawiecki wouldn’t rule out convening lawmakers for a special session depending on talks with other parties. , Poland is the biggest net recipient of EU aid since it joined in 2004, yet it has emerged as one of the bloc’s biggest rebels in recent years, clashing with the European Commission over everything from the independence of courts and media to gay rights., While Polish approval of the post-Covid aid package would be a , for Europe, it also raises questions over the stability of the Law & Justice-led government after almost six years in power., The country is among eight members that haven’t signed off, a process that’s supposed to happen by June. Among those, Poland stood out as the wildcard after Hungary already indicated in December it would fall into line., Bloomberg spoke with nine Polish opposition lawmakers, including members of the Civic Platform, the Peasant Party and the Left, and all said the package would ultimately be approved. Most of them asked not to be named while discussions continued., Yet they also said they’ll demand concessions to support the EU stimulus and they stopped short of saying it was a done deal. They want local and municipal authorities, where their parties are stronger, to get more oversight of the funds to make sure the money will be spent fairly. They’re also loath to give the government full control over the cash with general elections due in 2023., “The opposition must not only approve the fund, but also ensure that no money is redirected to strengthening the interests of the ruling coalition,” said Bartosz Arlukowicz, deputy chairman of the opposition-leading Civic Coalition party., The , within the coalition has already delayed some of the government’s legislative agenda. But the prospect of a fresh financial impetus from the EU could hand Law & Justice a war chest to back its drive to address a decline in support during the pandemic., Delay or rejection by just one of the bloc’s 27 members would hold back the spending plan aimed at rebuilding after the virus and a botched vaccine drive plunged most of their economies into recession. Italy, which will get the most from the recovery plan, is , how it plans to spend the money., In Poland, which in recent weeks has been one of the continent’s virus hotspots, the dispute within the coalition , to new rules agreed in December. They would allow the EU to withhold money from the relief fund and the bloc’s seven-year budget to countries that flaunt democratic norms., Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro’s United Poland party has openly attacked Kaczynski’s protege, Premier Morawiecki. He argues the plan would leave the country of 38 million, the EU’s sixth-poorest in terms of purchasing power per capita, on the hook for the debts of other member states and expose it to “blackmail” over democratic standards., United Poland has threatened to veto the ratification, leaving the coalition 14 votes short of majority in the 460-member lower house., Morawiecki said earlier this month that Law & Justice is consulting widely with the opposition and he wasn’t worried about country’s ability to eventually approve the package. Waldemar Buda, deputy minister in charge of EU funds, said on Monday he was optimistic the opposition would agree, saying “there should be no doubt about the ratification.”, The Law & Justice leadership knows the fund is critical for Poland and the party’s fortunes, said , , political scientist at the Warsaw University. The country is emerging from the pandemic indebted and support for the ruling coalition is shrinking even if it still tops popularity surveys., “Kaczynski needs EU money to cement the support of Poles by offering new incentives,” she said. “That would be costly any time, but considering the depressed mood caused by the pandemic, even more money could be needed.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Dorota Bartyzel &. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 9:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Term Extension vote President Somalia [/INST] Politics news. Title: Somalia to Hold Vote After President’s Term Extension Scrapped. Short_description: Somalia to Hold Vote After President’s Term Extension Scrapped. Description: , Somalia will return to a plan to hold elections after lawmakers agreed to scrap a decision to extend President Mohamed Abdullahi’s term in office., The president, known as Farmajo, appointed Prime Minister Mohamed Roble to lead preparations for the vote during a speech in parliament on Saturday. His term had been extended on April 14 after the country failed to hold a scheduled vote in February because of , between federal and regional government over the process., Farmajo had called for the return to the previous agreement on elections after some leaders backtracked on supporting the decision to extend his term and the U.S. threatened sanctions. He didn’t set a date for a new vote., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Mohamed Mulla &. Date Created: 01 May 2021, 6:17 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Vaccine Records Raise hope bad Western Europe [/INST] Politics news. Title: Western Europe’s Vaccine Records Raise Hopes Worst Is Over. Short_description: Western Europe’s Vaccine Push Raises Hopes the Worst Is Over. Description: Western Europe is heading toward a critical phase in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic as accelerating vaccination rates open up the prospect of easing lockdowns and reviving economies., Germany and Italy administered a record number of Covid-19 shots this week, and France is betting that faster immunizations will lead to a gradual return to normal life. Across the European Union, there’s growing optimism that the worst is over, even as authorities continue to fight a third wave., “Vaccination moves fast,” French Health Minister Olivier Veran said Friday on France Info radio. “More and more of us are being protected. I do believe in this.”, Letting businesses reopen more broadly will juice economic growth, and data Friday showed how vital that is, revealing the euro area fell into a , at the start of the year. The U.S., which is well ahead of Europe in vaccinating its people, posted a far stronger performance in the first quarter, helped by a surge in consumer spending., Returning activity to more normal levels will also help save businesses, jobs and incomes that have been threatened by lockdowns. For those politicians facing elections -- like Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives in Germany -- that’s a vital metric to win back support of frustrated voters., After earlier shortages, supplies of Covid-19 vaccines are now pouring in. Deliveries to the EU are expected to nearly quadruple to more than 400 million doses in the second quarter, led by the shot from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE., Vaccine production capacity doubled every month since January, EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who’s leading efforts to ramp up output, told a German parliament committee on Thursday. He said that the EU would have enough doses to completely immunize 70% of adults by mid-July., “The, economy hit the trough of the double-dip in February,” said Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg. As the vaccination rollout picks up pace, “we look for a strong bounce in activity from May onwards.”, As campaigns ramp up, the EU is looking to tie that to greater privileges such as traveling without needing a negative test., The bloc will , its vaccine certificate system in early May, and the aim is to get it fully operational by the end of June, depending on whether legislation is finalized in time, according to EU officials., While hospitals remain dangerously full, there are signs the strains are easing. In Germany, the number of Covid patients in intensive care has declined for four straight days. Meanwhile, the country’s contagion rate is the lowest since mid-April, though it’s still well above a level that triggers stricter lockdown measures., The European Commission has forecast 3.8% GDP growth in the euro area this year, a partial recovery from 2020’s record 6.6% contraction. But if the vaccination rollout keeps improving, it would give it grounds to raise projections when it updates them next month., Still, the risks to vaccine campaigns were exposed by Sweden. On Friday, the Nordic country , its vaccination target for a second time in a month, after pausing the use Johnson & Johnson’s shot because of concerns about side effects., Here’s a roundup of the key vaccine developments in Europe’s biggest economies:, Germany administered over 2 million doses in a two-day period this week. The surge was facilitated by an increase in supplies, which allowed inoculations to take place at private medical practices alongside state vaccination centers., General practitioners administered a total of 730,000 doses on a record-setting Wednesday, when more than 1% of the population got a shot., Merkel’s government is looking to drop regulations that determine who’s at the front of the queue by June, allowing all adults access to the shots. Nearly 27% of the population has had at least one., Vaccinations in France have substantially accelerated as President Emmanuel Macron’s government reacts to intense public and political pressure., Presidential elections are just a year away, and polls suggest a tight race between Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen -- who called the slow start to the inoculation effort a “vaccination Waterloo.”, The staged rollout, targeting the most vulnerable and oldest first, has fueled frustration across a population still under a partial lockdown and curfew. The government this week expanded vaccination eligibility to a wider group and will open it to all adults from June 15., Around 22% of the population have received at least one shot, and Macron has pledged that all willing adults will be vaccinated by the end of the summer., Italy administered almost 500,000 vaccine doses on Thursday, meeting a key target set by Prime Minister Mario Draghi to ease restrictions., General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, Italy’s Covid emergency czar, on Thursday said that 60% of Italians will be fully vaccinated by mid-July, according to news agency Ansa., Europe’s third-largest economy this week allowed outdoor dining and reopened museums and theaters as a first step of a gradual return toward normal life. More than 22% of the population has had at least one shot, according to , ., Health Minister Carolina Darias has said that it expects 41.9 million shotsduring the second quarter, almost half of the supplies expected through the first nine months of this year., The government aims to have vaccinated 70% of the population by late August. While the pace is still short of the government’s targets, it’s picked up in recent weeks, from just shy of 200,000 a day in late March to around 278,000, according to the latest seven-day rolling average. As of Thursday, 24% of the overall population had received at least one shot., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Chris Reiter &. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 4:29 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Democrats Schumer Agenda framework [/INST] Politics news. Title: Schumer Says Democrats Have ‘Framework’ to Pay for Agenda. Short_description: Schumer Says Democrats Have ‘Framework’ to Pay for Biden Agenda. Description: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the White House and congressional Democrats have agreed on a “framework” to pay for President Joe Biden’s economic plan, though there was no indication that it would resolve differences among Democrats over the sweeping tax-and-social spending package.,  , In brief remarks at a news conference Thursday with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Schumer declined to say whether it would accommodate the full $3.5 trillion originally proposed for the legislation., He said later that he, Yellen, Pelosi, Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden and House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal had met to discuss ways to pay for the economic plan., “We came to agreement on what we could support,” Schumer said. “It’s a menu of options. There will be more than enough money if you look at all of the menus -- and we’ll have to pick and choose from them -- to pay for whatever we come up in terms of how much spending there is. It’s that simple.”, Neal said the framework does not currently include stepped-up basis, a tax break that lets the richest Americans transfer much of their wealth tax-free at death, and the state and local tax deduction still needs to be worked out. , There is a tentative agreement, Neal said, on bank reporting, but would not provide any further details. An import fee for polluters is part of the discussion, he added. , “I was party to it. I was there. I acceded to it. I agreed to it. I did not acquiesce, just agreed to it,” Neal said of the leadership meeting on the economic plan., Multiple Democratic lawmakers said they hadn’t been briefed on the so-called framework, which appears to be the collection of tax proposals that already have been circulating. Democratic leaders are eager to show any progress on breaking the impasse between two Democratic factions that is threatening to stall or unravel the president’s plans. Biden summoned representatives from both the moderate and progressive wings to the White House on Wednesday to try to move negotiations along., House moderates are demanding that Pelosi schedule a vote early next week on a separate $550 billion bipartisan infrastructure bill even if the larger package of up to $3.5 trillion isn’t finished. They, along with two Senate moderates -- Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona -- also have balked at the size of the Biden plan. , “We fully expect a full House vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package on Monday,” said Representative Ed Case of Hawaii, who was among the group of centrists who secured Pelosi’s commitment last month on the timetable. , Progressives have warned they will vote against the infrastructure bill until the bigger package is finished with their priorities intact. , Pelosi said the framework doesn’t address the topline spending figure for that bill. She declined to answer additional questions after the news conference., Democrats have for weeks floated a variety of tax increases that could be used to pay for their agenda. The House Ways and Means Committee has already approved $2.1 trillion in new levies, mostly focused on corporations and the wealthy., Among the outstanding issues is a disagreement over Medicare drug price cuts that could leave Democrats short of $600 billion in funds to pay for the package. A possible solution floated by Representative Stephanie Murphy of Florida would be to exempt climate change related provisions from a moderate Democratic demand to have the bill not add to the deficit., Two other unresolved issues are stepped up bank reporting requirements aimed at snagging tax cheats and whether to raise or suspend the limit on deductions for state and local taxes, or SALT. , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Billy House &. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 8:37 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Better Tackle anti asian Violence Andrew Yang NYC [/INST] Politics news. Title: Andrew Yang Vows to Better Tackle Anti-Asian Violence in NYC. Short_description: Andrew Yang Vows to Better Tackle Anti-Asian Violence in NYC. Description: Andrew Yang, the front-runner in the race for New York City mayor, said he would funnel more resources to organizations supporting Asian Americans and encourage political activism to tackle rising violence against the group., “It’s been a devastating time for our community,” Yang, who if elected would become the first Asian American to hold the office, said at a virtual , Tuesday evening. “I’m going to do everything I can to help the Asian American community get back on our feet.”, The forum, hosted by the Asian American Federation, featured seven candidates who shared their plans on combating anti-Asian hate crimes and leading the post-pandemic recovery for Asian communities in the city. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams; Shaun Donovan, former HUD secretary; Kathryn Garcia, former NYC Sanitation Department commissioner; ex-Citigroup Inc. banker Ray McGuire; Scott Stringer, New York City comptroller, and Maya Wiley, the former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio also participated., “We can transform the way that Asian Americans” fit into New York City, Yang said, adding he would ensure community organizations get a fair share of city funding, as well as tackle the unemployment and mental health issues that underpinned many violent attacks during the pandemic. He also advocated for funding the Police Department’s Asian Hate Crimes Task Force and being “more ambitious” about labeling incidents as hate crimes., Yang has emerged as the lead candidate with the most support from likely Democratic voters, followed by Adams and Stringer, according to a recent , from NY1 and Ipsos. The Democratic primary will take place June 22, followed by a general election Nov. 2., The next mayor of New York will face a series of challenges related to Asian Americans, including a , of anti-Asian hate crimes that has put the community on edge, small businesses , from the impact of Covid-19, and rising income inequality within the group., Among major U.S. cities, New York had the , in reported hate crimes against Asians last year. Last month, a 65-year-old Filipino woman was , repeatedly outside a Midtown Manhattan luxury apartment building, her assailant allegedly yelling “you don’t belong here.” Last Friday night, a 61-year-old Chinese man collecting bottles in East Harlem was stomped in the head and left in critical condition., Asians make up about 14% of the city’s population, lower than the 24% share by Black people and 29% by Hispanics, according to Census , . Engaging with minority voters is critical for any mayoral hopeful, and candidates like McGuire and Adams have been , the support of Black churches, which play an outsize role in New York politics., On Tuesday, Adams said Asian-owned businesses took a double hit during the pandemic as the targets of shutdowns and prejudices, and investment should be directed to bringing them back and helping navigate any language barriers for government resources., When asked about the city’s plan to build a new jail in Manhattan’s Chinatown, a hot button issue, candidates including Adams, McGuire and Stringer said they wouldn’t support the construction. Yang said he would re-examine the city’s four-jail project “from A to Z.”, Yang, a son of Taiwanese immigrants who amassed name recognition through his 2020 presidential run, has worked to engage Asian voters by talking about prejudice he has experienced. On Tuesday, he said he would be “activating the Asian American community politically, because right now, many kids grew up the same way I did, where we didn’t talk about politics.”, However, some of Yang’s viewpoints have been controversial within the Asian community. Last year, Yang wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post asking fellow Asian Americans to step up and show their “American-ness” in the face of hate and attacks, including by wearing “red white and blue.” Amid criticism, Yang has since , that line was “probably a bit confusing.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Yueqi Yang. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 7:46 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Plan Risks Fiscal Cushion Watchdog Trudeau [/INST] Politics news. Title: Trudeau’s Plan Risks ‘Exhausting’ Fiscal Cushion, Watchdog Says. Short_description: Trudeau Plan Could ‘Exhaust’ Canada’s Fiscal Room, Watchdog Says. Description: , Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s fiscal , could reduce Canada’s future spending capacity by leaving debt at elevated levels for decades, according to the nation’s budget watchdog., In a , published Wednesday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer warned that the government’s plan would see Canada’s ratio of debt-to-gross domestic product remain higher that it was before the pandemic through 2055., “This suggests that the government has decided to effectively stabilize the federal debt ratio at a higher level, potentially exhausting its fiscal room over the medium- and long-term,” the PBO said. That will require governments in the future to consider tax increases or spending reductions to pay for new programs, it said., Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s budget forecasts debt-to-GDP will peak at 51.2%, then fall to 49.2% within about five years. Before the pandemic, it was around 31%., The document, Canada’s first full fiscal plan in more than two years, outlines a strategy to boost the country’s growth coming out of the pandemic. But Freeland’s budget may well become a campaign platform, as Trudeau is expected to try his luck at regaining his lost parliamentary majority in an election this year., The watchdog also warned the budget estimates “overstate the impact” of stimulus spending on growth over the next three years; C$69.2 billion ($56.4 billion) in stimulus for the 2021-22 fiscal year will boost real GDP growth by about 1% in 2022-23 and 2023-24, the PBO said., Freeland’s office defended its plan as “prudent and responsible,” and reiterated the government would continue to support the economy through a punishing third wave of Covid-19. , “Canada had the lowest net debt-to-GDP ratio in the G-7 entering this global crisis and we maintain that position today,” spokeswoman Katherine Cuplinskas said by email Wednesday, noting that S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed the nation’s AAA status after the budget., While Freeland argues the mounting debt won’t damage Canada’s reputation as a , , criticism has come from prominent quarters , Mark Carney, the former governor at both the Bank of England and the Bank of Canada, described the Liberal government’s spending plan as a “hybrid budget.” He added that it would take more than one budget to fully transition the economy to a more sustainable, and faster-growing, path., “In my judgment, this was a hybrid budget, in that it had to conquer Covid by doing important things on the social side and to start growth. What we are seeing in some other jurisdictions is that the focus is more squarely on the growth,” Carney said last week on a , hosted by political consultant David Herle., David Dodge, another former chief of the Canada’s central bank, also criticized the lack of growth-focused initiatives in the budget. He argued that only C$25 billion of the more than C$100 billion earmarked for new spending increases public and private investments. He expects the rest of the funds to increase consumption., “My policy criticism of the budget is that it really does not focus on growth,” Dodge told the , last week. “To me it wouldn’t accord with something that was a reasonably prudent fiscal plan, let me put it that way.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kait Bolongaro. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 10:44 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to South Africa Graft Crackdown Election prospect ANC [/INST] Politics news. Title: Graft Crackdown by South Africa’s ANC Boosts Election Prospects. Short_description: Graft Crackdown by South Africa’s ANC Boosts Election Prospects. Description: South Africa’s ruling party is cracking down on leaders implicated in corruption, a move that may help it woo back disgruntled voters and reclaim control of several key cities in local government elections in October., The African National Congress on Wednesday suspended Ace Magashule, a top official who’s facing charges including money laundering and fraud. His sidelining came a week after President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged the party needs to do more to combat graft that became endemic during his predecessor Jacob Zuma’s nine-year rule., Internal polls conducted by the ANC show that corruption, rather than rampant unemployment and inequality, tops the list of voter concerns, said Fikile Mbalula, the party’s head of elections and a member of its decision-making National Executive Committee. Forcing Magashule to step aside should go some way to proving it’s serious about tackling the scourge., “The ANC is faced with a choice to renew or die,” Mbalula said in an interview. “At some point we did veer away from good values and we are prepared to break with the past.”, The African National Congress resolved in 2017 that officials facing criminal charges should quit their posts. Its top leaders finally decided last month to implement the directive and suspend errant members who refuse to step aside. Bongani Bongo, an ANC lawmaker who previously served as Zuma’s state security minister, is among others in the firing line. He and Magashule both deny wrongdoing., Founded in 1912, the ANC is Africa’s oldest political movement and led the fight against White-minority rule. It took power under Nelson Mandela in the first multiracial elections in 1994, and has secured an outright majority in every national vote since then., The party was rocked by repeated corruption scandals during Zuma’s rule, and the government has since estimated that more than 500 billion rand ($35 billion) was stolen from its coffers. Disgruntlement over the looting saw the ANC lose control of Johannesburg, the economic hub, Tshwane, which includes the capital, Pretoria, and several other cities in the last municipal election in 2016., The party’s fortunes have picked up since it forced Zuma from office in 2018 and replaced him with Ramaphosa. It reclaimed power in Johannesburg after an opposition coalition unraveled, and its share of the vote ticked up in national polls in 2019., Magashule, who as ANC secretary-general oversaw the day-to-day running of the party, has repeatedly undermined Ramaphosa’s authority. His exit should help the president consolidate his control over the ANC and give him greater leeway to implement economic reforms needed to revive the coronavirus-battered economy., The rand strengthened as much as 0.8% against the dollar on Wednesday after news of Magashule’s suspension broke, outperforming all emerging-market peers except Brazil’s real. Bonds reversed declines, with yields on benchmark 10-year securities falling two basis points., The ANC plans to focus on door-to-door campaigning for the October vote, because of limitations on large gatherings imposed due to the coronavirus, according to Mbalula. The party aims to win outright majorities in all the main cities because coalition governments aren’t optimal, but it is prepared to work with any opposition party should the need arise, he said., The ruling party could be hamstrung by a lack of funds -- it owes millions of rand to the national tax agency and other creditors -- and its ability to raise new money could be hindered by new public disclosure rules. Its relationship with labor unions and the South African Communist Party, which have backed it in prior elections, has also been strained by the government’s attempts to pare back spending and freeze civil-servant wages., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: S'thembile Cele &. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 9:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to France Backs Chad Military Rulers AU Urges Swift transition [/INST] Politics news. Title: France Backs Chad Military Rulers, AU Urges Swift Transition. Short_description: Macron Signals Backing for Chad Military Rulers After Deby Death. Description: France backed a military council that intends to rule Chad for a transition period following the president’s death, while the African Union said it was deeply concerned by the military takeover., The situation threatens “peace, security and stability” not only in Chad, but also the region, as well as the continent, the African Union said in a statement on its website., On Saturday, the Front for Change and Concord in Tchad, the rebel group that claimed responsibility for the squirmish that killed Deby, said they were ready to accept a cease-fire and find a political solution to the crisis., “Chad needs new leaders,” FACT leader Mahamat Mahdi Ali told Radio France Internationale. “But to overthrow the regime to take power was never our goal.”, President Idriss Deby died on April 20 of wounds sustained on a battlefront in northern Chad as rebels advanced on the capital, N’Djamena, according to the army. A transitional military council headed by his son, 37 year-old General Mahamat Idriss Deby, said it will run the country for 18 months before restoring civilian rule. The nation’s constitution states that a successor should be elected within 90 days., “France will never let anyone, neither today nor tomorrow, threaten the stability and integrity of Chad,” French President Emmanuel Macron said while attending Deby’s funeral in N’Djamena, on Friday. The military council has a role to play to promote “stability, inclusion, dialog and a democratic transition.”, France is a key player in the battle against Islamist insurgencies in West Africa., French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also defended the military takeover in an interview Thursday with Paris-based broadcaster France 2, saying it was necessary to maintain stability in Chad and the region, while calling for a quick transition., The former colonial power has contributed about 5,100 troops to a counter-terrorism force that’s battling Islamic State and , -linked militants in West Africa’s Sahel region. France’s Barkhane mission, which backs up a regional force known as the G5 Sahel - made up of troops from Chad, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso - are headquartered in N’Djamena., Deby positioned himself and his battle-hardened army as key players in the maintenance of peace and security in the area. That role helped shield him from international criticism even as his regime became increasingly authoritarian. It even earned him , from France., The European ally, which, as of two years ago, spent at least an estimated €1 million ($1.1 million) a day on Barkhane, would eventually like to turn over more responsibility to the G5 Sahel force. That seems impossible without military cooperation from Chad, which the junta has said , ., “Today, we’re very upset with France,” Delphine Djiraibe, a prominent human rights lawyer, said by phone from N’Djamena. “Whether the president died on the battlefield or not, you need to respect the constitution. France is a democracy, they should know,” she said., The Economic Community of Central African States, which counts Chad among its members, also expressed its “solidarity” with the new leadership, Cameroonian President Paul Biya, who currently heads the six-nation bloc, said in a statement. The G5 Sahel also gave its “full support to the transition in progress,” its Nouakchott-based secretariat said in a statement issued within hours of the military takeover., The junta should “expeditiously embark on a process of restoration of constitutional order and handing over of political power to the civilian authorities,” the African Union said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Katarina Hoije. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 7:52 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Kremlin Opponent Navalny Stops Hunger Strike 24th day [/INST] Politics news. Title: Kremlin Opponent Navalny Stops Hunger Strike in 24th Day. Short_description: Russian Opposition Leader Navalny Stopping Hunger Strike. Description: Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny said he’s ending a 24-day hunger strike that had fueled tensions with the West and sparked concern the Kremlin’s most prominent critic could die in prison., “I am starting to exit the hunger strike,” Navalny said on his Instagram account on Friday. “According to the rules, it will take the same 24 days, and they say, it will be even harder.”, Navalny’s plight was a major source of tension between the Kremlin and the West, with the White House warning of unspecified consequences if he dies. The 44-year-old opposition politician made the decision to stop his protest action after getting access to outside doctors for his deteriorating health, a demand he made when he stopped eating on March 31., Tens of thousands of people joined protests in cities around Russia this week to demand medical care for Navalny in the biggest unsanctioned demonstrations since his sentencing in February. The police detained over 1,900 people around Russia at the rallies, according to monitoring group OVD-Info., The protests were what drove the authorities to seek an outside exam for Navalny and then provide the results to his medical team, his ally Leonid Volkov wrote on Twitter., The Kremlin’s human rights ombudsman, Tatiana Moskalkova, said Wednesday that Navalny’s life isn’t at risk and that he’s getting all necessary care including an intravenous drip., Navalny continued to post upbeat messages on Instagram even as his health worsened, joking this week that he looks like a skeleton who could be used to scare children into finishing their meals. Authorities had transferred him to a prison hospital in Vladimir, a city 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of Moscow, on April 18., Navalny returned to Russia in January after months of treatment in Germany following a nerve-agent poisoning he and Western governments blame on the Kremlin. He was jailed on arrival for breaking the terms of a suspended sentence given for an earlier criminal conviction. Russia denies responsibility for the attack and says his case isn’t political., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Henry Meyer &. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 5:32 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Somalia President backtrack week Rule [/INST] Politics news. Title: Two Weeks After Extending Rule, Somalia President Backtracks. Short_description: Somali Leader Backs Vote After Mandate Extension Stokes Unrest. Description: Somalia’s leader said he’s prepared to hold elections, after a controversial plan to extend his mandate without a vote drew international condemnation and stoked violence in the Horn of Africa nation., President Mohamed Abdullahi, also known as Farmajo, called for urgent talks on the return to a Sept. 17 agreement between the federal and regional governments to hold an indirect election., “As a government, we have always been ready to implement, without any preconditions” the September accord, Farmajo said in a statement Tuesday night., The announcement came after the U.S. and the European Union criticized Farmajo’s April 14 decision to extend his and the lawmakers’ mandates by as long as two years, and threatened sanctions and other actions against Somalia. The backlash emboldened an opposition which, prior to the extension, had asked Farmajo not to seek re-election as a condition for talks on the voting to progress., The crisis has pushed Somalia to the edge. Some soldiers abandoned their posts in Middle Shabelle region on Sunday and went to the capital Mogadishu where they clashed with troops loyal to Farmajo. The violence came after two former presidents-turned-opposition leaders, Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud and Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, claimed that the national army raided their homes in the capital., The mandates’ extension came after the nation failed to hold a scheduled election on Feb. 8 as the federal and regional governments disagreed over the voting process. The controversial decision required the nation to prepare for universal suffrage instead of a vote through electoral colleges as had been agreed in September., The U.S. and EU warned of a reversal of the gains made in rebuilding a nation after two decades of civil war and amid an insurgency by al Qaeda-linked militants, al Shabaab, who continue to stage attacks in the capital Mogadishu and beyond national borders., Farmajo said he will address lawmakers on Saturday “to gain their endorsement” for the electoral process that’s based on the September deal., Successfully elections will depend on Somalis refraining from actions that could lead to widespread instability, “including the politicization of the security forces, creating social divisions and the destruction of public property,” Farmajo said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Mohamed Sheikh Nor &. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 11:52 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Restaurant Grants Quick Use Rescue money Biden [/INST] Politics news. Title: Biden Says Restaurant Grants Show Quick Use of Rescue Money. Short_description: Biden Touts Relief Funds for Restaurants Hit by Pandemic. Description: President Joe Biden said a $28.6 billion program that gives grants to restaurants hit by the pandemic shows how his administration is quickly making use of a rescue plan he signed into law in March., Since the government started accepting applications for the program this week, about 186,200 business already have applied, Biden said at the White House on Wednesday., “We’re putting the American Rescue Plan to work quickly and effectively,” Biden said Wednesday at the White House., Restaurants are among the businesses hardest hit by Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions, as states forced many to temporarily close, curtail hours and reduce seating., Under the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief measure Biden signed in March, restaurants can apply for grants ranging from $1,000 to $5 million per location, or $10 million for those with 20 or fewer locations., “We want to make sure that our restaurants, bars and other dining establishments can staff back up, and they can come back as well,” Biden said. He called restaurants “the gateway to opportunity” for many families., The Small Business Administration began accepting grant applications on Monday and will continue until the money is fully spent. For the first three weeks, preference will be given to applicants that are majority owned by women, veterans or “disadvantaged” individuals., Earlier in the day, Biden visited Las Gemelas, a restaurant in Northeast Washington owned in part by Mexican immigrants to highlight the grant program., According to the White House, the restaurant had to cut its staffing to 7 from 55 during the pandemic, but was able to rehire employees and provide back pay to those who returned through the Paycheck Protection Program., The National Restaurant Association is already concerned about the money running out., “The question on the minds of many is what happens when applications outpace the available funds,” Tom Bene, the association’s chief executive officer, said in a Monday statement. “Restaurants are operating in an uncertain environment, with continued needs to restore customer confidence in their safety and to bring workers back into the economy.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jennifer Epstein &. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 9:31 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Combat Surge India vaccine Biden [/INST] Politics news. Title: Biden Says He Intends to Aid India With Vaccines to Combat Surge. Short_description: In a call with PM Modi, Biden discussed “when we’ll be able to send actual vaccines to India, which would be my intention to do.”. Description: President Joe Biden said he intends to send vaccines from the U.S. to India as the country battles the worst coronavirus surge in the world, but did not specify timing for a decision or shipments., Biden said Tuesday that in a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he discussed “when we’ll be able to send actual vaccines to India, which would be my intention to do.”, In the meantime, the U.S. is providing aid including the therapeutic drug remdisivir and machinery for vaccine manufacturing, Biden said., The Biden administration announced Monday that it plans to send about 60 million doses of AstraZeneca Plc’s vaccine abroad after a U.S. Food and Drug Administration review of its manufacturing. The vaccine isn’t yet authorized for use in the U.S., but it’s been cleared in many other countries and Biden has been under pressure to release the federal government’s stockpile for export., India’s health system is reeling under a resurgence of the pandemic, with more than 320,000 new infections per day and sharply escalating hospitalizations and deaths. Biden and Modi spoke about U.S. aid to the country on Monday., European countries are also pledging help as new cases in the South Asian country smash world records. Hospitals and crematoriums are cracking under pressure, while Indians are begging on social media for everything from oxygen cylinders to drugs. Almost 3,000 people are dying every day, with experts saying that figure likely underplays the real toll., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jordan Fabian &. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 12:17 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to S. Times Covid Deaths Boris Johnson Aide Ex [/INST] Politics news. Title: Ex-Aide to Blame Boris Johnson for Covid Deaths, S. Times Says. Short_description: Ex-Aide to Blame Boris Johnson for Covid Deaths, S. Times Says. Description: A former aide to Boris Johnson is putting together evidence in an attempt to personally link the U.K. prime minister to thousands of coronavirus deaths, according to The Sunday Times., Johnson has been facing an onslaught of criticism from Dominic Cummings, the man who was until recently one of his most influential advisers. Cummings is expected to launch a new attack on the premier next month before a select parliamentary committee investigating the government’s response to the pandemic., The government is “terrified” about the “treasure trove” of documents that Cummings has, The Telegraph reported citing unidentified Westminster insiders. The former aide resigned last year. , Labour Party leader Keir Starmer called for an inquiry into government “sleaze” following allegations Cummings leveled against the prime minister in a blog post on Friday. These included allegations that Johnson had a plan to have secret donors pay for a renovation to his official Downing Street apartment., “If there is nothing to see here, whether it is the refurb of No 10, whether it is the dodgy contracts, whether it is the privileged access, if there is nothing to see, publish everything, have a full inquiry,” Starmer told BBC News. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Laura Hurst. Date Created: 25 Apr 2021, 1:54 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Kamala Harris Confronts Border Crisis Regional Feuds [/INST] Politics news. Title: Kamala Harris Confronts Border Crisis Worsened by Regional Feuds. Short_description: Biden’s Border Crisis Is Aggravated by Fights With Key Leaders. Description: Vice President Kamala Harris finds herself navigating strained relations with the leaders of Central American countries that have produced a surge of migrants to the U.S., vastly complicating her assignment to curb a growing humanitarian crisis on the southwest border., Most would-be immigrants are from the so-called Northern Triangle –- Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador -– and their economies are , to billions of dollars of annual remittances from their citizens working in the U.S., The difficulties are deeper still: The president of Honduras is accused by U.S. prosecutors of being part of a cocaine trafficking conspiracy, the president of El Salvador refused to see a U.S. envoy and the Guatemalan congress wouldn’t swear in a corruption-fighting judge., “This is not a situation in which we write a check to governments and let them spend it as they wish,” said Roberta Jacobson, who is leaving her job as the border coordinator for the Biden administration after three months., Of course, the U.S. is hardly blameless. Over many decades, it’s engaged in whiplash-quality shifts in welcoming and rejecting its southern neighbors, enjoying the benefits of vulnerable low-wage workers at the ready. Previous administrations have backed coup attempts and supported strongmen who carried out abuses against their citizens. Salvadoran gangs originated in Los Angeles prisons; their leaders were deported south where they’ve taken over whole parts of the country, spreading murder and mayhem., Some 172,000 migrants were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border in March, the most in two decades. The problem is both push and pull: residents are driven out by hurricanes, crop failure, crime and corruption; they are drawn to the U.S. by family ties, work and stability in an economy expected to explode with post-pandemic opportunities, and an administration promising more humane treatment after the harsher Donald Trump years., Although immigration may prove to be the Democrats’ biggest political challenge, Harris has few quick fixes, given the politics on both sides, a reality she acknowledges. At a meeting with foundation leaders last week, she said, “If it were easy, it would have been solved a long time ago.”, On Monday, she meets by video with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei in advance of a visit there and to Mexico in June. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Harris would discuss sending immediate aid to Guatemala and “deepening cooperation on migration.”, Harris plans to hold a call with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador next week after a virtual meeting with Guatemalan community groups on Tuesday., She hasn’t spoken to –- or announced plans to speak to –- Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele or Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez., Officials and advisers say Harris will have to figure out a mix of short- and long-term steps, find non-governmental organizations to partner with and use carrots and sticks to fight corruption., “The governments are going to be part of that but, quite frankly, they’re probably going to be unwilling partners,” said Dan Restrepo, a former Obama White House official who has advised Harris., The presidencies of El Salvador and Honduras didn’t respond to requests for comment. The Guatemalan presidency said it has an excellent relationship with the U.S., with broad, fluid dialogue and shared concerns over immigration, corruption and sustained development that the two governments will tackle together., Ricardo Zuniga, the administration’s special envoy to the Northern Triangle, told reporters that the Departments of State and Justice may set up a joint task force to support transparency and civil society while investigating and prosecuting corruption., The U.S. on Monday sanctioned one former and one current Guatemalan official accused of being involved in corruption., Here is a snapshot of Harris’s regional partners:, Dealing with Honduras’ government might be the Biden administration’s greatest regional challenge just at a moment when Honduran immigrants are increasing more than those of the other two countries., U.S. prosecutors allege Honduran President Hernandez participated in a violent cocaine trafficking conspiracy. His brother was sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to smuggle almost 200,000 kg of cocaine into the the U.S. The effort was part of a state-backed trafficking operation that netted the president’s brother nearly $140 million, according to prosecutors., President Hernandez was also cited in a separate case in the U.S. last month for allegedly participating in cocaine trafficking. He has dismissed the accusations as lies told by convicted criminals seeking to reduce their sentences and said he remains committed to fighting the drug trade., Hernandez narrowly won a second term in a 2017 election that Organization of American States observers called “low quality” and whose result they refused to confirm. The country will hold a presidential election in November, and Hernandez is not running. That could allow the Biden administration to hold out , for better leadership, but there’s little optimism that corruption there is a problem with an easy solution., “The perception of impunity or the perception that people in positions of power can commit acts of corruption without consequence discourages the population and contributes to the sense that there is no future in their countries,” Zuniga told reporters after visiting., While extremely popular at home, President Bukele has sparked tension with the Biden administration after courting favor with former President Trump. Relations between the two countries is vital -- a quarter of all Salvadorans, more than 2 million, live in the U.S., Bukele turned down a meeting with Zuniga this month after the White House in February snubbed him during a visit to Washington, a move indicating displeasure with his authoritarian tendencies., Last year, he led troops into the legislative assembly after lawmakers delayed approval of a $109-million loan and has refused to comply with constitutional court orders. He frequently threatens journalists., This month Bukele told U.S. Representaive Norma Torres, a Democrat, to buy a pair of glasses and urged voters in California’s 35th district to vote her out of office after she called him a dictator on Twitter., Eurasia Group analyst Risa Grais-Targow said the Biden administration must find a way to work with Bukele although it won’t be easy., The Guatemalan government offers perhaps the best opportunity to forge a partnership despite ongoing concerns over corruption., U.S. and Guatemalan authorities have worked together to crack down on drug traffickers, recently arresting 18 individuals wanted in the U.S. Harris has held a call with President Giammattei with another planned ahead of her trip to see him in person in June., Recent developments have nonetheless raised red flags. Guatemala’s congress refused to swear in corruption-fighting judge Gloria Porras to the Constitutional Court after an injunction was presented against her. Porras fled to the U.S., Giammattei’s chief of staff Leyla Susana Lemus was sworn in to the top court, drawing concern from Washington and his own vice president., Juan Gonzalez, the National Security Council’s top Western Hemisphere official, said the upheaval surrounding the court is worrying and that using legal institutions to protect criminals “sends a bad signal.”, “The situation in these countries hasn’t changed,” said Jose Luis Gonzalez, coordinator of the Guatemala Red Jesuita con Migrantes, a non-governmental organization. “As long as we have the same economic, political and social situation with violence, corruption and impunity, people will continue to leave.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jordan Fabian &. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 4:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Refugee Cap Trump Limits Biden [/INST] Politics news. Title: Biden Boosts Refugee Cap After Wavering on Keeping Trump Limits. Short_description: Biden Raises Refugee Cap to 62,500 After Keeping Trump Limit. Description: President Joe Biden sought to ease tensions with his political allies by quadrupling the limit on the number of refugees who can enter the U.S. after months of administration wavering and reversals over increasing the cap., Biden said he would allow in as many as 62,500 refugees by the end of September, up from the historically low ceiling of 15,000 set by former President Donald Trump. Biden, however, said he did not expect to reach his goal this fiscal year., The president is seeking to move past a political blunder of his own making. His action came two weeks after the White House said he would leave Trump’s cap in place, which drew widespread condemnation from activists and lawmakers who accused Biden of reneging on a campaign pledge to reverse his predecessor’s hard-line policies., Biden said Monday his decision to officially set the annual cap at 62,500, his original goal, conveys his commitment to welcome people facing extreme hardship., When the White House said last month that the president was backing down from his initial goal of raising the cap this year, aides said he would accelerate refugee resettlement in the U.S. and look to lift the ceiling later in the year. Yet those promises didn’t assuage liberal Democrats, who were angered that he had backtracked from the higher number, first announced in February, prompting the White House to rethink its decision., “It is important to take this action today to remove any lingering doubt in the minds of refugees around the world who have suffered so much, and who are anxiously waiting for their new lives to begin,” Biden said Monday in a statement., He has encountered criticism from across the political spectrum for his handling of immigration. Republicans have said he is responsible for an influx of migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. And liberal Democrats have said he hasn’t moved quickly enough to reverse Trump’s policies curbing the number of refugees allowed into the U.S., “While this new administration inherited a broken immigration system that was gutted and sabotaged by the previous president, it is on all of us to fix it — quickly,” Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington State, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in a statement., “We must continue to rebuild our refugee system and reform our immigration system in a humane way that focuses on dignity, respect, and family unity,” she added., In Trump’s final year in office, the cap was lowered to 15,000, the lowest since the Refugee Act of 1980 became law., Republicans on Monday assailed the president for attempting to allow more refugees to enter the country., “Increasing the refugee admissions cap will put American jobs and safety at risk,” Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas tweeted. “The Biden administration should be focused on getting Americans back to work.”, Biden’s statement that the U.S. wouldn’t fill every slot this year could still irk refugee advocates. The U.S. had only processed about 2,000 refugees as of mid-April, according to government figures., “The sad truth is that we will not achieve 62,500 admissions this year,” Biden said. “We are working quickly to undo the damage of the last four years. It will take some time, but that work is already underway.”, The president added that raising the cap this year would nonetheless “reinforce efforts that are already underway to expand the , ’ capacity to, refugees” to meet his objective of resettling 125,000 next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1., The move amounts to a course correction for the White House, which caused confusion with its whipsaw reversals over the refugee limit. Biden acknowledged that Trump’s historically low cap “did not reflect America’s values as a nation that welcomes and supports refugees.”, Congressional Democrats and immigrant-rights activists criticized Biden after officials said on April 16 that he would not raise the refugee ceiling for this year., Amid the blowback, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said later the same day that Biden would raise the limit, but not necessarily to 62,500. Psaki last Tuesday would not say whether Biden was likely to return to his original cap, only saying it would “continue to be challenging.”, Democrats and immigrant-rights groups are keeping up pressure on Biden to meet his goal., “Today’s proposal moves the administration back in the right direction, but now it must deliver on the promise and move with speed to, and welcome , 62,500 refugees,” Joanne Lin, national director of advocacy and government relations at Amnesty International said on Monday., Biden intended to send a message to the world by raising the cap to his initial target that the U.S. would once again welcome refugees, according to an administration official., The move would also allow organizations that resettle refugees to begin ramping up their capacity, the official said. Biden administration officials said their previous decision was made in part because of an inability accept larger numbers of refugees after Trump’s cuts., Under Biden’s new policy, 22,000 spots are reserved for refugees from Africa, 6,000 from East Asia, 4,000 from Europe and Central Asia, 5,000 from Latin America and the Caribbean, 13,000 from the Near East and South Asia and 12,500 would be kept in reserve., The U.S. has for decades allowed in tens of thousands of refugees each year who are fleeing persecution, war or natural disasters in foreign countries. Presidents have the power to set annual goals for how many to try and resettle, though many years those targets are not met., Trump lowered the ceiling each year of his presidency as part of his efforts to slash both legal and illegal immigration., Less than a month after taking office, Biden pledged he would raise the refugee cap to 125,000 next fiscal year. He also said he was directing officials to work on a “down payment” by lifting the limit Trump had set for this year as well., Days after Biden spoke, the State Department notified Congress that the administration intended to raise the fiscal year 2021 cap to 62,500. The Feb. 12 report said such a cap “is justified by grave humanitarian concerns and is in the national interest.”, But Biden did not sign off of the decision as he faced criticism from Republicans that his immigration policies were fueling the numbers of migrants arriving at the southern border. The White House announced on April 16 it would keep Trump’s cap, but, allow in more refugees from Africa and the Middle East., That announcement frustrated allies who believed it was a no-win play for the president. He would not receive political credit from Republicans while would-be refugees would be hurt by the decision, they argued. Immigrant-rights advocates have said raising the cap would create another legal way for Central Americans facing oppression to come to the U.S. without rushing to the border, a stated goal of the Biden administration., Meanwhile, more than 700 refugees had their resettlement plans canceled before Biden revised the allocations because they were barred under Trump’s categories, according to immigrant-rights groups and Senate offices., There are more than 30,000 people with conditional approval to resettle as refugees in the U.S., according to the International Rescue Committee., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jordan Fabian. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 1:58 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Pass EU Recovery Fund coalition set finland [/INST] Politics news. Title: Finland’s Coalition Looks Set to Pass EU Recovery Fund. Short_description: Finland Raises Bar for Parliament to Approve EU Recovery Fund. Description: Finland’s five-party coalition, struggling to avoid a collapse, appears to have enough support in parliament to approve the European Union recovery fund after a move by one of the opposition parties to abstain from the vote., That’s after the parliament’s constitutional committee on Tuesday ruled that a simple majority would not be enough to pass the stimulus package -- but an opposition party’s decision reduces the total number of votes, giving the government the requisite majority., The decision by the opposition National Coalition to abstain means the government can pass the package if its ranks hold together, according to the party’s parliamentary group leader Kai Mykkanen. It comes as the Cabinet of Prime Minister Sanna Marin faces its worst crisis since the beginning of its term in 2019 as parties disagree over spending., “The government can create that majority if they are united,” Mykkanen told a news conference. “It’s their responsibility. We cannot support it because it has several major faults. Yet we don’t want to drive the EU into disarray.”, The Finns Party, with 38 votes, opposes the package. The 27-member bloc’s stimulus package needs the approval of each member state., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kati Pohjanpalo. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 4:47 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to U.S. Afghan Withdrawal Return Taliban McConnell [/INST] Politics news. Title: McConnell Says U.S. Afghan Withdrawal Means Return of Taliban. Short_description: McConnell Says U.S. Afghan Withdrawal Means Return of Taliban. Description: Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan will likely lead to the Taliban’s return to power as soon as this year., “I think there is a high likelihood that the Taliban will be back in control of the country, maybe as early as the end of the year,” McConnell said in response to a question at a news conference in home state of Kentucky. “And I worry about the future of Afghan women and girls, and that we will end up in a situation much like we found ourselves in before.”, The withdrawal from Afghanistan is exposing yet another divide in the GOP, with former President Donald Trump and his supporters demanding a retreat from “endless wars,” while more traditional Republicans, including McConnell and Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, support a continued U.S. presence. Trump, in his sustained campaign to oust Cheney from Republican House leadership, twice this week called her a “warmonger.”, “I know we’ve been there a long time but I do not think you can call this an endless war. We have not been in raging combat the entire period,” McConnell said. “I think it’s important to remember why we went there.”, McConnell, who has criticized efforts by multiple presidents to withdraw from the country, cited warnings made in recent days by former secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice., “It’s not just me saying that,” he said. “I think the president has made a mistake.”, Clinton said Sunday on CNN that Biden’s decision would have “huge” consequences, including the potential for a takeover by the Taliban “in the not-too-distant future,” the potential for a resurgence of terror groups like Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and a flood of refugees, including people who have worked with the U.S. in the past two decades., McConnell on Thursday , that American forces went a year without a combat death in Afghanistan., Biden has set a Sept. 11 deadline for complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan after 20 years., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Steven T. Dennis. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 11:27 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Coal State Republican Official Slams Biden Plan climate update [/INST] Politics news. Title: Coal State Republican Official Slams Biden Plan: Climate Update. Short_description: Kenya Calls for Investment in Geothermal: Climate Update. Description: Day two of President Joe Biden’s international climate summit concluded on Friday. Biden pledged during the first day of the virtual event to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade, part of a plan to bring the U.S. back into the global fight against climate change., Friday focused on innovation and the economic opportunity in fighting climate change. This is designed to refute skepticism from some blue-collar workers and labor leaders. While renewable energy jobs are growing at a fast clip, labor groups say they pay less than fossil-fuel positions and that companies have opposed unionization., Speakers included U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg., West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey delivered a scathing attack on President Joe Biden’s plan to rapidly halve U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, calling the pledge “a colossal domestic and foreign policy blunder of epic proportions.”, In a , from Charleston, Morrisey said the emissions cuts would “require drastic changes for homes, businesses and factories, eviscerating good-paying union jobs and working-class jobs, and crippling our country’s ability to complete on the world stage.”, Morrisey, a Republican, argued Biden’s approach would “put us dependent on the good graces of our greatest geopolitical rivals.” He said the U.S. changes wouldn’t be matched by China, giving Beijing “profound leverage over our country by making us dependent on imports of critical Earth minerals just to keep our lights on.”, Morrisey led the legal charge against former President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan. On Friday, he telegraphed court battles to come: “These types of transformational and highly controversial changes are not dictated by the whims of one man, not even a president,” Morrisey said. “As the chief legal officer of West Virginia, I will ensure that the constitutional separation of powers is upheld, and I will enforce it in court if necessary.”, He also said West Virginia would appeal to the Supreme Court a ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that rejected a Trump administration regulation governing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. The court also rebuffed arguments that Obama’s Clean Power Plan exceeded statutory authority by mandating sweeping changes across the electric grid rather than just at fossil fuel-fired power plants., Biden’s new climate pledge requires deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector, and new Environmental Protection Agency regulations are seen as critical to achieving them. EPA Administrator Michael Regan has said the decision clears a path for the agency to start fresh on its own plans to address emissions from the power sector. -- Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Ellen Gilmer, Biden invited world leaders to join the U.S. in driving a “fourth industrial revolution” to transform the energy sector, create jobs and overcome the threat of climate change, capping his two-day summit on global warming Friday., Biden cast the event as a success in galvanizing greater ambition to slash greenhouse gas emissions, as world leaders prepare for a critical United Nations meeting on climate in Glasgow in November., Announcements by Japan, Canada, the European Union, U.K. and other nations “mean that half of the world’s economy is now committed to the pace of actions that we need -- at a pace we need -- to limit warming to 1.5 degrees,” Biden said. Keeping warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius is seen as a critical tipping point to avoiding irreversible impacts of climate change. Biden stressed that’s “a point of no return.”, But without action to implement those commitments, the pledges are “just a lot of hot air,” Biden said., He pointed to the possibility for further climate progress between the U.S. and India, the world’s No. 3 greenhouse gas emitter. “I’m looking forward to working with India’s Prime Minister Modi in a new partnership to achieve our climate and energy goals making this core pillar of our bilateral cooperation,” Biden said., Biden also highlighted the potential for collaboration with Russia’s Vladimir Putin on climate, despite other ongoing U.S.-Russia tensions., “President Putin and I have our disagreements, and he’s talking about how you capture carbon from space,” Biden said. “The whole notion that it makes overwhelming sense, as much as the president of Russia and I disagree, that two big nations can cooperate to get something done, and this time get something done that benefits everybody.” -- Jennifer A. Dlouhy, A new international group has been formed with the U.S., Canada, Norway, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as members in order to come up with strategies to reach global net zero emissions, the U.S. Department of Energy said Friday., The coalition will be called the Net Zero Producers Forum, according to a DOE tweet. The U.S. will also join Denmark to co-lead a push to cut carbon from international shipping and will launch major new research at the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November., It’s obviously a tremendously long shot. The DOE acknowledged in a separate tweet that bringing emissions down to net zero will require the cooperation of oil and gas producers. -- Josh Saul, President Joe Biden’s top economic advisers released a report arguing the U.S. is falling behind on investments key to the new clean energy economy and made the case that federal policy can help catalyze innovation and create good-paying green jobs., But such claims are “a big lie,” Terry O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (Liuna), said in an earlier interview for Bloomberg Businessweek., Labor groups say companies have either deterred or opposed unionization among workers employed in installation and construction of clean energy infrastructure, which in the U.S. represent the lion’s share of jobs in renewables. That’s held down wages while depriving workers of coveted health and retirement benefits., In the 37-page paper by Heather Boushey, the council argues that investments in energy infrastructure can contribute to the supply of good jobs because so many would be in construction and manufacturing, where wages are higher. Boushey’s report said that the new green economy will lead to “good-paying, union jobs that put Americans to work, make our air cleaner, and rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure.”, “According to the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, the average weekly wage for private construction and manufacturing employment in 2019 were 10 and 18 % higher, respectively, than the private sector average,” the council says. “Jobs in construction are almost twice as likely as private sector jobs overall to be covered by a union contract.”, Yet, not all labor leaders are critical of the administration., Roxanne Brown, international vice president at large of United Steelworkers, says she commends the Biden-Harris administration “for actively seeking out the voice of labor in this really important discussion.”, Leaders around the world need to understand that “workers are key allies in shaping and moving policy and should not be an afterthought,” Brown said., -- Saleha Mohsin and Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Renewables can run reliable electric grids, but “we urgently need better software” to integrate those cleaner resources and keep power flowing amid more extreme conditions brought on by climate change, said Audrey Zibelman, vice president of , , Alphabet’s moonshot factory., To help achieve this “moon shot of a clean, affordable and reliable” power systems, the U.S. and , are joining the Global Power System Transformation Consortium today, she said. “Our team has been working with partners to move our grid out of the industrial age and into the age of intelligence.” -- Naureen Malik, President Joe Biden on Friday offered rare praise to his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin for his comments the previous day, calling for the world to collaborate on advanced carbon dioxide removal., “I’m very heartened by President Putin’s call yesterday for the world to collaborate on advanced carbon dioxide removal and the , looks forward to working with Russia and other countries in that endeavor. It has great promise,” Biden said at the White House on the second day of the virtual climate summit., The two leaders have had a frosty relationship. But Biden’s administration has stressed that it’s open to working with Russia on shared goals., Putin on Thursday said, “it is no secret that the conditions that facilitated global warming and associated problems go way back.”, “Carbon dioxide can stay in the atmosphere for hundreds of years,” Putin said. “So it’s not enough to tackle the issue of new emissions. It is also important to take up the task of absorbing the CO2 that has accumulated in the atmosphere.”, Biden, who is pushing a $2 trillion infrastructure package, focused heavily in his remarks Friday on the potential of creating new jobs in a clean energy economy., “This is a moment for all of us to build better economies for our children and our grandchildren,” Biden said. -- Mario Parker, The growing push for nations to completely eliminate carbon from their economies by mid-century will depend heavily on technology that isn’t yet widely available., Even as countries significantly expand renewable energy installations, the world is also going to need battery storage, hydrogen, synthetic fuels, carbon-capture systems and other emerging technologies, said Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency., That will present opportunities for companies that can commercialize these much-needed technologies, and shows why President Joe Biden and other leaders have been focusing on the potential financial returns of the green transition., “About half the reductions to get to net zero in 2050 will need to come from technologies that are not yet ready for market today,” said Birol. “Reaching net zero will triple clean-energy investment opportunities over the next decade.” -- Will Wade, Kenya is wooing investors to tap its vast geothermal resources to produce electricity as part of plans to make its grid 100% renewable energy from the current 90%, president Uhuru Kenyatta said at the summit., “Our geothermal potential is great and the amount currently tapped is less than 10% and this presents huge investment opportunities across the technology value chain as well as huge opportunities for employment of young Africans across our country,” Kenyatta said in a virtual address from Nairobi. “The better off countries, working in collaboration with private sectors should support developing countries secure financial resources required to implement climate adaptation programs.”, Kenya commits to reduce emissions by 32% by 2030 and targets 100% clean cooking by 2028, ahead of the 2030 UN target. Kenyatta said 80% of households depend on biomass for cooking. -- David Herbling, The United Arab Emirates has reached a deal with the U.S., Israel, Denmark, Brazil and other nations to accelerate global agricultural innovations and research to fight climate change., The five-year initiative, the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate, will also help deliver jobs and enhance economic growth, UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said at the summit., “The UAE is considered to be the first in the Middle East to pioneer Carbon capture and storage technologies, and our oil sector is considered to be the lowest carbon emitter in the world,” the sheikh said. “Climate change is not a temporary concern, it is rather a global challenge.” -- Abeer Abu Omar, Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates said clean power’s biggest problem boils down to cost., “Almost all of our zero-carbon technologies are more expensive than their fossil fuel counterparts” Gates said. “To provide all the benefits of the modern lifestyle to people around the world, we need new, zero-carbon products that are just as affordable -- that have what I call a green premium of zero.”, Gates is candid about the scale of the challenge. It will be hard to drive the creation of “breakthrough technologies that allow us to eliminate emissions throughout the physical economy, he said, “but we can do it if we invest in innovation and build the infrastructure for the transition to a clean economy.”, Read more: , Gates said that means tapping the power of markets to fund and deploy these innovations, including “by finding creative ways to finance technologies and by leveling the paying field so they can compete with fossil fuels.” Gates himself launched Breakthrough Energy Ventures in 2017 with the goal of investing in early-stage climate startups. -- by Jennifer A. Dlouhy, The U.S. will set a goal of reducing the cost of renewable hydrogen by 80% by 2030 making it competitive with natural gas, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said., Energy companies and others are increasingly eyeing hydrogen as a possible carbon-free fuel, and it is seen as a clean solution for fueling cars, trucks and ships as well as heating buildings, though the cost of producing it remains a barrier., The agency also plans to reduce the cost of carbon capture, industrial fuels and energy storage and “slash battery cell prices in half,” Granholm said., “This is our generation’s moonshot,” Granholm said. “Going big on our ambitions means that we’re going to create jobs for millions of people.” -- Ari Natter, While much of the summit has focused on the world leaders who are participating, Michael Bloomberg, United Nations special envoy on climate ambition and solutions, stressed the role of businesses and cities in curbing emissions., In the past four years, as the federal government under President Donald Trump turned away from policies to curb emissions, corporations and local governments stepped up their efforts in the U.S. That’s shown that policies that cover smaller entities can still have a big impact of reducing greenhouse gases., “Cities and businesses hold the key to defeating climate change,” Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, said. “They are responsible for the vast majority of emissions.” (Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, has committed $500 million to launch Beyond Carbon, a campaign aimed at closing the remaining coal-powered plants in the U.S. by 2030 and slowing the construction of new gas plants.) -- Will Wade, The first day of President Joe Biden’s climate summit focused on driving more carbon cuts, with warnings about the consequences of inaction. Day two is about proving that action is in everyone’s best economic interest too., “The world’s largest market in history is opening before our own eyes right now,” Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said at the start of the summit Friday. “And it’s going to create millions of high-quality, good-paying jobs around the world, especially in countries that seize this agenda.”“Today is going to be about that vision,” and about the “remarkable economic opportunity” that springs from climate action, Kerry said. “We’re going to hear from governments, entrepreneurs, communities and labor leaders about how they see the future.” -- Jennifer A. Dlouhy, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 7:31 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Infiniti QX55 capable Forgettable [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: The 2022 Infiniti QX55 Is Perfectly Capable, Utterly Forgettable. Short_description: Infiniti has debuted its first crossover, but the $46,500 automobile isn’t really all that new.. Description: Infiniti has debuted its first crossover., But the $46,500 Infiniti QX55 isn’t really all that new. It is built on the same platform, with the same engine and interior, as the eight-year-old QX50 SUV also produced by Nissan’s luxury brand. That is the one, you may recall, that was formerly sold as the Nissan Skyline Crossover and then as the Infiniti EX. , Priced $10,000 higher than its sibling, the new QX55 is positioned to feel like the sportier, sexier alternative to the five-passenger QX50. , With an oversized grille reminiscent of others who did it first and the bare minimum of tech and connectivity needed to earn it entry into the premium category, the QX55 targets luxury’s big-boys: BMW’s X4 ($51,600), Mercedes-Benz’s GLC Coupe ($51,650), Porsche’s Macan ($52,100)., Some contemporary elements, especially the wing-like taillights and wireless options do blend well with the premium SUV pack. Take the badges off and you might think this Infiniti is an Audi or a Jaguar but with less technology and leather inside. But those cars boasted first-in-class technologies, signature designs, and roaring performance apropos to their prices. The QX55, which costs just as much, attempts to mimic the trappings of luxury but doesn’t actually offer good value., That’s the problem with Infiniti’s new offering: When keeping up with the Joneses takes precedence over genuine innovation and authentic brand philosophy, it makes for one very dull crossover indeed. , There are no truly “bad” cars these days, thanks to modern advancements in fabrication, engineering, manufacturing, and technology. Bad cars are unsafe and unreliable, like the famous failures and known lemons of the 1970s and ’80s. Think Chevrolet Vega, Reliant Robin, Delorean DMC-12., Today’s problem vehicles are more likely to bore you to death. They are capable; they are comfortable; they are appliances. They are robotic to the point of stupefaction, with no more soul than a microwave. The QX55 is one such vehicle. Where this new entry to the crossover field should offer revolutionary features or a polarizing new look, it just disappears into the crowd., Last month, I completed an overnight loan of one in slate grey with Monaco red interior. I drove it through Hollywood in Los Angeles high-afternoon traffic. I cruised through Griffith Park up toward the observatory. I wound through the verdant estates that line Mulholland Drive., It was a very pretty drive. The QX55 was fine. The 268-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine kept up with traffic. The nine-speed continuously variable transmission worked, though it felt disconnected from the gas pedal at times. (A snoozy 6.4 seconds to go from zero to 60 mph will have that effect. The base-level X4 will do it in 6.)  , The steering and braking worked, too, which is about as nice a thing I can say about them. They lack the precision and conviction of better vehicles. I blame the “steer by wire” system Infiniti seems to prefer for its vehicles, which works via electric signals, therefore eliminating any mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the tires on the road. Infiniti debuted this technology in ,  in the Q50 but ended up retrofitting that unit with the traditional hydraulic steering, and few others have used it since. Since then steer-by-wire has improved, presumably., The system is reportedly better for some things like anti-crash technologies and integrating futuristic tech but horrible for anything that should be so enjoyable as actual driving. Meanwhile, rather than sitting ,  the QX55, feeling direct engagement, I had the weird feeling of sitting , it, like a chair. Everything about how it drives reflects that disconnect., Three trim levels—Luxe (entry level, with faux leather upholstery), Essential (some additional treats leather-appointed perforated seats, climate-controlled front seats, a heated steering wheel), and Sensory (the kitchen sink, including natural open-pore wood trim accents, tri-zone automatic climate control, a motion-activated lift gate, and interior ambient lighting)—offer pleasantries that could include 360-degree exterior camera system, heated and cooled front seats, WiFi, crash-avoidance systems, and a 16-speaker Bose stereo system, all for an additional price. I drove in the top-of-the-line Sensory version, which cost $58,770., The day behind the wheel passed by unremarkably, like watching a movie on mute in the background at a party. You see things moving but feel no connection to the plot. As I parked that evening, I struggled to feel anything about my drive other than the most tepid response—it was all the words you’re not supposed to use as a writer because they’re so descriptively limp. Words like, “fine,” “pleasant,” “enjoyable,” “meh.” Ugh., The QX55 has a few things that the QX50 doesn’t, which are supposed to make the former feel more exciting. A lower roofline in the rear gives it a fastback look that mimics some of the luxury station wagons, but the sporty, sloping roofline compromises headroom. Cargo space is diminished, too, compared to the QX50, which accommodates 31.4 cubic feet behind its second row of seats compared to 26.9 in the QX55. That’s still more than the BMW X4, however, which has just 23.7 cubic feet of space behind its second row of seats. So it’s not all bad., Inside the cabin, the base model of the QX55 comes with leatherette on the seats and components that look sorted from the Nissan leftovers bin. The higher models look and feel slightly better quality, with dark brushed aluminum trim along the instrument panel and doors in the lower Luxe and Essential levels and densely black Natural Maple open-pore wood trim that flows through the cabin in the Sensory trimline. Elsewhere, the interior is unremarkable. The by-now typical dual-stacked computer screens in the center console dashboard (and available Head-Up Display) delivers information to the driver projected across nine inches of the windshield. , The QX55 comes standard with four-wheel-drive and bigger-than-its sibling QX50, 20-inch wheels. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard too, as is wireless connectivity—a first for Infiniti. Plus the QX55 comes with that front fascia re-jiggered to look menacing with gaping air vents and an imposing grille. It’s meant to evoke feelings of lust and passion, or so the paperwork that Infiniti sent along with the car wanted me to believe. What I felt was like having a nap.  , The QX55 is an accommodating premium vehicle. But with ho-hum interior accoutrements, lackluster driving performance, and an exterior that simply follows the leaders, it comes off as a marketing exercise. Rather than answering a need in the segment, having a true , , the QX55 is aimed at unsuspecting consumers easily duped by advertising and ordained to skim market share away from German automakers in a highly lucrative segment. Based on my time with the vehicle, I don’t expect it will make much of a dent., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Hannah Elliott. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 11:15 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Art Complex shift Focus MoMA Trustee Brooklyn [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: A MoMA Trustee’s $40 Million Art Complex Shifts Focus to Brooklyn. Short_description: A MoMA Trustee’s $40 Million Art Complex Shifts Focus to Brooklyn. Description: Arts patron Lonti Ebers has announced that her sprawling 21,000-square-foot compound in Brooklyn, N.Y.’s East Williamsburg section will open as an arts destination and cultural hub on June 5. , , which covers four buildings on Grand and Maujer streets, was designed by the architecture firm , , and includes art galleries, a bookstore and cafe, offices, art studios, and a performance space. It’s about a 20-minute subway ride on the L train from Manhattan’s Chelsea gallery district., “It really started,” Ebers says, “from thinking it would be great to create a place and space where artists could come and work and be with their colleagues.”, And so Ebers, a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art and board member of the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS) at Bard College, embarked on a seven-year effort to create an institution where artists can make art. She bought her first plot of land in 2014, and shortly thereafter the next three, which included “a former plumbing supply business, which I understand was a meeting point for the mafia for some time,” says Ebers. , “We were able to segregate the functions that allowed us to have a separate studio space, exhibition space, performance space, and office” because the buildings aren’t fully connected, she says. “It allows for more domestically scaled [interiors] intertwined with walkways and some gardens.” The buildings with the bookstore, art galleries, and offices will open in June; the others are set to open in August., The project cost “over $35 million, probably closer to $40 million,” says Ebers. “It was not inexpensive.” The architecture, she explains, “is not a conventional build. My husband, who’s in the real estate business, puts up a 40-story building, but every floor is the same; here, a lot had to be invented.” (Ebers’s husband is Bruce Flatt, the chief executive officer of Brookfield Asset Management Inc.), Eber’s style of patronage is not the dominant model for private art philanthropy. There are other art foundations, certainly, including the , in Chelsea, the , in the East Village, and the ,  in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, but Amant will be the first to put the artistic process on near-equal footing with exhibitions., The opening comes at a time when , across nearly every strata of New York's cultural landscape. “I think it will serve a need,” Ebers says, “and certainly in Brooklyn, it will be something new. We want to create a place where artists feel welcome that hopefully the public becomes engaged with.”, Ebers’s Amant Foundation, which means “they love” in Latin and also happens to be her mother’s maiden name, will host four artists for three-month periods in the spring, fall, and winter. The summer residencies will take place at the foundation’s space in Siena, Italy, which opened in summer 2020., Unlike other artist residencies, where artists have to “donate” some of the work they make at the end of their stay to their patrons, “there’s no obligation to produce anything,” Ebers says. “I actually purposefully did not want that sort of thing. And the reason was, we’re trying to cultivate intellectual and creative growth without having a hammer hanging over someone’s head.” , While Ebers does collect, she continues, “I didn’t want someone to have the obligation to give me work. And listen, if there’s something wonderful an artist does, I might ask if I could acquire it. But I don’t expect anything.” , The residency also comes with a $3,000 monthly stipend for housing and living expenses; throughout a residency there will be speakers, workshops, and other programs for the artists., More than 1,500 people applied for the first year’s 12 spots, Ebers says. The winners were selected by a panel that consisted of Lauren Cornell, the director of CCS Bard; Elvira Dyangani Ose, director of the Showroom in London; and Reem Fadda, director of the Abu-Dhabi Cultural Center, Abu-Dhabi., “It was very challenging,” Ebers says. “Ultimately, we decided based on what’s an interesting mix. It’s not just the individual artist, it’s trying to compose an interesting and dynamic group.”, The performance space will have regular programming and will also be used by the artists in residence as they see fit. Meanwhile, the foundation’s galleries will have a running exhibition schedule; the first show will be work by the artist Grada Kilomba. , In contrast to many private foundations, Ebers says the Amant Foundation won’t showcase her own art collection, which , , at more than 700 pieces., “There’s no plan to exhibit my collection,” she says. “I don’t want that, partly because it’s not really what I wanted to achieve. And secondly, I’m generous with loans to institutions. It’s just not, collectively, a group of artworks I want to show.”, Ebers says she has plans to grow the foundation’s activities and collaborate with other institutions. “At this point, we’re funding it entirely,” she says. “We will be looking to expand our support base, but we’re quite prepared to fund it ourselves.”, The entire undertaking, Ebers says, had “an element that’s a leap of faith—there are inevitably going to be uncertainties.” In her case, she says, it was cost overruns and construction delays., But, she adds, “you’ll never do anything if you don’t take the initiative, so you just have to be strongly committed. Doing it is not for the faint of heart.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: James Tarmy. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 1:48 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Covid-19 Second Wave Midway Account IPL [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: IPL 2021 Suspended Midway On Account Of Covid-19 Second Wave. Short_description: The cricket league tournament IPL has been suspended for this season: Rajeev Shukla, BCCI. Description: The Indian Premier League cricket tournament has been suspended with immediate effect, following an , of the league's governing council and the Board of Control for Cricket in India. This follows two Covid-positive reports from members in the Sunrisers Hyderabad playing squad, , , and comes a day after infections were reported in two other IPL contingents., On Monday, the BCCI said that two players from the Kolkata Knight Riders - Sandeep Warrier and Varun Chakaravarthy had tested positive for Covid-19. The same day, three non-playing staff from the Chennai Super Kings also tested positive, as did ground staff at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi., With players and support staff from across India and other nations around the world participating in the IPL, the BCCI said it "will do everything in its powers to arrange for the secure and safe passage of all the participants in IPL 2021.", The eight-team competition was being conducted in phases across six cities (Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata), and began on April 9, with a final that was scheduled to be held on May 30. All squads were asked to maintain strict bio-bubbles, and were playing in empty stadia., The 2020 IPL was held in the United Arab Emirates in October and November, after it was rescheduled from the annual April-May cycle following the first wave of Covid-19 infections in India and the nationwide lockdown.. Publisher: BQ Desk. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 1:14 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to wrong way Wildlife photographer Safari [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: The Wrong Way to Go On Safari, According to a Wildlife Photographer. Short_description: The wrong way to go on safari, and other travel tips from a wildlife photographer.. Description: , Bloomberg Pursuits, A former fashion photographer in New York who worked with the likes of Annie Leibowitz and Mark Seliger, , ditched the studio to pursue his passion for wildlife photography six years ago. He has since traveled to almost 40 countries, often to remote, hard-to-reach locations, documenting life everywhere from the Chalbi desert in Kenya to rural Nepal. His work is held in private collections, as well as museums such as the Smithsonian African Art Museum in Washington., Doggett’s latest project addresses a series of visits he has made to Canada’s Sable Island since 2012. An uninhabited speck off the coast of Nova Scotia, Sable is home only to a pack of about 550 wild horses. , , his latest large format art book, documents his adventures there, complete with a forward by conservationist Jane Goodall. , In the pre-Covid era, Doggett, who now lives in Charleston, S.C., with his wife and their two small children, usually logged around 70,000 miles per year, almost all long-haul trips to Africa. He’ll opt for Delta whenever he can. “From the staff to the ease of the inevitable last-minute change-ups, they are always the best to deal with,” Doggett says. , As the pandemic has reshaped travel, he suggests visiting places that would have been overrun with visitors just two years ago but are now  almost empty. “In the Maasai Mara in Kenya, for example, there’s usually up to maybe 20 cars at one lion sighting, but the last time I went—in May—I was in the only car by an entire pride, so I basically had an atypical, private viewing experience there,” he says. , “You can step back in time and have these uninterrupted experiences that allow you to connect with nature while also supporting these local communities, which often had to shut down” during the pandemic, he continues., Here are more of his travel tips for whenever you feel ready to get back on the road., I was shooting these horses in [Iceland], and I had fishing waders on up to my chest, and it had just started to snow. It’s this absolute magical thing of millions of gallons of water pouring over Skogafoss, and this beautiful white horse standing at the base of the falls., So I’m in the midst of the river, up to my waist in freezing ice-cold, and I can barely feel my feet. I stumble on a rock, and I go under. My phone is accidentally plunged into the water. I had no way of getting it back in working order, but I saw these silica packets that had been packed in my gear bag from purchasing the new camera and other equipment that I bought on the trip. So I put the phone in a Ziploc bag with the packets., Lo and behold: The next morning I woke up, and the phone turned back on. It was a miracle cure! I bring about 10 with me now if I am traveling somewhere I’ll be spending time near water. They’re just collected as I purchase things. I know myself, and I know that the inevitable happens., One of the first things that I do whenever I go to a place is: I roll down the window on the way to the hotel or wherever, from the airport, and I take a deep breath. I soak in the smells of that location, and I jot down in my journal what those are. Even when I’m sitting at home in Charleston, and walk outside in the morning to smell a neighbor burning leaves, I find myself instantly transported back to Africa, to Cape Town, where you walk off the plane and have that omnipresent burning smell. That, for me, is very warm and welcoming. It’s something I cherish., It’s a very delicate balance, and I never begin taking photographs until I have had either hours or days sitting with, discussing, and learning from people—celebrating their way of life. But I also share a bit about my way of life, because the best moments are two-way exchanges. It’s about having a dialog: Here’s my culture, here’s your culture. There’s a mutual respect that you develop for each other through that exchange, shared moments of humanity, based upon each other’s curiosity., I’ve had a deep love affair and passion for indigenous cultures from the very beginning of my photographic career. Take Humla in Nepal, which is one of the last pockets of traditional Tibetan culture that I could photograph. It is only accessible for up to six months during the year, because of the weather that essentially barricades the area in a protective cascade of snow. You fly into Simikot—it’s a market town—and basically hike from there towards the Tibet border. Stop at the , for butter tea with the gracious monks, or villages like Tumkot and Muchu, where the monasteries are laden with preserved artifacts and artworks that are more than 500 years old., When I went there for the first time, I went on a solo trip, which I booked about two weeks before I left. I spent a month hiking among the most incredible scenic views of the Himalayas, along the Karnali river. The Himalayas almost broke me, though. I had taken my age and fitness for granted, and I’d advise anyone who does this hike to make sure you train properly., The demands of my profession these days include capturing video, still photos, social media—and that requires I have a lot of items on my person that need charging. The last thing I want to do when I’m jet lagged, arriving at a new place? Stress about finding hidden outlets in my hotel room, or unplugging things. , I used to carry a small pouch full of converters, but now I just carry one of the universal ones and a 12-prong power strip that will take care of all my needs. One of the first things I do after checking in is set up my power station, probably in one location sitting on top of the desk, so I can keep track of everything there. And it becomes my go-to for the rest of the trip., Many of the most sought-after game-viewing experiences happen in national parks, which means you’re competing with throngs of people for the best vantage point. Amboseli National Park in Kenya, for instance, is highly trafficked, and animal sightings often come with a caravan of Land Cruisers filled with tourists. And you have to stay on the road, so your ability to track and experience the wildlife is limited., As a photographer, I want to be able to get up close to these animals, so I always try and stay in the conservancies surrounding those parks, which offer exclusive access to those staying at the lodges within them. That way, you’ll avoid the crowds. ,  near Amboseli, for instance, is the only lodge that has access to one particular conservancy. Many of them are privately owned, so they have more relaxed restrictions on game viewing, which often includes off-road game drives. , Most of my travel in a year is international: long-haul flights to Africa. And living in Charleston, I don’t have access to the variety of food I wish I did. So I pick my itinerary solely based on the duration of travel time and also the layover airports or cities to have some time in. Paris or Amsterdam are favorites: they’re both beautiful airports and have plenty of dining options. So if I have a chance to get a French croissant on the way to Africa, it warms my heart and fills my belly. , At the end of every trip, for about five years, I found myself spending hours trying to find a suitcase that could fit the cultural artifacts I had just purchased, often at the local market. I’ve always loved surrounding myself with items from my travels, and I love the excitement of not knowing what I might find: They range from carved stools to jewelry to textiles., Then, two years ago, I was at the end of a safari visiting both the Rendille and the Samburu tribes—they’re semi-nomadic tribes in the Chalbi desert in the northern part of Kenya. I had bought two spears and three wooden shields and had no way of transporting them back to the States. I started bringing an empty suitcase with me so I’m not faced with that kind of debacle again. All international flights allow each passenger two bags—I bring the cheapest, largest hard-shell I can find, because you need protection for fragile things. I leave that suitcase at the hotel I’ve stayed with on the initial flight in, perhaps in Cape Town or Nairobi, and collect it when I fly back from my safaris., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Mark Ellwood. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 11:10 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New Materials Free car Leather Volvo [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Volvo Reveals New Materials for Its Leather-Free Cars. Short_description: By 2030, all Volvo vehicles will be electric—and vegan.. Description: Fashion houses such as Stella McCartney and Victoria Beckham have , in their wares, while automakers including , offer leather-free and sustainable interiors as options in their cars., So far, Volvo is among the very few brands to say it will not offer any leather at all, even as an option, in any of its vehicles. Electric truckmaker Rivian currently offers only vegan “leather” seats in its , , with no option for leather seating or trim. , The shift at Volvo will begin next year with the C40 Recharge, a plug-in electric SUV with a 200-plus mile driving range. It will continue until 2030, when Volvo’s by then all-electric lineup will have entirely phased out leather products. This is a decision driven as much by reading and predicting market trends as from concern for the ethical treatment of animals, Volvo executives tell Bloomberg Pursuits during a private video interview announcing these changes. , “We see our customer’s expectations are changing,” says Robin Page, the head of design for Volvo Cars. “They are changing their habits in fashion and products they are buying. They want to know more about the materials and where they are sourced from and where they come from, and people are much more aware of climate change and the effects on the planet.”, According to a report from Infinium Global Research quoted by Stuart Templar, Volvo’s director of global sustainability, the vegan leather market is expected to reach €73 billion ($85 billion), in value by 2025. By that time, a quarter of the materials in Volvo’s new cars will consist of recycled and bio-based content, says Page, and all of its immediate suppliers, including material suppliers, will use 100% renewable energy., “Consumers are increasingly focused not just on the end product but how it is produced,” adds Templar, “and that includes responsible sourcing.”, Volvo will introduce a new wool-blend option, made from certified suppliers, as the company looks to ensure full traceability and animal welfare in its materials supply chain. It will also offer Microtech, a suede-like textile made from recycled polyester, as well as components made from sustainably sourced flax and linen., “There are premium alternatives to leather,” Page says. Previously, consumers viewed anything that isn’t leather as inferior; now that they understand more about climate change, they are changing their minds. Livestock, he says, is estimated to be responsible for around 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, with the majority coming from cattle farming. “Our ultimate aim is to get recycled natural materials, because that is the full sustainability part.”, Nordico, another new, non-leather material Volvo will be using, consists of textiles made from recycled material such as plastic (PET) bottles, wood remnants from sustainable forests in Sweden and Finland, and corks recycled from the wine industry., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Hannah Elliott. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 12:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Charcuterie board Cheese meat [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Charcuterie Boards Aren’t Just for Meat and Cheese Anymore. Short_description: These days, charcuterie doesn’t just mean meat. You can thank Covid-19 for that.. Description: These days, charcuterie doesn’t just mean meat. You can thank Covid-19 for that., Long a common feature of social gatherings, the platters garnered fresh attention in the past 18 months as people sought to elevate their at-home snacks. Sure, hungry humans have arranged provisions such as prosciutto and cheese on boards for centuries. But amateur chefs aren’t just flocking to , or brie. They’re redefining the term charcuterie itself, adding novel ingredients to their creations., There are Mexican boards featuring nachos, while others focus on breakfast foods and even candy. “, ” boards with dog treats are also a thing., These alternatives aren’t exactly new, but they truly blew up as people entertained themselves during lockdown with posts of eye-catching designs and odd ingredients. And it doesn’t seem like they’re going away: in August, Pinterest searches for mini charcuterie cups rose more than 30-fold from a year ago, the company said. Hot cocoa and pumpkin platters also attracted attention., This creative explosion could be a sign of a broader shift. In the view of food historian , , the Covid-19 era represented the last gasp of a rustic, do-it-yourself approach to eating. As people get bored with making their , , he said interest in more exotic, over-the-top meals and ingredients could take hold. , “The charcuterie board is a kind of harbinger of what’s about to change in our culinary aesthetic,” Albala said., Before any connoisseurs object: yes, the dessert, brunch and ,  boards taking over Instagram and TikTok aren’t technically charcuterie, a term derived from a French phrase ,  cooked meat. If anything, the expanded definition shows just how much people are craving colorful ensembles on the dinner table., The trend has even benefited more traditional creators., , a New York City-based author and food stylist who sticks to more conventional elements such as cured meat and cheese, published , outlining her technique in May 2020. At first, she was bracing for disaster given lockdowns, but the craze has brought in more followers. , “I get all these people who are interested in the loose term ‘charcuterie board,’ and I can teach them to go a little bit further,” Mullen said. “What can we learn about cheese? What can we learn about presentation?”, The surge in interest has also spawned a cottage industry of entrepreneurs, many of them women. Mel Rodríguez started making the boards in July 2020, after being furloughed from her job as a case manager at a Los Angeles law firm. Demand has remained strong after orders doubled in January, she said., Her firm, , , already has requests for Halloween (searches for charcuterie have been particularly popular around special occasions, including Valentine’s Day and Fourth of July.), In Detroit, Victoria Cummings pivoted to charcuterie after running an events business alongside her teaching job. Although she works weekends to fill orders, she prefers the platters to traditional catering, which can involve days of preparation and expensive ingredients that cut into her margins., Her company, , , offers everything from individual snack boxes to spreads that can span entire countertops—also called grazing tables. She’s incorporating tacos, chocolates and myriad other ingredients into her products., “I’ve never known that you could make a rose out of so many different things,” Cummings said of a popular charcuterie design. She initially thought she might get one or two orders a month, but instead she’s booked every weekend. “Cucumber roses, salami roses, mango roses, orange roses. It’s crazy how creative people get with what they display on the board.”, The pandemic prompted Suzanne Billings, who has run , in Fayetteville, Arkansas, since 2017, to make single-serve snack bundles known as “jarcuterie.” At one point, she couldn’t get enough mason jars for her arrangements, thanks to virus-induced , woes. So, she turned to boxes, cones, plastic cups and just about anything she could find. Billings is now writing a cookbook on single-serve charcuterie. , “The vessel can be just about anything you want,” she said. “That’s the beauty of it. You can just use what you have on hand.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Daniela Sirtori-Cortina. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 2:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Dining Crown Slips New York City Latest Michelin Rankings Fine [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: New York City’s Fine-Dining Crown Slips in Latest Michelin Rankings. Short_description: Anyone who is worried about New York’s place as a restaurant powerhouse will find fuel for the fire in the latest ratings.. Description: Anyone who is worried about New York’s place as a restaurant powerhouse will find fuel for the fire in the Michelin Guide’s 2021 list of stars. , Last year there were 76 starred restaurants in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the fancy Westchester suburbs north of the city; this year there are only 68. Seven new places were added to the list, all one-star spots, so that means 15 restaurants fell off the list. By comparison, last year’s guide didn’t lose any net restaurants. The unhappy news echoes the overwhelming effects on the dining scene in one of the earliest epicenters of the pandemic in the U.S.; , are estimated to have closed since March. , In the May 4 announcement of the Bib Gourmands, its (ostensibly) , , the list contains 131 restaurants, two less than in the 2020 edition. The reality for the city is even grimmer when you factor in that Westchester, which was added to the region last year, actually added five places., The effect hasn’t yet been felt at the top of the dining ladder. The three- and two-starred restaurants stayed exactly the same. In fact, New York’s three-star landscape—, , , , , , , , and the now-plant-based , — has not budged since the 2018 guide. Any changes to the top-tiered spots was all but certain not to happen this year as Michelin has said that places that were temporarily closed during the pandemic , .  , The chief inspector of Michelin’s North America team, who spoke in a phone interview on condition of anonymity, said that visits took place before the pandemic and as the restaurants re-opened, following pandemic protocols. He says that he and his fellow inspectors were sensitive to the restrictions and stayed in touch with chefs and owners on openings and closings. , Several time-honored restaurants that represented decades of dining came off the list because they closed including Aldea, Gotham Bar & Grill, and Del Posto. Another long-time Michelin honoree, , , fell off even though it’s still open with packed sidewalk tables in its Washington Square Park locale., Among the new one-star spots that are stepping into the void are , , a new one-star, offers Korean-inspired grilled skewers in midtown Manhattan. “The award is especially meaningful after navigating the pandemic over the past year,” says Don Angie’s chef and owner Angie Rito, who runs the restaurant with her husband Scott Tacinelli. “We found out via a Zoom call from the king of Italian cuisine himself, , , and we were in a state of pure shock.”, With the exception of the new American brasserie Francie, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, all the newcomers are located in Manhattan. The list also has very few women-led kitchens, and almost no kitchens run by a Black chef with the exception of Eric Gestel at Le Bernardin. Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Tarrytown ,  that includes renowned cooks such as Shola Olunloyo and pitmaster Bryan Furman., As incongruous as the awards seem as restaurants still struggle with the effects of the pandemic, it’s a powerful signal for operators. And one that can directly translate into reservations and revenue. For New York’s restaurant eco-system it can be a trickle down from the top. “This is something that so many chefs dream of achieving,” says Don Angie’s Tacinelli. “The fact that Michelin has recognized our efforts is a tremendous honor.”, On May 5, Michelin announced their first Green Star for New York. (The award itself, which recognizes, with notably sustainable practices like ingredient sourcing and cooking debuted in international guides in 2000.) It was given to Blue Hill at Stone Barns, the restaurant that epitomizes farm-to-table dining. The award is timely: the conversation around eco-friendly fine dining reached a fever pitch this week with news that Eleven Madison Park would re-open June 10 with an , —except for milk and honey during the coffee and tea course. , Even amidst the discouraging numbers, New York City has one booster. Gwendal Poullennec, the guide’s international director, points to a hopeful future for the Big Apple. “We’ve seen an energy in the city, and a rebound. There are new concepts and dynamics emerging,” he says via the, phone from a trip to Russia, “More than ever the New York food scene will have new creativity.”, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare (Midtown West), Eleven Madison Park (Gramercy), Le Bernardin (Midtown West), Masa (Midtown West), Per Se (Midtown West), (Midtown East), Atera (Tribeca), Atomix (Gramercy),  (Williamsburg), Blanca (Fort Greene), Blue Hill at Stone Barns (Westchester), Daniel (Upper East Side), Gabriel Kreuther (Midtown West), Ichimura at Uchū (Lower East Side), Jean-Georges (Upper West Side), Jungsik (Tribeca), Ko (East Village), L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (Chelsea), (Midtown West) , Ai Fiori (Midtown West), Bâtard (TriBeCa), Benno (Gramercy), Blue Hill (Greenwich Village), Carbone (Greenwich Village), Casa Enrique (Queens), Casa Mono (Gramercy), Caviar Russe (Midtown East), (Sunset Park), The Clocktower (Gramercy), Contra (Lower East Side), Cote (Gramercy), Crown Shy (Financial District), *Don Angie (Greenwich Village), Estela (SoHo & Nolita), The Four Horsemen (Williamsburg), *Francie (Williamsburg), (Greenwich Village), Hirohisa (SoHo), Jeju Noodle Bar (Greenwich Village), *Jua (Gramercy), Kajitsu (Midtown East), Kanoyama  (East Village), *Kochi (Midtown West), Kosaka (Greenwich Village), L’Appart (Financial District), Le Coucou (SoHo), Le Jardinier  (Midtown East), Marea (Midtown West), Meadowsweet (Williamsburg), The Musket Room (SoHo), Noda (Gramercy), Odo (Gramercy), Oxalis (Fort Greene & Bushwick), Oxomoco (Williamsburg), Peter Luger (Williamsburg), *Rezdora (Gramercy), The River Café (Downtown Brooklyn), Sushi Amane (Midtown East), Sushi Ginza Onodera (Midtown West), Sushi Nakazawa (Greenwich Village), Sushi Noz (Upper East Side), Sushi Yasuda (Midtown East), Tempura Matsui (Midtown East), *Tsukimi (East Village), Tuome (East Village), *Vestry (SoHo), Wallse (Greenwich Village), (Greenwich Village), ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kate Krader. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 6:15 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Cinco de Mayo New Tequila Tacos Beer Shrimp [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Shrimp and Beer Are the New Tequila and Tacos This Cinco de Mayo. Short_description: Shrimp and Beer Are the New Tequila and Tacos This Cinco de Mayo. Description: , Cinco de Mayo, the commemoration of a victory by the Mexican army over Napoleon III in 1862, is more popular in the U.S. than it is south of the border. Since there are no official dishes that accompany the holiday—although , and tequila invariably loom large—as with everything else in 2021, it’s a good year to rethink traditions., A new cookbook from virtuoso Seattle chef Renee Erickson, , (Abrams Books; $40), offers some inspiration. Plus it’s a timely read for everyone who is armchair dreaming of a food-centric destination., Erickson’s tome, written with Sara Dickerman, highlights her favorite eating and drinking spots around the globe: Paris, Rome, Normandy, London, Baja, and Seattle. “I’m drawn to the places where people look the most at ease,” she writes. “Those informal, bustling spaces like cafes and street-side bars where even a tourist like me feels like I’m part of the living city.”, The 120 recipes Erickson compiled as an ode to those spots cover some well-traveled ground—but still feel singular. Her Rome section offers Ricotta and Roasted Cherry Tomato Crostini with Too Much Olive Oil, as well as lamb chops scottadito, inspired by a beloved spot, Armando al Pantheon. She offers Roast Beef Tartines for a Crowd, from her trusty wine destination, Bar de la Croix Rouge, in Paris, and Ham with Piccallilli (mustard pickle) from London’s Maltby Market. The book also has a generous array of cocktails, like Your Favorite Melon and Mint Mojitos (Seattle) and Lillet Martinis (Paris)., In the Baja section is Erickson’s recipe for shrimp cocktail, and it’s a great choice for anyone who wants something new for Cinco de Mayo or wants a way to transport themselves to a beach on the western edge of Mexico, or both. , It’s not the version most of America envisions when they think shrimp cocktail—there’s no steroid-size shellfish perched alongside a mound of potent cocktail sauce or grated horseradish. Instead, Erickson, a strong proponent of sustainable seafood, poaches wild sweet shrimp in a bath of Mexican lager and dried chili to give it a refreshing and contrasting bitter bite., Then it’s all chilled back down and piled in a bowl, where brightly flavored cilantro oil, thin fresh chili slices, refreshing tomato slices, and lots of lime join the party. The unlikely finishing touch is a plate of Saltine crackers. Use them to scoop up the shrimp and the result is delightful: a crispy, flaky bite to go with the chewy shrimp and its spicy, juicy marinade., “You could use tortillas, make a taco out of the shrimp,” says Erickson. “But Saltines are what I’ve had the most when I’ve had this dish. And they’ll surprise you.”, The recipe calls for a couple of cans of Mexican lager for cooking. “I recommend picking up a six-pack, leaving you with a few extra beers to enjoy alongside the shrimp,” says Erickson. But why wait even to be done cooking? It’s a celebration, after all. , The following recipe is adapted from , by Renee Erickson with Sara Dickerman., 1 cup chopped cilantro stems and leaves, 1 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil, 2 tsp. salt, plus more to taste, ½ tsp. seeded and roughly chopped serrano chile, plus 1 serrano, very thinly sliced, 30 shell-on wild Gulf shrimp, size 16–20, deveined, Two 12-oz. cans or bottles of light-bodied Mexican lager, like Tecate or Pacifico, 1 dried ancho or guajillo chile, 5 tbsp. lime juice, plus more to taste, 1 medium tomato, cut into slim wedges, or 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved, Saltine crackers, to serve, Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the cilantro stems and turn off the heat. After 30 seconds, drain the stems, then let cool. In a blender, combine the stems, oil, ½ tsp. salt, and the roughly chopped serrano and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve., In a medium saucepan, bring the beer, ancho, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Discard the chile., Bring the beer mixture to a boil again. Place half the shrimp in the liquid, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the shellfish turn pink and the meat is just opaque throughout, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a plate, and put them in the refrigerator to cool. Repeat with the remaining shrimp., When the shrimp are cool, peel them and cut in half lengthwise. In a large bowl, toss the shrimp with the tomato, about ½ cup of the cilantro oil, the remaining 3 tablespoons lime juice, and ½ teaspoon salt., Taste and adjust the seasoning with more cilantro oil, salt, or lime if desired. Sprinkle with the serrano slices and serve with Saltines., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kate Krader. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 3:40 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Tech Takes Porsche CEO New Strategy Turbos Priority [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Move Over, Turbos. Porsche CEO Says Tech Takes Priority in New Strategy. Short_description: Move Over, Turbos. Porsche CEO Says Tech Takes Priority in New Strategy. Description: Steve Jobs trained consumers too well, says , , the new president and chief executive officer of , And now car companies have a lot of catching up to do to match Apple Inc.’s standards for user interface., “With their ecosystem and their seamless customer experience, they have shaped the customer expectation,” Gruner says of Apple. That has a direct impact on how people feel when they get into—or shop for—a piece of technology as big as a car. “We have to integrate [digital] with the physical experience because we are a very, very physical product. If you, ”, Digital experience includes everything from an electric vehicle turning itself on and instantly syncing with your phone the moment you step inside, to an app that lets you build your own “dream garage” of cars, to being able to download performance-related software directly to the vehicle., On a private video call on April 21, Gruner spoke admiringly of the instantaneous, seamless nature of Apple’s integration into daily life. The expectation now extends to cars, he says, which makes staying relevant “tricky” for the 90-year-old automaker that cut its teeth producing naturally aspirated, manual, decidedly analog racing machines., Indeed, when Porsche executives talk about future plans, they typically focus on improvements and upgrades to those ,  911s that titillate longtime fans, as well as the heightening luxury in its , s, which help expand its market share. For Volkswagen Group’s , In the first quarter of 2021, Porsche sales were up 36% from a year earlier, to 71,986 units sold globally. The number was pushed mainly by demand in China, its largest market. But while car buyers in China and Europe might happily wait six or nine months for a special color combination or track spec on their new car, Gruner says, Americans expect instant gratification. Phone apps, online configurators, social media, and even video games have made U.S. consumers more discerning and particular than ever about car culture—and what they want for themselves. “They , efforts like ,  help buyers find new and used Porsches across the country. , , which allows users to create a virtual garage of dream cars, like in a video game, works to grab the short attention spans of younger and American buyers., Meanwhile, the ,  rental service, which works through a phone app, is , , the company says—especially for the Taycan. It plays to the idea that commitment-averse consumers , out their car for another at any time. Often users end up settling on one they prefer, according to Porsche., These tools, which are owned and operated by the brand, work as data collection tools on potential customers. The aim is to track consumers’ digital habits, or “journey,” to help Porsche anticipate what they’ll want to buy—so it knows what to have in stock on the showroom floor. It isn’t happening yet, but it will, Gruner says., “We have a project called Virtual Build-to-Order where we, with artificial intelligence, try to predict what [clients] will be ordering and try to manufacturer that—bring that already into the pipeline and have that here,” Gruner says. Versions of this idea are used everywhere from fashion malls to grocery stores, though they’re rare in the car world., So far the revenue from such digital products, as well as finance- and insurance-related apps, is “minimal,” Gruner admits. But he predicts they’ll ultimately influence and impact “100%” of the business. , Digital emphasis in an actual Porsche vehicle is currently most apparent in the , , the $80,000 electric sedan that’s the essential prime mover in the automaker’s ,  ($1.2 billion) shift to EVs and carbon neutrality. , With its curved driver display and expansive passenger touchscreen totaling 53 inches of unadulterated screen time, plus real-time traffic updates and charging-station mapping, the Taycan is programmed to make smartphone-groomed consumers salivate., But it’s not quite as fast as a phone. From complete “off” position, the vehicle takes several moments to “wake”—which is why it stays on even when the car is parked and the owner steps away. It turns fully off only when the owner pushes a button on the key fob to “lock” it. Otherwise, it always sits silently “on,” which can drain the battery. , It’s a solution that Gruner says is “not at all” perfect but gets Porsche one step closer to smartphone levels of connectivity. And it can be disconcerting to get out of the car and just walk away, without turning an ignition key or pushing a power button. It helps to have a salesperson there to assure you it’s OK. , “With [the iPhone], startup time is zero—that’s what customers are used to,” Gruner says. “But that is because the phone is always on. If you lock a car, that is like turning off your iPhone. And when was the last time you really turned off your iPhone? Customers are turning on the car, and they expect [claps] it is all there—navigation, whatever. But we have to live with it,” he says. “That customer expectation is coming from those [Apple] devices, like it or not.”, Still, so far, so good: In the first quarter, Porsche delivered 9,072 Taycans worldwide. The number trailed sales of the long-running 911 by just 61 units., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Hannah Elliott. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 12:49 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Slung Sports Cars Joins SUV Bandwagon Lotus Strays Low [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Lotus Strays From Low-Slung Sports Cars and Joins SUV Bandwagon. Short_description: Lotus Cars is being pulled into the auto industry’s inescapable love affair with the boxy SUV.. Description: After churning out low-slung sports cars for race tracks and roads in low numbers for seven decades, Lotus Cars is being pulled into the auto industry’s inescapable love affair with the boxy SUV., The U.K. company majority-owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is building a new plant in Wuhan, China, where it will make “lifestyle vehicles,” Managing Director Matt Windle said in an interview. The factory will have annual capacity in excess of 10,000 vehicles, and Lotus will continue to build its sports cars in Hethel, England, where it expects to triple production over time from the 1,600 cars it aims to sell this year., “We’re always pushing for lightweight, we’re always pushing for the best dynamics, we’re always pushing for the best aerodynamic mix,” Windle said. “But now what we need to do is add technology to that and offer wider range and better-quality products to our customers.”, Windle declined to reveal the specifics of the lifestyle vehicles other than to say that they would be electrified. SUVs would be a major shift for Lotus, as it’s known for its lightweight, well-handling models like the Elise and the wedge-shaped Esprit favored by James Bond. Luxury carmakers from Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc to Automobili Lamborghini and even Rolls-Royce Motor Cars have introduced SUVs to lure well-heeled buyers in developing markets., Geely is considering raising about , to help Lotus expand in China’s electric-vehicle market, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News earlier this month. Windle said Lotus probably will raise funds externally at some point, but how the company goes about it is still to be determined., “At the moment, we’re in a very, very expensive period for the company,” he said. “Geely is very open to us looking at any areas that we need to that helps us accelerate the business plan.”, As is the case for many other carmakers, Lotus is pivoting from the combustion engine and shifting its portfolio to electric vehicles. The long-awaited Emira sports car that the company will begin taking orders for in July will be its last gasoline-only model. Deliveries will begin next year., The carmaker also is continuing discussions on a new electric sports-car platform it’s , with Renault SA’s Alpine unit., “We want to significantly grow our volumes, which will then grow our revenues, which will allow us to be self-sustaining and deliver many more of the products in the future that our customers want,” Windle said., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Siddharth Vikram Philip. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 5:05 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Exclusive New Bar taste whisky [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: An Exclusive New Bar Is Offering Tastes of $50,000 Whisky. Short_description: Ever wanted to taste a $50,000 whisky? Get yourself to Singapore. . Description: Ever wanted to taste a $50,000 whisky? Get yourself to Singapore. , , an independent, family-owned distiller whose Scotch brands include Glenfiddich, the Balvenie, and Monkey Shoulder, has opened the Distillers Library to give collectors from around the region just that chance. , “We’re trying to personalize the whole experience where you can choose, by invitation, to come in and for us to have the opportunity to share some of the family’s rarest whiskies,” says Doug Bagley, chief commercial officer at William Grant & Sons. “You’ll be trying some of the products that we don’t showcase anywhere else in the world.”, Rare whisky has been a standout among lifestyle goods for years. Resale values have grown by 478% over the past decade, according to the, from Knight Frank—, other luxury assets including wine (up 127%), watches (up 89%), and art (up 71%). , Sotheby’s Wine in December , as key to its growth in the spirits business, which accounted for 20% of its overall sales in 2020. While figures were likely affected by the shift to digital due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 73% of the total bid amount from wine and spirits sales last year came from collectors in the region, Sotheby’s said, and 40% of bidders in Hong Kong sales are in their 20s and 30s., “Singapore has a very unique place in the world as well, whether it’s in the number of real discerning collectors here in the world of whiskey, or when you’re out,” says Will Peacock, William Grant & Sons’ global luxury director. “You visit a hotel bar like the Writer’s Bar at , , or some of the , —there’s a real discernment for great quality fine spirits.”, To that end, the Distillers Library is offering selections such as a Glenfiddich 1973 Armagnac that goes for about S$25,000 ($18,800) a bottle or Glenfiddich 50 Year Old for approximately S$65,000. Tastings are complimentary and bottles available for purchase, with each visit tailored to the guest.  , William Grant & Sons will seek out the region’s big whisky drinkers (and spenders) to extend invites, or collectors can solicit more information themselves , . “In the past year we’ve seen the interest in authenticity and real craft elevated even more,” says Peacock., Even more exclusive bottles will also be on offer, such as those from so-called lost distilleries. Given these offerings are the last of their line, you’ll have to buy the bottle to get a taste. For instance, Ladyburn Edition One has labels done in partnership with famed British photographer , , which are meant to evoke the extensive change that’s occurred over the half-century the spirit matured. William Grant & Sons is offering 210 bottles selling for S$30,000, some of which are packaged into 11-bottle collections for S$350,000., Each bottle is drawn from the same cask and signed by Bailey, an ex-husband of Catherine Deneuve who’s photographed the likes of the Beatles, Mick Jagger, and Twiggy, and features a photograph from his “London East End” work taken in the 1960s., At 54 years old, Ladyburn is at the perfect time for release, the distiller believes. Like , , William Grant’s Bailey collection is designed to add value to buyers seeking limited editions and who might appreciate the story line about 1960s London. Sherry flavors picked up from the casks are right on trend, too, they say., “Being able to open your doors to some of the unseen whiskies that would perhaps never make it to market,” says Peacock, “some of those that are well loved by distillers, but we could never commercially put them out at any scale, that’s what people are after. Those are the stories behind the scenes; that’s really what this place is. That seems to be what gets people really excited.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Joanna Ossinger. Date Created: 24 Apr 2021, 11:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Le Cirque Auction Puts socialite history New York block [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Le Cirque Auction Puts New York’s Socialite History on the Block. Short_description: Le Cirque Auction Puts New York’s Socialite History on the Block. Description: Sirio Maccioni, the ringmaster of Le Cirque , last year at 88, used to half-joke that all he really did was stop people from stealing the famed restaurant’s schwag: marked ashtrays, coffee cups, and silverware. Anyone who has ever wanted a memento will have opportunities through May 12 as Black Rock Galleries hosts an ,  to sell many of the original contents from Le Cirque over the course of its multiple locations from 1974–2018., The 314 lots range from plates and aprons to a silver-plated carving trolley. As with any auction, it’s always good to have a professional who can distinguish the best items from the pedestrian. As the co-author of , , I’ve spent much of my life with all of these items and can happily direct you., First, let’s not compare this auction to the last big restaurant auction, ,  of mid-century treasures from ,  in 2016. The Four Seasons was a landmarked , design; items included A-list collectibles by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Hans Wegner, , , and L. Garth and Ada Louise Huxtable that are in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art., Le Cirque was a different story. It moved from location to location in Manhattan and expanded to Las Vegas, New Delhi, Bangalore, Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, and Dubai, mimicking its clientele and the tastes of multiple periods. Each Manhattan location was a sum of its parts. Taken out of context, it might seem like, well, a lot of junk. Rows and rows on the website present used chairs, “Hotel silver” creamers your grandmother gave you (and you still don’t know what to do with), and the odd, beveled mirror. Don’t expect huge prices, except on some key items., The prize, surely, will be Kenneth Stern’s six original, Fragonard-inspired mural paintings of monkeys (, ) in all sorts of culinary scenes. These hung in the tiny room that was the original location on 65th Street (now part of the restaurant , ), so they acted as principal decor. Under these monkeys sat the most beautiful and powerful women in the world—and a few qualifying men—as exemplified by ,  at his most handsome, lying in front of them., “It would be great to maybe sell them all in one batch, but we’re also selling them individually,”  says Mauro Maccioni, Sirio’s youngest son. “Many a celebrity has sat underneath those murals.”, As with many famous or infamous restaurant murals—the sea view from La Côte Basque, or the French park scenes that graced La Caravelle (one of which is at the 55th Street Sweetgreen in Manhattan)—he may or may not get his wish. It will take someone with a particular vision and an expensive decorator to put them in one space., The more practical collector should turn eyes to , , marked “Fabulous Original Wall Sconce Lights,” with an additional note that they’re in need of some love. They somehow wound up in every paparazzi picture in the age that created paparazzi, not to mention big hair and shoulder pads. Want a shot of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis? There she is, with the sconces behind her. Or President Ronald Reagan with his wife Nancy? There they are. The best items, like the sconces, are the pieces commissioned from various designers by decorator Ellen Lehman McCluskey when she created the original room in 1974. , Then there’s , , the original meat-carving station: “A fantastic piece where we’d carve whole ducks, but you can also transform it to a hot dish where we’d serve pot au feu,” says Maccioni., I’ll add my own story on its various uses beyond meat., Le Cirque’s true space in culinary history rests in part on Sirio’s ability to acquire talented young chefs and turn the spotlight of the gossip columnists (before Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) onto the dishes they created. If you’ve ever made pasta primavera at home, you have Sirio—and his hotline to every editor of every paper—to thank. It was the seminal dish of the ’70s., Here’s the secret, though: His famous chefs, from Daniel Boulud to David Bouley to Geoffrey Zakarian, had no intention of going down in history making a creamy, gooey pasta that was always a sort-of Italo-American comfort food. Still, it made the restaurant famous. One patron, Donald Trump, had it as an “off-the-menu” item almost every time he came., Cue the carving station that Sirio set up in a hallway, stuffed with all the ingredients prepared. “I came to like it; it was uniquely Sirio,” Boulud told me in interviews for the biography. “Sirio taught me to give guests what they want, and I agree, but so many parts! So yes, it’s true. I banished it to the hallway!”, In this way, any of his famous clients could have the famous dish, famously put together by the master of ceremonies, à la minute, while Boulud made the Paupiette of Sea-Bass that the future president’s wife, Ivana, preferred., Boulud’s forthcoming , at ,  is itself a dramatic ode to that most famous restaurant of the post-war era in New York, one which helped create the likes of Sirio and Le Cirque. And so the aristocratic lineage goes., “It’s moving to see these fantastic treasures after so many years,” says Boulud when rung up about the auction. “They bring back fond memories of my days at Le Cirque with Sirio. I am sure everyone will bid fiercely for a piece of New York restaurant history.”, I’d be remiss not to point out that the ,  consist wholly of murals/pictures from , , the American graphic designer who also died last year. He made them for Sirio and me, in part as chapter dividers for our book and later displayed at Le Cirque Mexico City. Glaser, who created the “I Love New York” campaign, among many iconic designs, was a friend of Sirio and would have been the first to say that anyone who buys these works now will have made a good investment., There are gems from the Adam Tihany days, Le Cirque’s controversial move to the landmarked Vuillard Houses, best epitomized by , -illustrator Hilary Knight’s two drawings, , and , ., Then there are items that are not there, such as the,  that captured the sacred monsters of society: hundreds of bold-faced names painted in or taken out, depending on Sirio’s mood. While many copies and prints are in the auction, the original is currently at Cenedella’s studio—maybe having a new president added?, Mauro tells us it’s being readied should Le Cirque in New York ever rise again. The Maccionis have full, “very expensive New York storage rooms” should the dream become a reality. And if not? More of those fabulous sconces could come to market., As for me, I used to protest frequently that for all the time I spent buried in Sirio’s basement office listening to his stories, surrounded by many of these items, all I got were two green Limoges/Bernardaud bread plates. If you promise not to compete against me, I’m intending to fill out the set., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Peter Elliot. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 1:40 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to World Cup Matches ICC ceo indication [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: No Indication That Any World Cup Matches Won’t Go Ahead: ICC CEO. Short_description: Sport has the wonderful ability to bring people together and unite communities, says ICC CEO Dave Richardson.. Description: The International Cricket Council does not foresee any change in the schedule for the upcoming World Cup, despite speculation surrounding the India-Pakistan clash at the mega-event starting on 30 May., In the wake of a terror attack in Pulwama, former India player and 2011 World Cup winner Harbhajan Singh wanted the Indian team to call off its World Cup 2019 runner against Pakistan, scheduled to be played in Manchester on 16 June., But ICC Chief Exexutive Dave Richardson, when quizzed about the same by news agency PTI on Tuesday, 19 February, made it clear that the world governing body has no indication as of now of the match being cancelled., “Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this terrible inciden, and we will be monitoring the situation with our Members,” said Richardson, offering his condolences on the ghastly attack on 14 February which martyred 40 CRPF jawans., The former South Africa wicketkeeper-batsman added that sport has the power to unite communities., Men who matter in the BCCI, too, have told PTI that not playing Pakistan in the World Cup is a “long shot” as of now., “Harbhajan had shared his point of view but he didn't clarify what happens if we are again pitted against them in semi-final or suppose final. Does that mean that we will be forfeiting World Cup semi-final or final? So we are all talking about hypothetical situations,” said a senior BCCI official., “For the record, India played Pakistan in a World Cup game in England in 1999 edition when Kargil War was at its peak,” the official added., On Monday, 18 February, Harbhajan told a news channel: “India should not play Pakistan in the World Cup. India are powerful enough to win the World Cup without having to play Pakistan.”, Several affiliated units of the BCCI – the Cricker Club of India, the Punjab Cricket Association, the Rajasthan Cricket Association and the Karnataka State Cricket Association – have also removed pictures and portraits of Pakistani cricketers from their facilities.. Publisher: The Quint. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 2:29 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to cautious Travel Marriott Eyes reward inclusive Rebound [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Marriott Eyes Rewards, All-Inclusives in Cautious Travel Rebound. Short_description: Marriott Eyes Rewards, All-Inclusives in Cautious Travel Rebound. Description: If thinking about , conjures the skyscraping Marquis flagship in New York’s Times Square, with its supersonic bubble elevators currently presiding over a dark Broadway, it would be easy to assume that the company faces a bleak near-term future. Indeed, parts of that company’s business are still struggling to find footing amid a travel slowdown that has lasted more than a year., At the Marquis, , around the year-end holidays. As a whole, Marriott International suffered its worst year in recent history in 2020. It also , , Arne Sorenson, to pancreatic cancer., But for Marriott, as for much of the travel industry, , , and pockets of opportunity are becoming clearer. Shortly after the announcement of its new CEO, Anthony Capuano, in mid-February, shares for the company rose to $157.50 and have since remained steady—a sharp departure from where things stood in May 2020, when they were just above $75.    , “It’s hard to make predictions about what will come next,” says , , Marriott’s global brand officer, who adds that travel has evolved in the past year, from an indulgence to “a primal need.”, Currently, Edmundson is shepherding the growth of a new sector devoted to rental homes called , , which debuted in 2019 as a far-cry competitor to ,  What started as a portfolio of 2,000 homes has grown to more than 25,000. (Airbnb maintains about 7 million rentals on its site.), Edmundson frames the foray as less an attempt to rival , and more about extending the ability to earn and redeem loyalty rewards in any travel scenario. “The goal is to really fill out our portfolio of options for our members,” she explains. “It’s not our desire to have millions of homes. It’s our desire to have a curated portfolio.”, Edmundson says Homes and Villas was “certainly advantageous” over the last 14 months, when privacy became the amenity with the greatest premium. “But on balance, we have 7,500 hotels, so it’s not anywhere near the scale of our true core product.” Rather than help the company weather the storm, it was a way to keep its Bonvoy members engaged while they were otherwise unable to travel., Many think of all-inclusive resorts in four letter words. But these offerings have , , with even the main players—such as , and Paradisius—finding ways to attract the next generation of travelers., Marriott is joining their cause. The , around the Caribbean represents more than 7,000 new hotel rooms for the company; Edmundson says the aim is to have 33 resorts by 2025., The acquired resorts will be converted into all-inclusive versions of Ritz-Carlton, Luxury Collection, and Westin, among other Marriott luxury brands. “When you think about a Ritz-Carlton all-inclusive, I don’t want you to think about an all-inclusive, I want you to think of an amazing Ritz that happens to be inclusive of every desire you might have,” she explains. “There’s some negativity around that space, but we are setting out to craft and curate something that doesn’t exist.”, Of course, it does exist: All-inclusive resorts such as ,  and , in Antigua cost upward of $1,300 a night in exchange for a vacation in which you never have to think about being nickel-and-dimed. But they are few and far between., Each all-inclusive, Edmundson adds, will have brand extensions that relate to its parent’s roots: Westin will be the wellness-oriented all-inclusive, for example. The challenge will be educating anyone unfamiliar with these draws—and convincing guests to generally stay put on a resort, rather than using it as a home base for self-designed explorations. , Travelers are currently caught between a strong desire to cross things off bucket lists while needing to navigate , . That pull, she says, encouraged people to book more “drive-to” trips before learning that the EU would soon admit entry to certain vaccinated travelers., “The drive market will last through the year,” she predicts, speaking of both Europe and the U.S. “I think that as borders open up, it’s going to be restrictive still for a little while, given the extra hassle of Covid tests and vaccine passports.”, All this is encouraging the , , says Edmundson, and will give mountain and resort destinations continued importance for another year. She cites unmatched off-season business in places from Aspen, Colo., to Deer Valley, Utah, where summer bookings are pacing 97% ahead of last year, driven by strong transient demand., She remains cautious about international travel. “This morning, while I was on my Peloton, I saw that 8% of Americans , . So that’s going to be the most important thing, getting the vaccinations so that as borders open, we can have a good show,” she says., Edmundson expects the flexibility of work-from-home to persist, reshaping people’s vacation schedules and flattening the “peaks and valleys” destinations typically see in terms of visits., “I don’t think things will go back exactly to 2019 trends or patterns,” she elaborates. “People have developed an appreciation for what is in their backyards—to explore beyond the big cities—and that will also trigger a redistribution of where people go.”, That connects with the growth of “purposeful travel,” or trips that come with a heightened consciousness , . “This time we’ve had—the 12 to 14 months of being in our basements in front of Zoom calls—it’s made people confront what their personal impact is on the places they visit, and on wanting to leave those places better than they found them.”, She says none of this is new, but it’s more urgent—just like the fight for diversity and inclusivity across the industry, for which the departed CEO Sorenson strongly advocated. In his memory, the company has created the , and endowed it with $20 million through its philanthropic arm, the , As part of that effort, it has also partnered with Howard University to establish the , as a means for developing a pipeline of BIPOC talent., Perhaps a more ephemeral silver lining is rediscovering the joys and luxuries of hospitality in any form. “After a year of not traveling, they’re going to find themselves highly sensitized to it,” says Edmundson. “The anticipation of what you haven’t done in so long makes you long for that feeling. And that’s going to be fun.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Nikki Ekstein. Date Created: 03 May 2021, 5:17 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Madison Park Kobe Beef Vegan basic [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Eleven Madison Park Is Going Vegan Because Kobe Beef Is Basic. Short_description: Eleven Madison Park Is Going Vegan Because Kobe Beef Is Basic. Description: A year ago, Daniel Humm was unsure if his restaurant , ., Now, the chef and owner of one of the , has announced a bold new direction for his dining room. On June 10, EMP will re-open its doors as a plant-based restaurant. Gone will be dishes like his famous honey lavender roasted duck. Instead, he’ll offer a beet that’s been roasted for 16 hours, then presented in a clay vase that gets cracked open at the table. Also on the menu: peas with almond cream and pea-miso puree., The menu won’t be completely vegan. Humm has said that he will offer honey and milk for coffee and tea service., And its tasting menu will still cost $335. Each meal at the Manhattan restaurant will fund five more served by the nonprofit Rethink. The Wall Street Journal , ., Since the start of the pandemic, Humm has been grappling with the focus of his restaurant and what fine dining might look like in the future. He’d been working with Rethink and , that he could deploy to neighborhoods where people were hungry or didn’t have access to fresh food., The chef at one of the world’s most elevated restaurants even reconsidered the place of high-end ingredients in our diets. “All the caviar that you find now, it’s farm-raised, they sell it at the airport. Is that truly luxury?” Humm said in a phone interview. “Kobe beef flown in from Japan? That’s not luxury. It’s gluttony.”, At one point last fall, while out for a run, Humm said his purpose became clear. He couldn’t go back to a refrigerator full of roast duck., “I didn’t want to do the same thing for another 20 years,” Humm said. “I look at this restaurant through these glass refrigerators that we have in our kitchen, how iconic that picture of the dry aging duck was.” He continues: “I was thinking, it can’t go back to those hanging ducks. It has to be something else.”, The shift away from meat is part of a broader transformation in diets, at a time when people are increasingly considering meat’s impact on the environment and their own health. Digital food brand Epicurious last week said , . Studies have shown that eating less beef can reduce heart attacks as well as , ., And it’s not, perhaps, as bold of a move for one of the world’s best restaurants as it may seem. Meat is the least important aspect of a 3-star Michelin meal. Many California fine dining establishments starting , . One of them is Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn, who made her Bay Area restaurants meat free in 2019. “Ten years ago, people wouldn’t have heard me. Now no one even asks for meat,” Crenn said at the time., Humm has used vegetables as a meat replacement at Eleven Madison Park before. In 2012, his menu featured a carrot tartare as a steak alternative, made tableside by grinding carrots from the Union Square farmers market with little bowls of condiments., Still, Humm said it was challenging to convince his team to go in this direction. “I’m working with 40 people, sometimes five people at a time would come up to me and say ‘let’s just be more thoughtful.’” Now he says, the concept has gone from limiting to “freeing.”, “A piece of fish, meat, there aren’t that many different ways to prepare them,” he said. “If you have a beet, an eggplant, the opportunities feel endless.”, Concerns about climate change played some part in his decision, Humm said., “I’m seeing things change in front of my eyes, in my career of 30 years,” he said. “Wild turbot, wild caviar, they don’t exist anymore. You can’t get them.”, To make it work, he had to go through a complete list of items in his pantry that contained animal products and figure out replacements, including one of the hardest things for a 3-star restaurant to give up: butter made from animal fat., “We worked hard, started a huge fermentation program,” he said. “We have fermented almond milk that tastes like crème fraîche. There’s butter from sunflower oil. Fish sauce that tastes like fish sauce but we’ve done it with mushrooms.”, The news prompted a flurry of public debate about the role of meat in American culture. But Humm didn’t want to get into that. “As a chef, I’m just excited to cook with vegetables right now,” he said., There’s only so far Humm says he can go. His London restaurant, Davies and Brook, will continue to serve meat. “This is my livelihood and my team’s,” he said. “We can only push it as far as the guests are welling to go. One day the world might pay $35 for a carrot? But not today.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kate Krader. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 1:55 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Pasta Salad Revolutionizes Beloved TikTok Recipe [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: This Pasta Salad Revolutionizes the Beloved TikTok Recipe. Short_description: It’s hard to imagine a recipe that will threaten the popularity of TikTok’s baked feta pasta in 2021. But here’s one.. Description: ,  , It’s hard to imagine a recipe that will threaten the popularity of TikTok’s baked feta pasta in 2021.,  , That dish, which relies on pasta, cherry tomatoes, garlic, and a hunk of feta cheese, was popular enough that after ,  in 2019, feta cheese sold out at markets in her country. When the recipe hit TikTok in early 2021 via blogger MacKenzie Smith (@grilledcheesesocial), feta, .  ,  , One thing it’s done, besides squeeze certain cheese markets, is remind people just what a supremely convenient and appealing ingredient pasta is. , In ,  (Ten Speed Press; $26), the venerable U.K. food writer, cook, and television personality Nigel Slater offers a dish that could be considered a seasonal alternative to the TikTok sensation, starring almost all the same base ingredients—pasta, cherry tomatoes, garlic—reconfigured. ,  , is Slater’s follow-up to , , which was published in the U.S. in 2020. His recipe writing style is renowned for its poetic simplicity. Dish names are only a few words long: Greens, Coconut Curry; Baked Ricotta Asparagus; the intriguing combo of Mustard, Guacamole, Mozzarella, Bagel. The chapter list in his book reads like a Dr. Seuss stanza: In a Bowl, In the Hand, In the Morning, In the Oven, and so on. “, ,” writes Slater, “is a collection of what I eat when I finish work every day: the casual yet spirited meals with which I sustain myself and whoever else is around.” , The recipe for Pasta, Tomatoes belongs to the ‘In the Pan’ chapter, where Slater pays tribute to two of his most essential pans: One is a thin, nonstick skillet for dishes like pancakes; the other is his heavy, hardworking cast-iron pan that he thinks will outlive him., Slater describes his recipe as “Hot, cold, crisp tender. A dish of contrasts. A fideua salad,” which is a reference to the paella-style noodle dish that's popular in Valencia, Spain, and usually features seafood. He believes the biggest decision to be made concerns the pasta. “Ideas about the correct pasta for fiduea will be argued about even in Spain but the only essential point is to use a small, thin pasta that will crisp nicely on the bottom of the pan,” he writes., There are several suitable types of pasta, he says, including , , vermicelli, angel hair, or thin noodles broken into short lengths. His trick is to “catch the pasta just at the point where it is starting to crisp on the bottom of the pan and can be loosened with the end of a wooden spatula.” It is, he writes, “certainly the best pasta salad I have ever had.”  , I chose ditalini, the cute mini tubes, because I thought it would supply more surface area for crisping in the hot pan. It was a good choice—it had excellent al dente texture after cooking. The result is superbly silky pasta, infused with the flavors of the garlic and stock it bubbled away in. The contrast with the sweet, juicy cherry tomatoes is wonderful—and a refreshing reminder of the weather as it warms up. ,  , To be honest, the dish doesn’t need anything else. But Slater says his recipes are “more for inspiration than rules to be adhered to slavishly, word for word.” In other words, feel free to add feta or an even more inspired ingredient and see if it will go viral. ,  , The following recipe is adapted from , by Nigel Slater.,  , 3 cloves garlic, 3 tbsp. olive oil, 1 qt. good-quality vegetable stock, hot, 9 oz. small pasta shapes, 3 small, ripe tomatoes, 1 pint cherry tomatoes, Handful of parsley, 4 green onions, Salt, You‘ll need a heavy-bottomed frying pan or a paella pan.,  , Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Warm the olive oil in a large saute pan, then add the garlic and cook till just starting to crisp. Tip the pasta into the garlic and saute for 1 minute, then pour in the hot stock and bring to a boil. ,  , Lower the heat to a simmer; cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, until the pasta is almost tender. Remove the lid and continue to boil for about 12 more minutes, until almost all the liquid has evaporated; if necessary, raise the heat. The pasta should be starting to toast lightly on the bottom of the pan. If it isn’t, pour in a drop or two more oil.,  , Cut the bigger tomatoes into quarters and the cherry tomatoes in half, then roughly chop the parsley and green onions; season with salt. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the toasted pasta from the bottom of the pan, ensuring all the golden crusty bits come with it. Tip in all the tomatoes, parsley, and onions and toss together gently so the cold tomatoes, hot pasta, and small amount of stock are thoroughly mixed. Check the seasoning and serve., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kate Krader. Date Created: 24 Apr 2021, 1:55 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Laurene Powell Jobs Invests Reese Witherspoon Production company [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Laurene Powell Jobs Invests in Reese Witherspoon’s Production Company. Short_description: Laurene Powell Jobs Invests in Reese Witherspoon’s Production Company. Description: (Bloomberg) -- Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs turned media mogul, is investing in Reese Witherspoon’s production company, marking her latest push into entertainment., Powell Jobs’s Emerson Collective is joining AT&T Inc.’s Otter Media, an earlier backer, in financing Witherspoon’s company, Hello Sunshine. Terms weren’t disclosed, but the funds will support the company’s efforts to improve opportunities for women in Hollywood., “We very intentionally chose strategic investors who passionately and unequivocally support our mission of changing the landscape for women by putting them at the center of every narrative we create, elevate and champion,” said Sarah Harden, chief executive officer of Hello Sunshine., Emerson Collective has made a variety of investments in media, including a majority stake in the Atlantic. Powell Jobs, 55, also has backed documentary films and series through the organization, which also uses philanthropy and community action to push for social change. She is worth $19.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index., Witherspoon, 42, is an award-winning actress who’s been at the forefront of advocacy efforts in Hollywood on behalf of women and children. Her production credits include upcoming season two of the hit HBO series “Big Little Lies,” and projects for Hulu, Amazon, Apple Inc. and DirecTV., ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Anousha Sakoui. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 11:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Blue Origin Human Spaceflight July Bezos [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Bezos’s Blue Origin Sets First Human Spaceflight for July 20. Short_description: Blue Origin plans to auction off one seat on its New Shepard rocket for the 11-minute trip to suborbital space. Description: Blue Origin, the rocket maker founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, has set July 20 for its first mission carrying people to space., The company plans to auction off one seat on its New Shepard rocket for the 11-minute trip to suborbital space, an altitude of about 100 kilometers (62 miles). That seat will be the only one available for purchase on the flight, and the proceeds will go to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, which promotes math and science education., The plans signal significant progress for Blue Origin as it vies with Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. and Richard Branson-backed Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. to create a market for tourism rides into space. Bezos hinted on social media after an April 14 test flight that the time for Blue Origin to carry passengers was nearing., “After the last flight we said it’s time, let’s put people on board,” , , Blue Origin’s director of astronaut sales, said Wednesday on a video call with reporters., The date for the company’s first flight with a crew coincides with the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, although Blue Origin executives didn’t mention that on the call., The company has collected sufficient data from 15 rocket test flights and 16 capsule landings to be ready for operational service, Cornell said. The Kent, Washington-based company will conduct “a couple more” flights with people this year after the July trip, she said., Blue Origin declined to say how many people will fly on the company’s initial foray with humans or whether they’ll be employees or customers. The company also declined to offer details about its ticket prices., Blue Origin eventually plans to carry six astronauts on flights that will cross the so-called Karman line, a space border 100 kilometers up. A crew capsule separates during flight, then lands with parachutes a few miles from the reusable New Shepard rocket. The 60-foot (18-meter) New Shepard landed successfully at Blue Origin’s West Texas launch area last month in its , ., Customers will have a four-day experience, including three days of preflight training at the company’s launch site near Van Horn, Texas, about 120 miles southeast of El Paso. The company has built accommodations, including a cafeteria, and expects the scenic mountains and high plains desert to be another attraction, Cornell said., “They can take in the beautiful scenery before they have their flight of a lifetime,” she said., Virgin Galactic has about 600 customers who have paid as much as $250,000 apiece for a future ride to space. The company stopped taking reservations in late 2018 but plans to resume later this year after it ferries Branson to suborbital space on one of its first flights. Executives have said pricing is likely to rise because of demand., SpaceX is also , for paying customers. As soon as September, Musk’s company will fly technology entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and three other people on a multiday mission to orbit Earth. The trip was designed to raise money and awareness for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital., SpaceX also will fly four men to the International Space Station next year on a private mission for Axiom Space Inc., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Justin Bachman. Date Created: 05 May 2021, 9:58 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Luring Hamptons Sellers frenzied demand Time market Boom [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Frenzied Demand Is Luring Hamptons Sellers in Boom-Time Market. Short_description: Frenzied Demand Is Luring Hamptons Sellers in Boom-Time Market. Description: The Hamptons real estate market has been on a dazzling hot streak and shows no signs of slowing down., From $1 million cabins (, ) to multimillion-dollar megamansions, “we’ve seen a massive year-over-year surge” for the first quarter of 2021, says Jonathan Miller, president and chief executive officer of appraiser Miller Samuel Inc., which compiled a quarterly report for Douglas Elliman. Total available inventory, the report found, has plunged nearly 41% compared to last year. “All segments of the market are strong,” Miller says. , As with other vacation destinations and affluent suburbs, including Palm Beach, Fla., and Greenwich, Conn., much of the past year’s sales bonanza can be attributed to wealthy people who were desperate to get out of New York and other urban areas during Covid., But unlike those neighborhoods, where the supply in the luxury sector (defined as the top 10% of the market) has plummeted, the Hamptons market somehow is still throwing up more high-end listings to meet demand., “Hamptons listing inventory in the luxury sector is up 49.9%” year over year, Miller says, “while overall inventory for the Greenwich luxury market is , .”, And that’s a modest decline compared with Palm Beach, where first-quarter inventory for single-family homes plunged a staggering 79.7% from a year earlier. Its luxury inventory, which represents the top 10% of the market, is down 59.4%, according to , . , Top Hamptons brokers diverge on the source of this apparently boundless luxury housing supply, where the starting price is $3.85 million., Some attribute it, in part, to older homeowners looking to cash in on a bull market., “It’s a generational change,” says , , a broker at Douglas Elliman. “They’ve had their houses for a long time, and they want to downsize or move somewhere else.”, Others say a significant chunk of the material is coming from developers who, even before the pandemic began, were ramping up spec homes that are only now coming to market. At the beginning of 2020, even before the pandemic, “developers started coming in saying, ‘We’re running out of inventory, let’s start getting building permits,’” says Compass’s , . “We’re [now] seeing more inventory and lots more redevelopment.”, Existing homebuyers are also trading up, “where people decided they need bigger homes and more space now,” says , , a broker with Sotheby’s International Realty. “Now they’re including extended family, and they just have a different perspective of what makes a home comfortable.”, Everyone agrees that inventory might be coming into the market, but high-quality homes, particularly those priced from $3 million to $10 million, are still in painfully short supply., “I can tell you on a personal level, there’s nothing over $4 million that’s good,” says , , a broker at Compass. “We just can’t find the inventory. If you know someone bringing it on, let me know. I’m down to two listings, and this time of year, normally I’d have 12 to 15.”, Developers are a factor in the Hamptons real estate market, but rising land costs, increasing cost of material, and fiercer competition for available parcels mean that however much new construction has hit the market in the last quarter, it isn’t enough., “I think developers have run out of material,” says Keszler. “There’s not so much land around, or tear-downs they can buy, and the pricing is difficult for them because, of course, prices went up.”, The fact that many buyers over the past year wanted a house they could move into immediately is making it even more difficult. “I’m seeing a scarcity of newer construction at all price points,” says , , a Sotheby’s International Realty broker. , Instead, much of the volume is coming from people who saw the white-hot market and “said, ‘If we’re ever going to sell, now would be the time,’” says Schiaffino., Many of these properties “are somewhat at the end of their life span in that they haven’t been renovated,” she continues. “These families are saying, ‘You know, I can sell this, and now is as good a time as any to get a healthy price for my family’s home,’ and finance and tech wealth is coming in and buying these properties up.”, A good chunk of people making this decision “have decided to size down,” says Srb. “The reality was that they wanted something smaller and more manageable. Those are empty nesters that maybe had adult children who are buying their own [vacation] homes.”, Some brokers have taken to actively courting this demographic in an effort to add inventory to the market., “We’re pleading and prodding for people to bring houses onto the market,” says , , a broker at Corcoran. “And there’s a lot of people that do say, ‘Hey, I’m hearing the real estate market is super hot, I got your letter or mailer or whatever, and I want to talk to you about putting my house on the market,’” she continues. “There are people who were going to retire in a couple of years who are saying, ‘Let me take advantage of it right now.’”, In the meantime, prospective buyers need to be prepared to spend serious money on a serious property. “Anything under $7.5 million has gone immediately,” says Bodenchak. “The market above $10 million is just starting to get more active, too,” Keszler says, “but it’s really demand up to $10 million” that’s the sweet spot, she continues., Brokers say houses that are overpriced will still languish on the market, but those that are priced to sell consistently ignite bidding wars., “I tell you, it’s brutal,” says Keszler. “You decide you like the house, and you see your family there, and you have your offer accepted, and then someone comes in with more money. It’s a tense time, and there’s no deal done until it’s signed.”, Generally speaking, “when a new home comes on the market and it seems like it’s priced really well, it doesn’t last more than a week,” Srb says. “I’ve been doing this for 28 years, and I’m stunned by the breadth [of demand] from young to old. It’s almost like they’re discovering the Hamptons for the first time.”, Covert speculates that most of the inventory that would traditionally be for sale has been occupied by renters or homeowners who have nowhere else to go. “I think that come August, homes that have been occupied since March of 2020 by renters or owners” will start to come onto the market, he concludes. “Something’s gotta give.” , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: James Tarmy. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 2:45 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Manhattan Restaurant Jobs Industry Comeback [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Manhattan Restaurant Jobs Go Begging, Hobbling Industry Comeback. Short_description: Manhattan Restaurant Jobs Go Begging, Hobbling Industry Comeback. Description: Manhattan’s restaurants are struggling with a labor shortage that threatens to hobble the industry’s comeback just as it’s getting started., Experienced restaurant employees who fled New York during last year’s lockdown are in no hurry to come back while tourists and office workers are still home. After a year of pandemic pain, the shortage is clouding otherwise hopeful signs for dining, as restaurants and bars sign new leases, vaccinated New Yorkers prepare to splurge and the city pushes to fully reopen in July., The dearth of people ready to serve customers is putting restaurateurs like Mark Fox in a bind. The president and founder of Fox Lifestyle Hospitality Group owns four restaurants in Manhattan, but he’s worried two more slated for debuts in the third quarter may get pushed back because he can't find staff., “The staffing shortage is real,” said Fox, who already postponed the reopening of his White Oak Tavern in Greenwich Village, to May from March. “I don’t want to lose revenue, but I will not lose reputation of the restaurant by trying to open it with undertrained or underpowered staff levels.”, The restaurant industry’s struggles pose a major hurdle for the broader recovery in Manhattan, where dining has a symbiotic relationship with offices and hotels. With just 16% of the area’s office workers back at their desks as of April 21, there’s a tough road ahead., To run his businesses properly, Fox needs to hire another 60 employees. He’ll need luck finding them. , In a city where an estimated 5,000 restaurants , since last March, some hospitality workers who moved out during the pandemic aren’t planning to return. Others switched occupations to work in industries where the hours are more reasonable., And there are those who would rather collect , for the next few months than work in a half-empty restaurant. Still more workers are bound for the Hamptons and other hot spots, where diners are plentiful and hefty tips are guaranteed., Tara Moran, a 30-year-old cocktail bartender, is leaving her job of four years at Dutch Fred’s in Hell’s Kitchen and heading to Montauk alongside friends in the industry., “I’m hearing places are booked already for the summer, and the money is really good,” Moran said., At Dutch Fred’s, most of her customers were bankers, theater-goers and tourists. But with Broadway still dark, “our main clientele isn’t there right now,” she said. “And even though we’re at 50% capacity, I don’t know if we can fill more than that.”, Even with the staffing struggles, leasing is on the rise. Food and beverage businesses accounted for 50% of all new retail agreements in the first quarter, giving a boost to struggling landlords, data from Cushman & Wakefield show., Many of the deals were concentrated in residential-leaning neighborhoods, such as the Upper East Side and West Village. But business owners are also starting to bet on the longer-term revival of commercial districts., Chef José Andrés — a 2019 Nobel Prize nominee for his nonprofit work — is bringing an , of his famed Mediterranean restaurant Zaytinya to the new Ritz-Carlton New York in Nomad this fall. Marcus Samuelsson has agreed to rent space at the base of West Chelsea’s Starrett-Lehigh Building for a new restaurant and culinary concept., Delmonico’s steakhouse and food hall chain Urbanspace signed deals in Times Square and the Financial District, respectively, earlier this year., “It helps that rents are obviously more favorable than they would’ve been a year or two years ago,” said Michael Hirschfeld, a vice chairman at brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. “I’m seeing some rents that are 50% less compared to the end of 2019.”, In the short-term, many restaurants are getting by with fewer workers, cutting business hours or sharing staff with other establishments. Some are pushing off openings until the labor situation improves, customers return -- or both., Joseph Smith, owner of the Bobby Van’s Steakhouse chain, said he’s short about 50 employees and has delayed reopening two locations, near Times Square and Rockefeller Center., “Wall Street is not back in full swing and the bosses that do the entertaining aren’t in town -- they’re either in Florida or the Hamptons,” Smith said. “Some of the businesses are coming back, but it’s a slow process. Even if I get 40 people in for lunch instead of 140, I still have to staff it up like it was 100 people.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Natalie Wong. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 7:15 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Best Restaurants Michelin resilience Chicago [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Chicago’s Best Restaurants Impress Michelin With Their ‘Resilience’. Short_description: Chicago’s Best Restaurants Impress Michelin With Their ‘Resilience’. Description: If , during the pandemic, consider the Chicago restaurant scene an indicator, at least according to Michelin. , The international restaurant guide announced its stars for the Windy City on April 29. In the midst of unprecedented dining room closures around the country, Michelin added two two-star restaurants to its list. A two-star restaurant is defined by the guide as “excellent cooking that is worth a detour.” The price tag is routinely hundreds of dollars per person., One of the new two-star entries is , from noted chef Curtis Duffy and Michael Muser, where the eight-to-10-course tasting menu goes for $285. (Muser moved the team’s , out of the restaurant so as not to contaminate the elegant dining room with griddling-patty odors.), Also added was , , which specializes in fine dining and beer pairings. “Moody Tongue is such a unique venture as a working brewery,” said the chief inspector of Michelin North America, who spoke anonymously due to the constraints of the position. (He also called the opening of Ever in the midst of the pandemic last summer “such an impressive showing.”), The city’s sole three-star dining room, ,  from chef Grant Achatz, retained its status. During the pandemic, the restaurant closed and the team transitioned , , selling more than 250,000 to-go packages, according to co-owner , , who ,  the Tock reservation platform to Squarespace Inc for more than $400 million earlier this year. (Alinea kept its stars because Michelin set a pandemic rule to maintain a restaurant’s stars even if it is temporarily shut.), Kokonas says Alinea, which reopened in March for about 60 diners a night, is seeing demand for seats. “We have a waitlist of about 200 names most nights. So people definitely want to return to dining,” he said via email. , The news wasn’t all good for Chicago, which lost several notable one-star restaurants. These included one of the country’s most acclaimed modern American restaurants, Blackbird; the classic, 34-year-old French spot Everest; and the thrilling omakase restaurant , ; all shuttered during the pandemic. The sole new entry, , , specializes in food and wine from Portugal and Spain. The total number of starred places for 2021 in Chicago is 24, down from 25 in 2020., Michelin’s Bib Gourmands, its ‘cheap eats’ list, was announced on Tuesday, April 27. Fifty-eight spots in Chicago—up from 54 in 2020—met the criteria of “quality restaurants that have menu items that offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less.”, Among the 10 new-to-the-list spots are Perilla, which specializes in modern Korean barbecue, and the invigorating soul food spot , from chef/owner Bridgette Flagg. Michelin has continued to ignore the beloved meat-centric diner , . Also missing from the Bib Gourmand list were two additional local high-profile pandemic closures, Fat Rice and Pacific Standard Time., Still, Chicago’s dining scene feels optimistic. While cities such as Los Angeles—and, , —have grabbed the national spotlight, Chicago has steadfastly rolled along, finding opportunity in the midst of closures. The space of Pacific Standard Time is being turned into a branch of the beloved wine bar , . Star chef , this year, including a partnership with local steakhouse champion Gibsons., “We have been impressed by the resilience and creativity the Chicago restaurants have demonstrated to persevere and push through,” said the Michelin inspector. , Alinea will continue to offer Achatz’s astonishing meal kits as a non Michelin-starred option for those who won’t be eating in the dining room anytime soon., Here is the full list of Chicago’s Michelin-starred restaurants and Bib Gourmands. An asterisk (*) denotes a new entry., Alinea, Acadia, *Ever, *Moody Tongue, Oriole, Smyth, Boka, EL Ideas, Elizabeth, Elske, Entente, Goosefoot, Mako, Next, North Pond, Omakase Yume, Parachute, *Porto, Schwa, Sepia, Spiaggia, Temporis , Topolobampo, Yûgen, Avec, Avlí Taverna, Birrieria Zaragoza, Cabra, Ceres’ Table, *Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar, Chilam Balam, *Ciccio Mio, Cira, County Barbecue, Daguan Noodle, Daisies, DeColores, Dos Urban Cantina, The Duck Inn, Etta, Flat & Point, Frontera Grill, Funkenhausen, Ghin Khao , Giant, Gilt Bar, Girl & The Goat, GT Fish & Oyster, HaiSous, Herb, Ina Mae Tavern, Jam, *Joe’s Imports, Kai Zan, *Kasama, Kie-Gol-Lanee, La Josie, Lonesome Rose, Longman & Eagle, Lula Café, *Mama Delia, Mango Pickle, Marisol, Mfk., Mi Tocaya, Mott St., *Munno Pizzeria & Bistro, Nella Pizza e Pasta, *Perilla, Pizzeria Bebu, Pleasant House Pub, Proxi, The Purple Pig, San Soo Gab San, Smoque BBQ, Sol de Mexico, *Soulé, Table, Donkey and Stick, *Tzuco, Untitled Supper Club, *Vajra, Virtue, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kate Krader. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 6:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to U.S. Embraces Nose Pig Snouts Calf Brains Tail Menus [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Calf Brains and Pig Snouts: U.S. Embraces Nose-to-Tail Menus. Short_description: While the rest of the world has been doing this for centuries, Americans are just starting to catch up on the nose-to-tail eating.. Description: (Bloomberg) -- Calf brains, pig snouts and beef cheeks: Yuck, right?, Not so fast. While the rest of the world has been doing this for centuries, Americans are just starting to catch up when it comes to nose-to-tail eating. Nontraditional cuts of meat are popping up on menus from Portland to Miami. And people are loving them., At , in Chicago, chef and owner Mike Simmons said he was getting bored playing it safe with dishes like cheesy broccoli. So he bought 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) of calf brains, prepared them with lemon, capers, and herbs, and offered them at brunch. He figured he’d sell a few and throw away the rest., Instead, he sold out, and customers came back asking for the dish that’s now become a menu staple. Other recent hits: rabbit kidneys with mustard sauce, and for Valentine’s Day, “fun and snacky” charcoal-grilled chicken hearts., People are looking for “something adventurous to eat,” Simmons said., Items like offal and sweetbreads have been on trendy New York restaurant menus for a few years, but as foodie culture goes mainstream, nontraditional cuts of meat are becoming more prevalent. In Denver’s historic Larimer Square district, you can order , at gastropub Euclid Hall, and in Phoenix, grab some pig face dumplings at Asian fusion joint Clever Koi., Brains and hearts capture the imagination, but the trend also trickles into meat cuts that are less exotic, but nonetheless were mostly ignored for decades. Think skirt steaks, flatirons, short ribs and briskets -- things that used to be tossed off as the cheap stuff, or ground into sausages., Because of the newfound demand, the spread between prices for the most desirable cuts of meat, like ribeye steaks, and so-called lower cuts, like the flank, are narrowing, according to Ariane Daguin, co-founder and owner of D’Artagnan LLC, a wholesale and e-commerce food company in Union, New Jersey., Even though dishes like chitlins have long been part of soul-food culture, the nose-to-tail movement in the U.S. really started taking off in 2008 as the recession forced chefs to get creative to bring down food costs. Processors and butchers began to cut animals into smaller, finer pieces that are more interesting, following some European traditions, Daguin said., “They went to the pork belly, they went to the butt,” she said. “That’s when they started to look at the European way of butchering and discovered all the different little cuts of meat.”, While cost-cutting is still a factor, booming U.S. meat production means there’s plenty of cheap protein around. So the zeitgeist is being driven by something more. David Maloni, an executive vice president of analytics at commodity researcher Arrowstream, said that younger Americans have more sophisticated palates and seek out more interesting food experiences., Nontraditional cuts are also popular because they “keep the meaty side of the menu interesting at a time when plant-based dishes and proteins are trending,” said Mike Kostyo, a trendologist at Chicago-based Datassential. At the same time, consumers are looking for more global flavors., Producers are seeing the impact of the changing demand trends., Tyson Foods, Inc., the biggest U.S. meat processor, points to an increasingly diverse American population that’s helping the domestic market for so-called variety meats, the company said in an emailed response to questions from Bloomberg. That includes cuts like chicken paws, tripe and tongue. A , of the nation’s shoppers are African-American, Hispanic or Asian, and their buying power is increasing., “Certainly, the meat processors have an interest in utilizing the whole body of the animal,” said David Henkes, senior principal at researcher Technomic Inc. in Chicago. “They’d love to find ways to sell those harder-to-sell parts.”, Jacob Dickson, who owns Dickson’s Farmstand Meats at Chelsea Market in New York, butchers five whole steer a week. He puts harder-to-sell parts into beef salami, meatloaf and other items. But he’s also selling some relatively unknown cuts like the Sierra steak and even tougher bottom round., “As long as you price appropriately, you can sell just about anything,” he said., Some proponents of nose-to-tail are also looking at the movement as a way to cut food waste. And it’s not just high-end or hip restaurants taking up the craze, chains are starting to get in on the action., Taylor Lanzet, director of supply and sustainability for Dig Inn, said the restaurant with more than 20 locations in New York and Boston is taking flank steaks off of its menu. There’s only about 3 pounds of flank steak on a cow, and the company was going through over 3,000 pounds a week -- creating too much waste from the rest of the animal, Lanzet said. Now, the fast-casual spot is working with a grass-fed, grass-finished cattle supplier, Carman Ranch in Oregon, to purchase parts that others aren’t buying. They’ll be using trim, top sirloin and chuck roll, among other cuts., Modern Market, a 30-unit chain in Denver, recently began buying pulled pork for two sandwiches and a lemongrass rice bowl from a local supplier. Nate Weir, the restaurant’s culinary director, said the new variety made with pig leg and shoulder helps to use more of each animal., Not every experiment is a winner. Modern Market tried selling a ranch steak from the shoulder of a cow, but pulled it off the menu after customers complained it was too chewy., Daguin, of D’Artagnan, said changes in technology that allow for more slow cooking, like the sous-vide method, can help with that., “The more it cooks, the better it tastes,” she said., ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Lydia Mulvany &. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 5:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New York Luring rich nation Frieze [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Frieze Is Luring the Nation’s Rich Back to New York. Short_description: Frieze Is Luring the Nation’s Rich Back to New York. Description: Much has been made over the last 14 months of “pop-up” art galleries in , , Fla., , , Colo., and the , , N.Y., with dealers and collectors , about the wealthy provinces’ sales, attendance, and exposure., Yes, New York’s galleries have been open (, ) since at least last fall, and yes, there’s evidence that the ,  of rich New Yorkers “fleeing” the city has been exaggerated—and is already in , . , But there hasn’t been anything in the art world to actually bring people, particularly out-of-towners, back to the city. There’s been nothing to coalesce around—nothing, dealers say, to bring energy back to a place that remains the contemporary art capital of the world., At least, not until ,  opens next week., Collectors are flying in from around the U.S. VIP slots are nearly filled up, and general admission tickets, which cost as much $265, have completely sold out. (A few more tickets will be released on Thursday, organizers say.), “It was strange,” says Gordon VeneKlasen, a partner in , , which has a booth at the art fair, “I started to talk to American collectors, big collectors, who all said they were coming to the city for Frieze.”, Frieze, which will open to VIPs on May 5 and to everyone else on the afternoon of May 6 and run through May 9, will be the first major art fair in New York since the Armory show last March, when the dominant response to Covid was “, ” and “, ” instead of air kisses. , Large gatherings are still a thing of the past. Frieze will take place in a slimmed-down form at the Shed in Hudson Yards, with just 64 galleries and four not-for-profits exhibiting, in contrast to its normal 200. Attendance to the fair is by appointment only. Even major collectors have to make reservations; many are discovering, to their chagrin, that the choicest VIP times are already booked. , “We’ve had [collectors] expressing disappointment they didn’t sign up early enough” to get choice spots on the first two days of the fair, says the New York dealer , , whose Frieze booth , work by Antony Gormley and Idris Khan. , Organizers of Frieze say expected attendees include ,  co-founder Henry Kravis, tennis star Serena Williams, and the Dallas-based collectors Howard and Cindy Rachofsky. Even a few weeks ago, dealers say, this kind of enthusiasm and attendance would have been unthinkable., “We have clients from all over America coming,” says Marc Payot, the co-president of Hauser & Wirth, which has a booth at Frieze and is opening shows of , and , in its Chelsea location to coincide with the fair’s opening day. “I know people from California, several from Atlanta, Chicago. And that means that they feel safe. The fact they want to do this, and finally come back to New York, is fantastic news and sends a fantastic message.”, In years past, art fairs were occasions for cocktail receptions, sit-down dinners, gallery openings, and visits to collectors’ houses, each of which was a component of the art world ecosystem that helps to differentiate art buying from mere shopping. , This year, most of that is gone. Kelly’s gallery is just a few blocks from the Shed, and he’s opening a show of the artist , to coincide with the fair. There was the temptation, he says, to do “hors-d'oeuvres, cocktails, a press brunch, etc., and we’ve looked at those, but the general consensus is that people aren’t quite there yet in terms of having passed food on trays.”, It’s an opinion shared by nearly every gallery in attendance. , “I don’t think anyone really feels comfortable doing a big event at this point in time,” says Jessie Washburne-Harris, an executive director at , . “But I would say with that, it’s actually become a special thing where you can connect with people.”, Washburne-Harris plans to do a small dinner with about 10 people, as well as a series of one-on-one meetings. VeneKlasen also says he’s doing a 10-person dinner at his house (“I had to dig up the old chefs I hadn’t used in a year”). Similarly, Payot says “the team will have an individual dinner or two with clients, but we’re not doing anything large. We really felt like it’s not the time to do so.”, It is time, however, to stand in front of art—and sell it. After nearly a year of sending around JPEGs and PDFs and links to art fairs’ virtual previews, dealers say they’re excited, perhaps even raring, for in-person sales. “I would never have thought I’d miss them as much as I do,”  says Washburne-Harris., Payot says the calculus for what to show at the fair has changed after a year of selling art remotely., “In the digital world, flat pieces—paintings, mostly—are the most successful,” he says. Given that Hauser & Wirth has, he continues, “a lot of sculpture in its program,” the gallery’s booth at Frieze will be making up for lost time: There will be sculptures by Louise Bourgeois, Jenny Holzer, and Simone Leigh, along with more two-dimensional fare including paintings by George Condo and Ed Clark., Washburne-Harris, in contrast, says that her booth—a solo presentation of , , a French artist whose installations are often dramatic and theatrical—didn’t change after a year of online sales. The booth will contain two of Messager’s installations, along with a series of her drawings. “Our presentation is very specific,” Washburne-Harris says. “We like to do something more experimental at the fair.”, This year’s Frieze, dealers say, will be as much an opportunity to reintroduce themselves to existing collectors as it will be an occasion to meet new ones. “I’m bringing serious things,” says VeneKlasen. “We have to show who we are again.” , He anticipates a steady stream of excited collectors, but is happy to acknowledge that “this all could be a fantasy. It could be that 20 people show up and it’s a bust. But it seems that a lot of people are coming.”, If for nothing else, “it’s nice,” he concludes, “to be in New York in May.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: James Tarmy. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 1:45 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Best Bar Hong Kong Coa Asia [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: The Best Bar in Asia Right Now Is Coa in Hong Kong. Short_description: The best bar in Asia is Coa in Hong Kong. with Singapore’s Jigger & Pony the number two.. Description: The best bar in Asia is , . with Singapore’s ,  the number two, according to Asia’s 50 Best Bars., Coa was founded by Jay Khan in 2017 to highlight agave spirits — it features a 41-page menu of them — and the name is drawn from the machete-like tool for harvesting agave. That serves as a departure from Jigger & Pony, which was #1 last year and where the experimental cocktails included the vodka-based and strawberry wine-infused Bubblegum Fizz. , The cocktails at Coa include La Paloma de Oaxaca, with Tequila blanco, Mezcal joven, lime, grapefruit soda and worm salt; and the Ancho Highball, which features Tequila blanco, salted plum, ancho chile and guava soda., “Coa sets itself apart with its passion and focus on great hospitality and the way it introduces agave spirits to its guests,” said Mark Sansom, content editor at 50 Best. “Not only are the cocktails simply fantastic, the way they are delivered to the guest with subtle education is second to none.” He adds: “What Coa has done to introduce a whole new style of alcohol to its city is unprecedented and goes to show the potential for small bars with a clear identity.”, The ranking is based on the votes of members of the Asia’s 50 Best Bars Academy. Some of the winning bars may be in various states of closure as countries try to stop or slow the spread of Covid-19. The voting was done differently this year — not only were there more academy chairs around the region, but judges were asked to nominate five bars, with up to four from their home country. That’s down from previous iterations in which judges were asked to suggest seven bars with at least two being international., “When we were awarded #1 Bar in Asia 2020, this win was both an honor and a responsibility to represent our team, our city, and our industry across Asia in this time of crisis as we navigate the path to recovery,” said Indra Kantono, co-founder of the Jigger & Pony Group, in an interview. “Our customers and the cocktail bar industry in Singapore have been really supportive since we received the title — and this motivates us to never rest on our laurels.”, The awards come at a time when parts of Asia are continuing to deal with devastating impacts of the coronavirus. Most major cities in Asia — from Tokyo to Hong Kong, not to mention countries like India — have struggled with waves of cases that have made business operations challenging. Places that have traditionally ranked high on the best bar list, like Singapore, have been closed to the tourists that help support them, which also impacts operations and threatens their future. , Last year’s number two pick was the Hemingway-inspired The Old Man, in Hong Kong. The Old Man, which ranked Number One in 2019, took a precipitous fall to 54 this year., “Just like the fisherman Santiago from our namesake, this year we have faced ‘salao’—unluckiness of the worst kind with social unrest, Covid, big changes in our little bar and now an unexpected drop in the rankings,” said Nikita Matveev, operations director at The Old Man — Hong Kong, who added that the establishment respects the ranking decision but isn’t going to give up. “Having a bar during a pandemic is tough. But we still want make our guests happy and are thankful for everything we have now. Challenges only make us stronger.”, MO Bar, located in Singapore’s Mandarin Oriental hotel, won the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award in addition to ranking 45th on the list. The ,  is themed on a journey around the region, with cocktails like the Panacea, with gin, Makrut lime and pandan; or the White Rabbit, with tomato, Kimchi and black garlic., People became more specific with their orders coming out of Singapore’s Covid-19 circuit breaker last year, MO bar manager Adrian Bosa said. Many guests had tried their takeaway cocktails offered when bars could do delivery but not host customers in-person, “so when they come here, they know what they want,” Bosa said in an interview last October. He added that he was seeing rum in particular get more popular., Bannie Kang of Mu in Taipei, “who has brought a new dimension of flavor to Asia and who hosts a huge energy to support her peers,” according to the 50 Best website, collected the Mancino Bartender’s Bartender Award. At Mu (ranked 90 on this year’s list), the South Korean native , of her childhood and encourages her staff to do the same, according to 50 Best., Epic in Shanghai got the Campari “One to Watch” award., The announcement was made Thursday in a video ceremony from London., William Reed Business Media, which owns and operates Asia’s 50 Best Bars and the World’s 50 Best Bars and Restaurants lists, have created the 50 Best for Recovery program, in partnership with Perrier. The fund has raised about $1.3 million to support restaurants and bars around the world via direct grants and to non-profit organizations. William Reed is also relaunching its 50 Best Discovery search engine in late June, which features more than 2,000 establishments around the world, according to 50 Best’s Sansom. All of the places included have gotten votes from the 50 Best academy, and it’s meant to help people find places to go., A list of the best bars follows, along with their locations., 1. Coa – Hong Kong, 2. Jigger & Pony – Singapore, 3. The SG Club - Tokyo, 4. Indulge Experimental Bistro - Taipei, 5. Sober Company - Shanghai, 6. Manhattan - Singapore, 7. Atlas - Singapore, 8. No Sleep Club - Singapore, 9. Bar Benfiddich - Tokyo, 10. Caprice Bar – Hong Kong, 11. The Bamboo Bar - Bangkok, 12. Bar Trigona – Kuala Lumpur, 13. Charles H - Seoul, 14. Native - Singapore, 15. Hope & Sesame - Guangzhou, 16. Sidecar – New Delhi, 17. Bar Mood - Taipei, 18. Bee’s Knees - Kyoto, 19. Room by Le Kief - Taipei, 20. The Diplomat – Hong Kong, 21. 28 HongKong Street - Singapore, 22. Tropic City - Bangkok, 23. Tell Camellia – Hong Kong, 24. Aha Saloon - Taipei, 25. Quinary – Hong Kong, 26. The Pontiac – Hong Kong, 27. High Five - Tokyo, 28. The Wise King – Hong Kong, 29. Barbary Coast - Singapore, 30. Penicillin – Hong Kong, 31. Union Trading Company – Hong Kong, 32. Speak Low - Shanghai, 33. Union Brassier, Bakery & Bar - Jakarta, 34. Bar Cham - Seoul, 35. Backstage Cocktail Bar - Bangkok, 36. Tippling Club - Singapore, 37. Junglebird – Kuala Lumpur, 38. The Curator - Manila, 39. D Bespoke - Singapore, 40. Darkside - Hong Kong, 41. Alice - Seoul, 42. The Old Man - Singapore, 43. Bar Trench - Tokyo, 44. Le Chamber - Seoul, 45. MO Bar - Singapore, 46. Vesper - Bangkok, 47. Three X Co - Kuala Lumpur, 48. Teens of Thailand - Bangkok, 49. Sago House - Singapore, 50. Star Bar - Tokyo, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Joanna Ossinger. Date Created: 06 May 2021, 4:53 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New York City Best Cheap Eats Westchester [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: The 131 Best Cheap Eats in New York City (and Westchester) Right Now. Short_description: The 131 Best Cheap Eats in New York City (and Westchester) Right Now. Description: Just as New York City’s dining rooms are , , Michelin has announced 131 of the best local places to celebrate with a not-too-expensive meal., The timing of the international guide’s Bib Gourmands, or “cheap eats” list to its vaunted stars, follows the , by Governor Andrew Cuomo that the city’s indoor dining capacity can expand to 100% starting May 19., Among the 30 new additions to the list are the Brooklyn bakery Winner, which makes a superb BLT—one of our , —and Manhattan’s Thai Diner, from the owners of the beloved, now shuttered Uncle Boons. ,  had 133 spots around the five boroughs and Westchester County. Michelin had expanded New York listings to include the suburban region, full of tony bedroom communities just north of the city. It turned out to be opportune timing for people living (and moving) outside the city who worked from home during the pandemic and wanted to go out for a meal; the area has seen the , in 24 years., As in previous years, the awards show a decline in affordable fine dining. Removing the 13 Westchester winners, there are seven less spots within the New York City limits than in 2019, and one less than 2018. That the city saw churn in restaurants is understandable, but it also speaks to the , of restaurants and bars that the pandemic , ; over 5,000 restaurants closed citywide, and in Manhattan alone just 16% of office workers were back at their desks as of April 21., The Bib Gourmand’s main criterion is that two courses plus dessert or wine costs no more than $40 per person, not including tax and tip. (As in years past, this definition is optimistic; many diners would be hard pressed to make it out of all the restaurants below within the budget.) The list is created by anonymous Michelin inspectors who visit the restaurants., Manhattan lost 12 Bib Gourmand restaurants, going from 61 to 49 places on the list. Meanwhile Brooklyn added four places in the past year; there are 37 in 2021, up from 33, mirroring , to the boroughs and elsewhere., Among the notable restaurants that dropped from last year's list are , in Manhattan, which features exquisite small plates from the team behind Atomix; they could be in line for a Michelin star. Other notable exclusions include , , which relocated from its groundbreaking East Village location to the South Street Seaport, and , , in Brooklyn., The decrease in listings mirrors a loss in Washington, D.C., Bib Gourmands; there were 40 in 2021, , . Chicago on the other hand, saw an increase with , , despite the pandemic., The full list follows. New York’s Michelin stars will be, announced on May 6., Amelie (Upper West Side), Atla (Greenwich and West Village), Atlas Kitchen (Upper West Side), Bar Primi (East Village), Bohemian Spirit (Upper East Side), Cafe China (Midtown East), Cho Dang Gol (Midtown West), Congee Village (Lower East Side), Cotenna (Greenwich Village), Dim Sum Go Go (Chinatown and Little Italy), Domodomo (Greenwich and West Village), Don Antonio by Starita (Midtown West), Double Zero (East Village), *Forsythia (Lower East Side), HanGawi (Midtown East), Hao Noodle & Tea (Greenwich and West Village), High Street on Hudson (Greenwich and West Village), Hunan Bistro (East Village), JG Melon (Upper East Side), Jin Ramen (Harlem, Morningside, and Washington Heights), Katz’s (Lower East Side), Khe-Yo (Tribeca), Kubeh (West Village), Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen (Midtown West), Little Alley (Midtown East), Luzzo’s (East Village), MáLà Project (East Village), Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too (Morningside Heights), Momofuku Noodle Bar (East Village), Nami Nori (Greenwich Village), Norma Gastronomia Siciliana (Midtown East), Nyonya (Chinatown and Little Italy), Oso (Harlem, Morningside, and Washington Heights), Pinch Chinese (Soho), Prune (East Village), Rubirosa (SoHo and Nolita), Ruffian (East Village), Russ & Daughters Cafe (Lower East Side), *Samwon Garden (Midtown West), San Matteo (Upper East Side), Sip Sak (Midtown East), Soba-Ya (East Village), Somtum Der (East Village), *Thai Diner (Chinatown), Tomino (Chinatown), Tonchin (Midtown West), Turkish Kitchen (Gramercy, Flatiron, and Union Square), Una Pizza Napoletana (Lower East Side), Van Da (East Village), West New Malaysia (Chinatown), Ammazzacafe (Williamsburg), *Bolero (Williamsburg), Bunker (Fort Greene and Bushwick), *Chavela’s (Fort Greene), Chuan Tian Xia (Sunset Park & Brighton Beach), Convivium Osteria (Park Slope), East Harbor Seafood Palace (Sunset Park and Brighton Beach), *For All Things Good (Fort Greene), *Gentle Perch (Williamsburg), Georgian Dream Cafe (Sunset Park), Glasserie (Williamsburg), *Gordo’s Cantina (Fort Greene), Haenyeo (Park Slope), *Hanon (Williamsburg), Hometown Bar-B-Que (Sunset Park and Brighton Beach), Klein’s (Williamsburg), Llama Inn (Williamsburg), Maison Yaki (Park Slope), *Mao Mao (Fort Greene), Mile End (Downtown), Miss Ada (Fort Greene and Bushwick), Olmsted (Park Slope), *Pierozek (Williamsburg), Purple Yam (Park Slope), *Rangoon (Fort Greene), Roberta’s (Fort Greene and Bushwick), Runner & Stone (Sunset Park and Brighton Beach), Saint Julivert Fisherie (Downtown), Shalom Japan (Williamsburg),  , Speedy Romeo (Fort Greene and Bushwick), Tanoreen (Sunset Park and Brighton Beach), 21 Greenpoint (Williamsburg), Ugly Baby (Downtown), *Winner (Park Slope), Win Son (Williamsburg), *Xilonen (Williamsburg), Xixa (Williamsburg), Alley 41, *Angel, Bellwether, *Caleta 111 Cevicheria, *Cardamom, Gregory’s 26 Corner Taverna, Hahm Ji Bach, *Hupo, Legend of Taste, Mar’s, Memories of Shanghai, Pata Cafe, *Phayul, *SaRanRom Thai, Spy C Cuisine, Sweet Yummy House, Tong Sam Gyup Goo Yi , *Via Vai, Beatstro , *Claudy’s Kitchen, El Molcajete , Enzo’s, *La Cueva Fonda, La Morada, Mexicosina, Suyo Gastrofusion, Tra Di Noi , Zero Otto Nove, Enoteca Maria, Sagara, Vinium, *Badageoni Georgian Kitchen, *Boro6 Wine Bar, *Burrata , Cafe Alaia, The Cookery, Dubrovnik, *Macelleria Italian Steakhouse, Maria Restaurant, RaaSa, *Rafaele Rye , Shiraz Kitchen, Southern Table, *Tredici Social, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kate Krader. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 8:14 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Best vacation Grandma Act Plan teen [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: For the Best Vacation Ever, Plan Like Grandma and Act Like a Teen. Short_description: For the Best Vacation Ever, Plan Like Grandma and Act Like a Teen. Description: , Bloomberg Pursuits, Dani Zig and her brother started ,  in an unlikely way: smuggling coconuts back from the coastline of El Salvador to Miami Beach, then selling them to hotels and restaurants as a quirky treat. Quickly their branded coconuts became a flashy must-have around town. The pair went legit as importers, focusing on Central American products, before adding a custom spirit to the company’s portfolio: a single-origin Guatemalan rum aged in oak for as long as 12 years before being cut down to 80 proof with fresh coconut water., Before the pandemic, the 28-year-old co-founder and chief executive officer logged 120,000 to 150,000 miles in the air, usually on American Airlines. “It’s not a popular answer, but Miami is a major hub for American,” says Zig, who lives in Coconut Grove with her husband and two dogs. “I can get to anywhere in the world easily. It’s a convenience thing.”, Now she follows his example whenever she hops a plane. “He’s been working in the hospital through the pandemic and never got sick, thankfully, because he was always in an N95 mask. So I wear one from the moment I step foot into the airport to the moment I’m out, with a surgical mask on top.” , Below are Zig’s other tips for staying healthy, safe, and satisfied on the road., I grew up in Central America, between El Salvador and Guatemala, my whole childhood. There was a time there when it was really common to be held up at a stoplight, and robbers wanted your iPhone. That was a big thing. So I kept an extra used one in my cup holder. If somebody came knocking on your door for your phone, you just tossed that over and that was your decoy. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. [Editor’s note: , .], I still do it when I travel. I pack an old cellphone I no longer use, and that I’ve wiped, and put it in a case with a little cash. The idea is, if you ever get held up, you can just hand this one over instead. That should divert the situation and not leave you with your actual wallet gone, left in a foreign country without any resources., I’ve been bringing my ,  with me everywhere lately—whatever is inside is always going to be an optimal temperature. I’ll have a waiter serve me wine in it, and it holds my water cold all night. It works great for planes, too, as it helps limit plastic. It doesn’t break easily, either. The Yeti is great, but it’s all metal, the inside and outside. The Vinglacé is metal on the outside but glass on the inside, so it feels much nicer when you put it to your lips., I’m considering turning all glassware in my house to these, I’m not even kidding. I can’t drink out of normal glassware anymore because, at least here in Florida, it’s so hot that your cocktail or whatever you’re drinking—the ice is going to melt almost immediately.,  , Central America to me is equally as culturally diverse and interesting as going all the way to Southeast Asia. And I say this to people all the time: If you’re traveling two days to get to Thailand, you can travel on a three-hour flight from Dallas to either San Salvador or Guatemala and have an equally diverse and interesting trip., El Salvador I would recommend if you’re into surfing—big, big, really, really important surf spot worldwide., Guatemala has so much to offer, from ancient ruins to hiking to active volcanoes to crazy lakes in volcanic craters. We have Mayan culture there, and most people are of Mayan descent. The food there is not your typical rice, beans, plantains, like you would have in Miami, with Cuban food. And the Spanish colonialism mixes in with the Mayan. Every day when you’re driving round Guatemala, you’ll have a WTF moment, where you see something that you’ve never seen before. I mean that in a good way., I feel like this service goes under the radar, but it’s amazing: , . It’s better than Global Entry sometimes. You literally download the app and do your customs clearance while you’re on the plane—like, when you’re taxiing at the airport—and just walk through. You don’t have to sign up for anything. I don’t understand why no one knows about it. And it’s free., I’ve traveled with , to Myanmar. Before that trip, I thought a travel agency like that was what my grandmother took to travel. But you know what I realized? My grandmother has been doing this right all along. Why wouldn’t I do this all the time?, We stayed in some of the best hotels there, and when I did the numbers comparing doing the trip with a travel agency and not, it wasn’t more expensive [to use a travel specialist]. If you want to stay in good hotels, the cost usually works out the same, and you have everything set up for you on a golden platter: air-conditioned vehicles waiting for you, little towelettes to wash your hands. We went with them to Cambodia, too, and at Angkor Wat, you go in through the back—you don’t have to wait in a huge line. All these programs have perks like that., Just make sure you choose a trip that offers flexibility, as a younger traveler; you don’t want to get stuck on a trip where you have to do the itinerary or else., In Copenhagen there’s a distillery that’s really worth checking out, called , . It’s run by two Noma alumni; one of them was head of the fermentation [division], I think. They left to create what they call a flavor company, not a distillery , that are noncategorial—not a vodka, a gin, or a rum, , . They created their own technology, too, to distill at low temperatures, and they claim the fact that they don’t heat anything up allows them to pull flavors from anything. They have a tasting room; it’s in the Refshaleoen neighborhood, near this great restaurant called , For some reason, my mom allowed me to travel to Europe with my best friend when I was 16 years old, unsupervised. We were going to spend the summer learning French at a school in Antibes. We did not go to school. But you know what? I feel like I can go anywhere in the world by myself, and I’m going to figure it out and be OK, because of that trip., I remember one night where we ended up getting stuck in a town, because we missed the last train. What do you do when you’re 16 and you have maybe $100 on you, and you have to figure out your way in a place that you don’t know?  Those moments of feeling uncomfortable, and not having the entire thing planned out, have been so useful to me for the rest of my life., Yes, it might be a little scary to let your young kid travel by themselves, but they’re going to learn huge life lessons. Maybe do it at 18, when you’re legal: Get out there, travel by yourself or with a friend, and you’ll learn so much., I’m a hat collector, and I typically buy one anywhere that matters. The first was when I was a teenager, in New York, on my first trip there. I was so fascinated by being able to walk around the streets and do whatever you want, having grown up in Central America [where you can’t do that]. I spent pretty much all the money I had on a hat, somewhere in SoHo, when I was 16 or 17 years old. If you’re going to a sunny destination, buy one when you get there—it’s healthy to cover your face., I take ,  from LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark [airports] into the city whenever I fly. They pick you up at the terminal, and you’re in [Manhattan] in six minutes. I started when I was traveling so much that I just needed to make it the most comfortable possible, and just had to get to my place whenever I needed to as fast as possible with the least amount of lines and traffic., It also just really makes traveling for work a little bit more pleasant, knowing I get to have a little bit of a cool adventure in the city. Listen, we spend 90% of our lives working, so at least have some fun while you do it. The views from a helicopter are really unique, and the feeling of riding in a helicopter is very particular. And in New York, say an Uber ride is 50 bucks, and Blade is $175. If you’re there for business, that’s somewhat of a nominal difference., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Mark Ellwood. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 1:55 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Yeezy Sneakers company [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: A Company Paid $1.8 Million for Yeezy Sneakers So You Can Afford Them. Short_description: A Company Paid $1.8 Million for Yeezy Sneakers So You Can Afford Them. Description: On Monday, Sotheby’s announced it had brokered a $1.8 million sale of Kanye West’s Nike Air Yeezy 1 sneakers, making them the most expensive pair of (known) shoes to sell, ever., But the sneakers weren’t purchased by a footwear-loving collector. Instead, they were acquired by the company , , which plans to fractionalize pieces of the shoes as an investment. , Rares is one of dozens of , , all of which offer shares in luxury goods, artworks, and collectibles. While the primary draw of these objects (enjoying them, touching them, seeing them, driving them) remains out of reach for fractional ownership sites’ users, their investment potential is, suddenly, available to the masses., “Kanye is an iconic figure, no matter what people think about him personally,” says Gerome Sapp, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Rares. “We just felt like this shoe was the catalyst for what we wanted to do in terms of fractional ownership.”, Shares in the sneakers will be released on June 16 and will be one of Rares’s first offerings. The site was founded roughly a year ago and has backers that Sapp says include the ,  and the , ., While he declines to say how many shares of the Yeezys will be offered and at what price, “I know that we’re going to IPO this for what we paid for it,” Sapp says. “There will not be a premium on it,” meaning the company won’t be making a profit on the release., In that respect, Rares isn’t as much the buyer of the sneakers as their underwriter, though the $1.8 million valuation could be perceived as a marketing expense to sign up users as much as it’s an indication of an existing market: It’s almost triple the previous public sales record for a sneaker. “People will look at it however they want to,” says Sapp. “For us it was an opportunity to buy an iconic sneaker.”, Still, he acknowledges that “there’s no guarantee that the market will pay us what we paid for it. We thought that this is what the shoe is worth, and more importantly, we want to bring this to the culture and community that have been priced out” of the high-end shoe collectibles market., The Nike Air Yeezy 1s were prototypes worn by West during his performance at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008 and served as a teaser for the 2009 launch of West’s line, which , . “This sneaker really set the tone,” says Sapp. “It was the first time an artist, instead of an athlete, got a shoe like this.”, Rares’s acquisition is the latest benchmark in the collectible market, which has seen an explosion in prices. Last year a pair of sneakers worn by Michael Jordan set an auction record at Sotheby’s when they , , only to be quickly eclipsed by another pair of Jordan’s sneakers that were purchased a few months later at , . , Those prices are fueled, at least in part, by the concurrent boom in the fractional investment market in collectibles: Those Michael Jordan sneakers at Christie’s, for instance, were purchased by a collector who flipped them to the fractional investing site Otis, which then , with a $700,000 valuation and sold shares in the sneakers at $10 apiece., But it’s not only good news: There are some indications the market could be cooling. Take the 1985 Air Jordans that Sotheby’s sold for $560,000 in May; another game-worn pair from the same period came up for sale in October at Heritage Auctions and , ., “From where I’m sitting, and this is a good seat, this market is going nothing but up,” says Sapp. “You might get a downtick in one purchase, but overall, the sneaker market is doing great.” , ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: James Tarmy. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 1:14 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Big American Vineyard Selloff french Winemakers Pounce [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Posh French Winemakers Pounce on Big American Vineyard Selloff. Short_description: Posh French Winemakers Pounce on Big American Vineyard Selloff. Description: On a weekend afternoon, Etienne Bizot, the head of Bollinger Champagne, was sipping wine on the terrace at Oregon’s Ponzi Vineyards. He was on vacation, playing tourist in the Willamette Valley, the heart of the state’s pinot noir territory. As he compared three different Ponzi pinots alongside a plate of cheese, he gazed out at the vines. They looked splendid., That was two years ago. This month he bought Ponzi, the first acquisition outside France for his family holding company, Société Jacques Bollinger. Bizot is chairman and chief executive officer., And the Ponzi family, one of Oregon’s founding pioneers 50 years ago, became the latest Americans to sell off an historic wine estate.  , This high-profile deal is part of a new wave of European vintners seeking toeholds in the U.S. just as some of America’s oldest wineries are ready to cash in.  , “It’s about as warm a market as I remember,” says Rob McMillan, executive vice president and founder of Silicon Valley Bank’s Wine Division. “I’ve been watching 9 to 12 European wine companies look for assets.” He expects more sales than usual over the next year., A recent SVB survey found that almost 50% of Napa and Sonoma wineries consider selling a possibility in 2021. For some regions, including the Sierra Foothills, a zinfandel haven east of Sacramento that was once the epicenter of the gold rush, it’s 80%., Yes, the latest European influx brings even more international flavor to American wine regions. Will it influence the style of the wines? Probably. After François Pinault, owner of first-growth Château Latour, purchased Napa’s Araujo Estate in 2013, the wines have become more precise and elegant., But not everything will change. Bizot, for example, has no plans to create an American bubbly that might be worthy of James Bond (Bollinger is 007’s favorite quaff). At least not yet. He’s looking to boost the reputation of Ponzi’s pinots and chardonnays and to leverage awareness and sales of Bollinger in the U.S., “In general, French producers have been the leading investors in the U.S. wine industry, followed by other countries,” explains Mario Zepponi of mergers-and-acquisitions firm Zepponi & Co., who says foreign vintners are motivated by access to U.S. consumers and the world’s largest wine market., Not to mention that prices for vineyard land in Oregon and California are way below those in Champagne, Burgundy, and Bordeaux., What motivates sellers, SVB’s McMillan says, are “all-time-high market valuations.” Like Anna Maria and Luisa Ponzi, other wine families are rethinking strategies for the future, factoring in the increasing challenges, costs, and risks of running an independent winery today., In 2020 the family owners of Napa estate Flora Springs, founded in the 1970s, sold their 280-acre vineyard and winery (but not the brand name) to Bordeaux’s Château Smith Haut Lafitte, which picked up its first American property. They’re calling it Cathiard Family Estate., A couple of months later came news that Napa cabernet trailblazer Diamond Creek Vineyards, founded by the late Al and Boots Brounstein in 1968, had been acquired by Frédéric Rouzaud, president of Maison Louis Roederer. Also the owner of Bordeaux Château Pichon-Lalande, he’d snapped up Sonoma star winery Merry Edwards in 2019., And in January 2021 the Dyson family, behind Sonoma cult pinot noir winery Williams Selyem, sold a stake to the French Faiveley family, a producer of stellar Burgundies., All these American families were in the same frame of mind as the Ponzi sisters, who’d run their family company for 30 years. “We’re tired, and an opportunity came to us,” says Anna Maria. Her sister, Luisa, who’s staying on as winemaker and to oversee the vineyards for Bollinger, points out they retained 100 acres of vines and land. They’ll sell grapes to Ponzi, but the plan holds open a possibility for their children to start a wine venture under another name., Oregon has several Burgundian-owned estates, from Domaine Drouhin to Louis Jadot’s Résonance, among others. Alt, Bordeaux châteaux, on the other hand, are drawn to California’s Napa because both regions’ wines rely on cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc. Seven Napa wineries now have Bordelais owners., “Still, the pandemic has hampered international M&A activity in the wine industry,” says Zepponi, who handled the Bollinger and Roederer deals. Doing due diligence is tough when you can’t travel., The pandemic brought complications. The Cathiards had bought Flora Springs in January 2020 but couldn’t get to their new property for 14 months. “I could easily write a book about all the disasters we overcame, including the fires which had the good spirit of stopping at 12 km from our forest!” co-owner Florence Cathiard wrote in an email. “After three months of filing official papers and fighting with the U.S. Embassy, we managed to get National Interest Exception visas so we could oversee the work in progress.”, French buyers clearly have patience. Faiveley spent a decade hunting a pinot noir property; Bollinger looked for four years. “We’re a family and take our time,” says Bizot. They also know what they’re looking for. Not driven purely by financial metrics, observes Zepponi, Europeans are “much more aggressive in their bidding practices.”, The Cathiards were seduced by Flora Springs’ similarities to Smith Haut Lafitte. The Napa property is in one big piece, mostly in the top appellation of Rutherford. It also has a strong history, water resources, and plenty of biodiversity., For U.S. buyers, says McMillan, there’s a lot of interest to find new acquisitions, too. “Part of the spur to buy is Fed-induced,” he says. “Lower interest rates encourage wealthy individuals and companies flush with cash to invest. You can’t get a return on cash.”, Right now, competition for the best properties is keen. Duckhorn Portfolio and Vintage Wine Estates, both of which recently announced they were going public, are on the prowl to buy, as are private equity funds. Nashville-based billionaire Gaylon Lawrence, who bought historic Heitz Cellar in Napa in 2018, grabbed Burgess Cellars in September 2020 and scooped up iconic Napa chardonnay maker Stony Hill Vineyard at the end of December., Many historic estates, such as Ponzi, see prestige in selling to an important French producer, and they want to sell to another family with a long-term, generational view. “With Bollinger we saw an alignment of values, of respect for vineyards and quality,” says Luisa Ponzi. “The sale is a validation of our parents’ goal to put Oregon on the world wine map.”, Expect more sales by the end of this year. Among Bordeaux châteaux that have said they’d love a Napa estate are Cos d’Estournel, Montrose, and Lafite Rothschild., All this isn’t necessarily a blow to your dreams of becoming a Napa vintner. Neither the French nor big U.S. buyers are hunting small properties like the legacy family estate with 7 acres of vines on Howell Mountain, a survivor of last year’s devastating fires, now on the market for $8.5 million. And they probably won’t be bidding on Juslyn Vineyards, a producer of high-scoring cabernets with a 6-acre vineyard and a grand villa on Spring Mountain. Currently listed at $42 million, it’s being auctioned off from May 20 to 25. Time to pull out the pocketbook., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Elin McCoy. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 1:00 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to friend road [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: How to Make Friends on the Road. Short_description: Jada Yuan crisscrossed the globe in 2018. She shares what she learned from her year-long journey.  . Description: (Bloomberg) -- , This week on , , we respond to listener tips and requests—again. Since the last time Mark and Nikki tackled your voicemails, we’ve received many terrific suggestions, so we gave the show over to your expertise once more. Please keep those tips coming: Call (646) 324-3490, and we may even play your message on the show!, Our guest this week just returned from what many might consider a yearlong dream job: traveling the world on someone else’s dime (in this case, the , ). Jada Yuan was the inaugural , , tasked with visiting everywhere the Gray Lady deemed a must-see spot for 2018, from Pyeongchang to Patagonia. Jada shares all the tips and tricks she learned on the road, from the fastest way to wash (and dry) clothes in your hotel room to the surprisingly affordable yacht she rented via Airbnb.  , ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Nikki Ekstein &. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 2:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Year Award World Car Finalists [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Here Are the Finalists for the World Car of the Year Award 2019. Short_description: The made-in-India Hyundai Santro is one of the nominees in the World Urban Car award category. . Description: The World Car of the Year Awards 2019 will be handed out in April this year. The awards will be given at the New York Auto Show on April 17. There are a number of finalists for the coveted title of “World Car of the Year” (WCOTY) including the Volvo XC40, the Suzuki Jimny, BMW 3-Series and Mercedes A-Class among others., This year there are 15 car manufacturers globally who have sent in entries for World Car of the Year. Last year, the award was won by the Volvo XC60, while in 2017 it was bagged by the Jaguar F-Pace. There are a total of 38 cars in contention for different categories of awards., There are six award categories at the , awards, including the main title award. The other categories are World Urban Car, World Luxury Car, World Performance Car, World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year., This year the Suzuki Jimny is a strong contender in two award categories, including World Car of the Year and World Urban Car. What’s interesting is that the made-in-India Hyundai Santro is also in the running for World Urban Car. It is the only made-in-India car in the list., The nominees that the Hyundai Santro is up against include the Suzuki Jimny, Audi A1, Kia Soul and Seat Arona. Does it stand a chance? Well, it depends on what the jury is looking for in the Hyundai Santro., There are 86 jury members from around the world – all auto journalists – including six from India., The Hyundai Santro was relaunched in India in 2018 and is being exported to other markets as well. It has been on sale in India since 1998 and was discontinued in 2014. The new car is based on the Grand i10 platform and competes with the Maruti Suzuki Wagon-R.. Publisher: Roshun Povaiah. Date Created: 20 Feb 2019, 6:43 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Wellness Travel Deepak Chopra Future Covid [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: Deepak Chopra Predicts The Future of Wellness Travel After Covid. Short_description: Deepak Chopra says travel can build mental resilience during Covid.. Description: The , is all around us, Deepak Chopra would argue. , It’s in the air you breathe, the trees in your backyard, the spa with a garden, even right in your pocket. And if you don’t see it all those places just yet, you will soon., That’s because the health guru—spiritual adviser to Oprah Winfrey, founder of the humanitarian- and wellness-oriented , , integrative medicine physician, and author of 90-plus books—sees wellness as an interconnected web of digital tools, individual soul-searching, and interpersonal experiences. , His work has him engaging in all of those fronts. During the pandemic he’s organized twice-monthly group retreats at luxury resort , , where participants convene in the town of Carefree, Ariz., for six days to rid their bodies of toxins and learn to tap into primordial sound meditation. (Sometimes he makes a personal appearance; other times he leaves the program in the hands of resort physicians.), In January he released , , which uses artificial intelligence to offer spiritual guidance that feels like it’s coming straight from the master himself. For $70 a year, his , is putting meditation and self-care onto small screens everywhere; it came out in August on the Apple Store with Android still to come., All this makes Chopra the leading authority on what wellness travel looks like amid the pandemic—when we all need it but may not be traveling much—and how it is poised to evolve in the near future., Some travelers will flock to the usual spots—the , —to lose the weight they’ve gained during the pandemic, but Chopra believes that more will seek out experiences that relate to spirituality instead. “Of course people want to reinvent their bodies and resurrect their souls,” Chopra says. “But they’re looking for a reconnection to existence.”, “In the future we’ll see travel combine wellness with exploring nature in all its amazing diversity: birdwatching, walking through rainforests, connecting with the , , spiritual sites like Bali,” he says. “You’re going to see an influx of wellness travel for more than one reason.”, All this relates to holistic mental health and building mental resiliency, Chopra says. In the last year, he says, the people who’ve found acceptance and opportunity—rather than feelings of grief and loss—were divided by their “awareness and interest in fundamental reality or spirituality.”, Experiences that connect us to nature, that assert our place in the world, and link us to others, he adds, are what make us mentally fit, helping us become accepting of challenges and able to grow in our personal and professional lives.  , Group travel amid a pandemic? Chopra’s sold-out retreats, at Civana and elsewhere, illustrate that there’s an appetite for it—one that will likely grow in step with vaccinations and the rest of the travel industry., Travelers are not just looking to shrink they're waistlines, either. They’re looking to engage holistically with the world around them. That explains why some of the ideas that took shape in 2020—greater awareness for , and the positive environmental impacts of , , an urgency around , , the inequities of global health care—are being incorporated into the way we think and talk about wellness. “What we need now is collective conversation,” Chopra says. “This pandemic has given us an opportunity to create a more peaceful, healthy, and joyful world, but we have to rethink everything.”, The best way for that to happen, he argues, is through the kind of intentional human connection that happens in intimate group settings, removed from the stresses and anxieties of our day-to-day. The retreats at Civana include Ayurvedic spa treatments as well as health consultations, meditation classes, and “whole health education" classes; another, at the , in Mexico, helps participants “find themselves” with the help of Pranayama breathwork and Chakra toning., “When people are in contact with each other,” Chopra says, “it influences and strengthens our limbic, or emotional, brain.” Examples of that include “real physical contact like that of a mother and baby, hugs, embraces, and even direct eye contact,” he adds., Exercising your limbic system—a set of brain structures that includes your hypothalamus, frontal lobe, and hippocampus, all responsible for regulating memory, emotion, and behavior—comes with many benefits. “When your limbic system feels disconnected from others you feel depressed,” he says. “And if you feel connected with societies and communities, there is something that happens called limbic resonance, which decreases inflammation and anxiety.”, None of this, he explains, can be accomplished over Zoom. “It’s like trying to eat a meal by eating the menu,” he says. “The menu gives you an idea what it tastes like, but you need to be given the actual meal.”, Each trip you take doesn’t need to be built around spa services and meditation classes, but Chopra encourages travelers to prioritize places that reduce their existing anxieties rather than add to them. “Every vacation needs to be a restoration of the spirit,” he says. , That means a repudiation of overly commercial destinations, which lead people to “end up even more burnt out than when they left.” If he were to build a spiritual bucket list, the places on it would be , , Indonesia, and the islands of the South Pacific. These are the types of places, he says, that “don’t steal your attention to a consumer product or service. They invite your attention because you fall in love with the experience itself.” (Most of these remain closed to a majority of international travelers, so plan well ahead.), It’s not just that these destinations are more focused on shrines than shopping. They’re also places to slow down, intentionally focus your senses, and restore , . “When is the last time you listened to a song and wondered when it would end, or read a poem and wondered when it would finish?” Chopra asks. “That’s our attention span now. We read emails and speak to people and gobble sandwiches at the same time. We’re addicted to technology.”, Luckily, it’s possible to find ,  in your own backyard, whether you live in the , or in, . , But these days, the anxieties around travel are greater and more complicated than ever before, as people navigate vaccination requirements, Covid caseloads, border policies, and , ., For that, Chopra turns to a tried-and-true mantra—one that he’s told his children daily throughout their lives. Find your , , he says, employing the Sanskrit word for “freedom” or “liberation.”, “Make today more uncertain than yesterday,” he continues. “Once you live with uncertainty, nothing ever goes wrong.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Nikki Ekstein. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 2:12 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Director Chloe Zhao Nomadland China [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: ‘Nomadland’ Director Chloe Zhao Now Needs to Win Over China. Short_description: Chloe Zhao just became the first Chinese and Asian woman to win an Oscar for best director.. Description: Chloe Zhao just became the first Chinese and Asian woman to win an Oscar for best director. Some movie buffs are now pondering if the prestigious award will help her smooth Beijing’s feathers ruffled by controversial comments she made almost a decade ago., The screening of her critically acclaimed film “, ,” which was originally scheduled for a theatrical release in China on April 23, is in limbo. The reason for the cold shoulder is attributed to a 2013 interview in which Zhao, 39, is said to have described her home country as “a place where there are lies everywhere.” State-backed , , in a commentary last month, said she needs to face the consequences, but also sounded conciliatory by arguing against a ban., At the awards ceremony on Sunday in Los Angeles, Zhao alluded to her Chinese and Confucian roots that kept her “going when things get hard” and for her belief that “people at birth are inherently good.”, “This is for anyone who has the faith and the courage to hold on to the goodness in themselves, and to hold on to the goodness in each other,” she said., Born in Beijing, Zhao is the biggest name in entertainment to have emerged out of mainland China, after director Zhang Yimou and actresses Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi. Her “Nomadland,” a quintessentially American film about people living in camper vans chasing seasonal jobs from state to state, has already received many other awards including the Golden Globe for best drama film and director, and the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice Film Festival., The top Hollywood honor could soften Beijing’s stance, said Stanley Rosen, a China politics and film specialist at the University of Southern California. The country has tried “so desperately to show that it can nurture creative talent under its authoritarian system,” he said, adding the government also expects Zhao to clarify her remarks. She hasn’t commented on the controversy yet, at least not in public., The uncertainty surrounding the much-acclaimed film’s screening in the world’s biggest movie market is the latest example of the difficulties businesses face in China. As China clashes with the West, its increasing sensitivity to perceived slights and criticisms is forcing companies to walk a fine line. Those who ran afoul earlier include the National Basketball Association over a deleted tweet on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, and giants such as Hennes & Mauritz AB and Nike Inc. over reported forced labor in the Xinjiang region., For Walt Disney Co.’s Searchlight Pictures -- the distributor of “Nomadland” -- China is a critical market to boost the movie’s worldwide ticket sales, estimated by Box Office Mojo at $5.5 million since its January U.S. release. With cinemas fully open and operating unlike many parts of the world, the Asian country’s box-office receipts are set for another record year: ticketing platform Maoyan Entertainment estimated collections of 20.3 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) as of April 26., Zhao also directed Marvel Studios’ “, ,” a big-budget superhero movie expected to be released in the U.S. in November, boosting the stakes of her acceptance in China. These tentpole films that cost hundreds of millions to make “need the Chinese market” where she will be required to actively promote it, said Rosen., “It’s super unfortunate considering Zhao’s tremendous film making expertise, but her China problem will need fixing before studios consider her for global franchises again,” said Chris Fenton, an American film producer and trustee of the U.S.-Asia Institute., The buzz around Zhao, whose Chinese name is Zhao Ting, started when she became the first Asian woman to win the Golden Globe for best director at the end of February and shot into the international limelight. She was lauded by state media as “the pride of China,” and her fame spread across the country overnight. Once the old comments surfaced, the accolades soon turned into insults on social media., “Double-faced American dog Zhao Ting, never come back to China,” a Weibo user who goes by the name “yiyicherry” said on March 10. “We resolutely boycott the movie Eternals. Stay in your American homeland with no lies and never come back.”, China’s censors quickly moved in, with social media platform Weibo temporarily removing some hashtags related to the film including #Nomadland. Douban, a major Chinese film review platform, removed all promotional posters of the movie., “Such fury and change in attitudes are normal,” Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of Global Times, wrote on March 8. “You reap what you sow, and what happens now is the cost she needs to bear.” He also added the country “should be able to tolerate divergences” and Chinese people should be allowed to make their own judgment on Zhao and her films., Zhao was born in 1982. Her father was a top executive at one of China’s largest state-owned companies, Shougang Group Co. He later got into property development and equity investment, according to a New York Magazine interview with Zhao in February. Her step mother, Song Dandan, is a famous comic actress in China., At the age of 14, Zhao went to a boarding school in the U.K. In 2000, she moved to Los Angeles to finish high school before studying political science at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. She then attended film school at New York University, according to the magazine interview., Her first film, “Songs My Brothers Taught Me” in 2015, is about a Lakota Sioux Native American teenager’s dilemma whether he should leave his younger sister and home for a new life in Los Angeles. The movie was screened the same year at Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival. Her next feature, “The Rider” in 2017, about the life of a rodeo rider, was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for distribution from Cannes and made into Barack Obama’s list of favorite movies in 2018., Ticketing platforms Maoyan and Taopiaopiao still don’t show any information on a new release date for “Nomadland.” Disney declined to comment while its China distributor, the National Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas, didn’t respond to requests for comment., “As in many other areas, there’s a basic contradiction between wanting to claim credit for someone born in Beijing who has succeeded in the West in a creative field and wanting to control the message about how great and successful China is,” said University of Southern California’s Rosen. “I think so long as her ‘crime’ is not extreme or continuing, she should be able to recover in China.”, When authorities last month instructed local media to avoid live telecasts of the Oscars so they could filter out politically charged moments, they likely also had this one in mind: “Do Not Split,” directed by Norwegian journalist Anders Hammer, about the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong., Neither Sunday’s Oscar ceremony nor Zhao’s win was trending on Chinese social media, though there was some buzz among individual Weibo users. “Why can’t the news of Zhao Ting getting best director for Oscars become trending and why haven’t media reported about it?” one asked. , Despite all the negative comments and criticism targeted at Zhao, “Nomadland” -- a movie that has nothing to do with China or any of its political red lines such as Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong or Taiwan -- still has many fans in China eagerly waiting to watch it., ”There’s nothing sadder than to hear Nomadland has been pulled,” a Weibo user under the name NNNatural wrote on April 23. “Kicking up a storm out of it. Why politicize the arts and culture sector? She hasn’t said anything out of line. No freedom of speech.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Xiaoying Zhao. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 7:05 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Second Cities Summer [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: This Is the Summer of Second Cities. Short_description: This Is the Summer of Second Cities. Description: You’ve had your vaccines (check) and ordered new luggage (check). You’re ready for some R&R, at last., There’s just one problem: The pampering vacation you’ve been fantasizing about since Covid-19 descended has long been sold out for the season. Take the Tennessee foodie wonderland that is Blackberry Farm: “We are practically booked throughout the summer, although there might be a pocket [of availability] here or there,” says Sarah Elder Chabot, vice president of marketing., Amangiri—that minimalist reprieve in Utah that’s become a hideout for Kardashians and Jenners? Fully committed until mid-July. Meanwhile, international boltholes remain hazy. The European Union is now ,  will soon be able to visit, and yet the U.S. State Department says it plans to declare 80% of the world’s nations as , . , While the old favorites are on standby, consider looking for luxurious hotels, pampering spa services, creative restaurants, and a dose of culture in places that typically fly under the radar. Many of these “second-tier” American cities have benefited from the outflow of creative professionals from major urban hubs and are brimming with hospitality. Besides … are you ready for a bite of the Big Apple quite yet?, Clients are “still easing into going back to travel [and] looking for an option that’s not a bustling high-density city,” says New Orleans-based Amina Dearmon, luxury travel adviser and owner of , . “It gives people an opportunity to dip their toes in the water and see about getting back out there—without being in the midst of a larger tourist destination.”, Driveability is key. Anything within an eight-hour road trip is fair game for Dearmon’s clients, whose top requests have been Greenville, S.C.; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Bentonville, Ark. “We are seeing a lot more requests for domestic travel and subsequently ‘secondary’ domestic spots,” says Jenny Westermann, owner and luxury travel adviser of Sanders Travel Centre in Fort Worth. “People are going to smaller, ‘undiscovered’ locations.”, These less-visited spots often teem with artful offerings and big hotel news that can start Instagram engines. Consider Tulsa, a city with a high concentration of art deco buildings where the 1927, Bruce Goff-designed , was recently reborn with preserved Italian stonework, brass-accented rooms, and absinthe cocktails at the gold-and-marble bar, Commerce. It’s less than three miles down the road from the , , which was founded in 1949 by a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation and now holds a collection of 350,000 Native American works, made from 12,000 B.C. to today. Also nearby: the , , housed in a European-style villa once owned by oil tycoon Waite Phillips. (, 1969 illustrations of , are on view there throughout the summer.), In El Paso,, , the grande dame hotel that hosted newlyweds Elizabeth Taylor and Conrad Hilton, emerged from a total revamp in June 2020. Now in each room: matouk linens on the channel-tufted beds and Calcutta marble-sheathed bathrooms. (Upgrade to one of their 11th-floor, 755-square-foot Landmark Suites for an even more Liz Taylor-worthy experience, including Tivoli audio systems, Le Labo toiletries, and an extra powder room for getting camera-ready.) , Adding to the appeal of the second-tier city? “Smaller destinations have a more intimate feel that’s easier to explore over a long weekend,” Dearmon says. New York and L.A. have it all—but they don’t have that. Smaller cities also offer the same sumptuous luxuries that can be had on the coasts—at significantly better value., It goes without saying: Once you’ve found your ideal spot, be sure to check that spots on your intended itinerary are open amid the pandemic. And continue to take , that doctors recommend. ,   Adjacent to the Mississippi River, , (from $395) has starter rooms that are 111 square feet larger than those you’ll find at Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, with floor-to-ceiling windows, rain showers, and butler service on request. Other perks: a 12,000-square-foot spa (among the largest in the Four Seasons stable); a Topgolf Swing Suite for tee times in a simulator; and a wood-fired menu at Cinder House whipped up by James Beard award-winning chef Gerard Craft (don’t miss the grilled ribeye and Hen of the Woods mushrooms with chorizo butter).  ,   Free-range chicken with pickled sunchoke mole and ramps at, , a locavore spot that opened in 2020. Order it to go. Lafayette Park—designed in 1851 on 30 acres—is just a three-minute drive, and it makes an idyllic picnic ground.,   , is exhibiting work by Israeli-born artist , that depicts the Palace of Versailles in the middle of an imagined earthquake (on view Feb. 26-Aug. 15). Bringing kids? Tucked in a century-old warehouse downtown, , is a family favorite for its rooftop Ferris wheel.,   The gleaming tower of , (from $178) is a local go-to for Floor 2, a throwback diner designed by Barcelona’s modernist Lázaro Rosa-Violán (order the tomato fondue with charred bread). And don’t miss the spa for a heated stone Swedish massage and restorative spell in the eucalyptus steam rooms and cedar saunas.,   Scottish ocean trout with rhubarb gastrique and Anson Mills farro verde pilaf at , a restaurant opened amid the pandemic—with a wood-fired, locally built oven. Eat on-site in the restaurant’s tented courtyard, or have it wrapped up for a picnic in the 154-year-old Allegheny Commons Park, two blocks away., Andy Warhol was born “Andrew Warhola” to immigrant parents in a two-room apartment here. Ogle the world’s largest horde of his work at , , spread over five airy floors. The , also offers easy social distancing. It has 15 acres of manicured grounds, plus a 14-room conservatory for colorful lady slipper orchids and rare plant species such as the spiky Munch’s cycad fern, which predates the dinosaurs.  , Every guest room at , (from $409) feels plush, with Frette linens and rainforest showers in the marble-lined baths. But it’s worth booking a 626-square-foot Junior Suite for prime overlooks of Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River. Bonus: There are dishes on the room service menu featuring local delicacies, including a beer-battered Lake Erie walleye. Take a 20-minute walk across the Cuyahoga and you’ll find the , , whose 230,000-gallon shark exhibit has a 175-foot long “sea-tube” corridor that makes you feel like you’re underwater., Just-opened comfort food boîte , makes a mean Faroe Island salmon with black garlic soubise and whiskey-glazed onions. Its megawatt Old Hollywood-esque interiors offer socially distanced seating options; the location, within a newly developed mixed-use plaza in upscale Beachwood, offers several options for outdoor seating if you get everything to go. Bonus: Graeter’s Ice Cream, beloved for such Ohio-inspired flavors as Buckeye Blitz, is just a few doors down.,   Stroll the Ohio City district west of downtown to indulge in ultra-hip breweries and restaurants galore, including the beer garden at the all-American , —where the beer list rotates weekly—and , , a modern Mexican spot with crab and pickled-corn guacamole. Then pop over to Hingetown, a subsection of Ohio City known for its enormous and plentiful murals, featuring everything from Prince to “Ohio hieroglyphics” and pizza. , Greenville’s boutique hotel scene has room to grow. Leading the charge is the , (from $249), which opened in April with 196 simple rooms near Falls Park on the Reedy, a formerly blighted strip used by 19th century yarn and gingham textile mills that’s now a lush 32-acre reprieve with a suspension bridge lofted over a rushing creek. It’s well situated but not glamorous. More decadent is , a Tuscan-inspired oasis with a saltwater pool, 30 minutes outside town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains., French Laundry alum (and 27-year-old) Chef Drew Erickson is opening his modern American restaurant , in a newly constructed space downtown in mid-May. Your order: crispy mussels fried and tossed with saffron emulsion and marinated artichokes., Toast your trip at , , an underground speakeasy-inspired cocktail bar with tipples like the Bonnie & Clyde—guava rum, hibiscus vodka, Pasubio Vino Amaro (an aged wine from the Dolomites), mango, and spicy honey. Or go straight to the source with a tour at , , where South Carolina-grown grains are transformed into Old Money single batch whiskey, Heirloom Rye vodka, and more. Yes, they’re both indoors, but they offer lots of personal space—and a refreshing reminder of what life was like pre-2020., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Kathryn O'Shea-Evans. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 10:54 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to India Suspends Cricket League Covid Positive Players [/INST] Pursuits news. Title: India Suspends Cricket League as Players Test Covid Positive. Short_description: BCCI, in an emergency meeting, decided to defer the Indian Premier League 2021 season.. Description: India’s cricketing regulator suspended the Indian Premier League after multiple players contracted Covid-19, bringing a temporary halt to a tournament that has divided the nation on whether it was appropriate to play sport as thousands of citizens die each day., The Board of Control for Cricket in India, in an emergency meeting, decided to defer the Indian Premier League 2021 season, according to an emailed statement. The BCCI will help arrange for the “secure and safe passage” of all the participants in IPL, according to the statement., The Indian Premier League, a franchise-based tournament featuring players from around the world had been functioning in a so-called bio-bubble, which kept away crowds and was meant to protect players from infection., However, the tournament has attracted critics who called it insensitive to conduct the tournament amid a dire health situation in the country. Several international players decided to return to their home countries earlier in the tournament, while some Indian players declined to participate in the current season to focus on supporting relatives amid a virulent second wave., The suspension of the tournament also casts doubt on when and how players from Australia will be able to return home, after the country , over the weekend that nation’s citizens in India who try to return home would be liable for five years in prison and fines of about $50,000. There are 14 Australian players , in India while others are also part of the support staff or commentary teams for the tournament., “Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association respect the decision of the Australian Government to pause travel from India until at least May 15 and will not seek exemptions,” the two sporting associations said in an emailed statement, adding that Cricket Australia is in touch with the BCCI as it works through plans for safe accommodation and repatriation of Australians., Shares of Sun TV Ltd., owner of the Hyderabad franchise of the Indian Premier League declined as much as 3.4% after news of the tournament suspension. Other companies that own teams including Reliance Industries Ltd., India Cements Ltd., and United Spirits Ltd. also fell briefly, but most pared losses., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: P R Sanjai &. Date Created: 04 May 2021, 1:51 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Precious Metal Palladium [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: How Palladium Became a Really, Really Precious Metal. Short_description: How Palladium Became a Really, Really Precious Metal. Description: Palladium is the most valuable of the four major precious metals, with an acute shortage driving prices to records in recent years. A key component in pollution-control devices for cars and trucks, the metal’s price has been on a tear, rising more than sixfold since early 2016, an increase that’s lifted it above the price of gold., It’s a lustrous white material, one of the six platinum-group metals (along with ruthenium, rhodium, osmium, iridium and platinum itself). About 85% of palladium ends up in catalytic converters in car exhausts, where it helps turn toxic pollutants into less-harmful carbon dioxide and water vapor. It is also used in electronics, dentistry and jewelry. The metal is mined primarily in Russia and South Africa, and mostly extracted as a secondary product from operations that are focused on other metals, such as platinum or nickel., Supply has lagged demand for almost a decade. Usage is increasing as governments, especially China’s, tighten regulations to crack down on pollution from vehicles, forcing automakers to increase the amount of precious metal they consume. In Europe, consumers are buying fewer diesel cars, which mostly depend on platinum, and choosing gasoline-powered vehicles, which use palladium, following revelations that makers of diesel cars cheated on emissions tests and as , intensified., Palladium’s status as a byproduct means producers aren’t quick to respond to price changes. The coronavirus and resulting disruptions at mine operations also reduced production, while flooding at Arctic mines in February only exacerbated supply concerns. As a result, output is projected to fall short of demand for a 10th straight year in 2021. That’s helped drive prices to successive records. While some obscure metals like rhodium are still more valuable, palladium has mainly traded above gold since 2019., While Russia’s MMC Norilsk Nickel PJSC is the biggest palladium producer, the rally is also good news for South Africa’s platinum miners, who dig it up alongside their primary metal. On the other hand, carmakers are having to pay more for the metal and may eventually pass the increase on to consumers., Yes, and not just palladium. Precious metals used in small quantities by the auto industry have a history of price spikes when demand outstrips supply. In the decade following 1998, platinum soared more than 500% as a shortage caught the attention of speculative buyers. Rhodium, which rallied more than 4,000% over a similar period before carmakers found ways to use less, again climbed to a record in March 2021. Palladium itself jumped ninefold from its lows in 1996 to a peak in 2001 as users worried Russian sales would slow., Substituting cheaper platinum appears to be gathering pace, according to some analysts, with an impact on palladium demand expected in the coming years. BASF SE , a new technology for gasoline cars that substitutes some of the palladium with platinum. Research shows technological advances are needed before platinum can match the performance of existing palladium-based autocatalysts, according to Johnson Matthey Plc, which makes the devices. The company indicated in February that substitution was having a limited impact on PGM demand. And the likes of , are more focused on electrification and batteries than a metal that represents a relatively small part of costs., Electric cars don’t burn fuel, don’t have exhaust pipes and don’t use palladium. Still, the , of the majority of the world’s automotive fleet will take years. In the meantime, palladium use in hybrid vehicles is also a growing source of demand., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Ranjeetha Pakiam &. Date Created: 23 Apr 2021, 4:20 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New Interest psychedelic Big 1960 [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: Why Psychedelics, Big in the 1960s, Are Drawing New Interest Now. Short_description: Why Psychedelics, Big in the 1960s, Are Drawing New Interest Now. Description: People have been blowing their minds with hallucinatory substances for millennia -- at least since the ancient Greeks drank a , thought to contain a barley fungus, ergot, in one of their sacred rituals. Today, many researchers are convinced that trippers are onto something good -- that the alteration of consciousness induced by psychedelics can be a tonic for mental health. Though these substances are largely outlawed, , betting on legal changes are seeking to develop treatments based on them for illnesses like depression and anxiety. Not everyone is sold on the idea, and there are risks that come from manipulating the brain’s chemistry., They are a subset of mind-altering drugs distinguished, in the words of researcher , , by their ability to induce “states of altered perception, thought and feeling that are not experienced otherwise except in dreams or at times of religious exaltation.” Those with a history of use for spiritual purposes are called “entheogens,” from , meaning “to generate,” and “God within.” Psilocybin or “magic” mushrooms were used in , and , prehistoric Europe. Ayahuasca is a brew of vines and shrubs native to the Amazon basin, while peyote is a small cactus that grows in the U.S. southwest and northern Mexico. LSD, which stands for lysergic acid diethylamide, is synthesized from a chemical present in ergot. These so-called classic psychedelics , the party drugs ketamine and , (also known as ecstasy or Molly), nor the herb, , which is common in southern Mexico and Central America, nor ibogaine, which is extracted from the root of the iboga tree native to Africa; these are sometimes referred to as hallucinogens but have different mechanisms of action on the brain. Regardless, they are all being talked about as a new scientific and investment frontier., Researchers in the 1950s and 1960s produced, on the use of LSD and psilocybin as therapeutic drugs, including studies showing improvements in patients with various mental disorders. But when the substances became associated with the counterculture movement of the time, they were strictly regulated in most countries, complicating research. Still, some scientists persisted, amid growing interest in alternatives to the pharmaceutical drugs that have so far been used to treat mental health disorders. In recent years, researchers produced , on the promise of psychedelics to relieve emotional suffering in people nearing death followed by a growing body of , the substances can help with depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction and anxiety. One theory is that by inducing an eroded sense of ego and feelings of universal connectedness, psychedelics can produce a shift in perspective that’s less fixated on the individual’s struggles and more appreciative of life., In many proposed therapeutic uses, people have a series of trips overseen by a clinician or guide of some sort. Ayahuasca tourism, with shamans leading psychedelic ceremonies, has become , in the Amazon. So-called , involves ingesting, over an extended period of time, amounts so small there’s little or no perception of an altered state. There’s lots of anecdotal reporting of people using this practice to improve their , but little scientific research., Mostly no, with exceptions. A , requires its , to prohibit the use of LSD, psilocybin, mescaline (the hallucinogenic compound in peyote) and dimethyltryptamine (or DMT, the agent in ayahuasca). However, scientific and limited medical uses are exempted, and countries can, and do, make exceptions for indigenous, wild plants that contain psychotropic substances and are traditionally used in rites. Ayahuasca is , in such contexts in Brazil, the U.S., Canada and Peru. In the U.S., , are outlawed under federal law, but the states of Oregon and a , have decriminalized them, making arrests for possession the lowest priority for police. Washington D.C. , plants containing DMT, mescaline and ibogaine, and , psilocybin mushrooms for therapeutic use in , . A loophole in the law in the Netherlands permits psilocybin truffles, the mushroom’s root-like filaments. Many psychedelic users continue to rely on a robust black market, often making purchases on the so-called dark web., Psychedelics can produce intense, confusing trips, which is one reason having a guide can be beneficial. Ayahuasca famously provokes vomiting and diarrhea. Drugs purchased on the black market may be tainted or come in unpredictable doses. Classic psychedelics aren’t associated with fatal overdoses, but they can impair the judgment of users, leading to deaths. Although it happens rarely, some users have recurrent hallucinations, called flashbacks, long after taking a psychedelic. Classic psychedelics , . Research into long-term effects is just getting started, but a , have found either no association between lifetime use and rates of mental health problems, or an , between the two. But there have been rare reports of use triggering , , especially among people with a family history of serious mental illness., A surge of startups are experimenting with different ways to profit from psychedelics, offering clinics or , , formulating novel molecules that behave in ways similar to classic psychedelics, and synthesizing plant-based substances, perhaps to create more predictable or side-effect-free trips. Venture capitalist Peter Thiel is backing a German startup, Atai Life Sciences AG, that acquires biotech companies, most of them developing , . Shares of more than two dozen psychedelics companies trade on the Canadian Stock Exchange, and there’s a related exchange-traded fund, the Horizons Psychedelic Stock Index., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Tiffany Kary. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 9:31 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to 51st State Washington D.C. [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: Washington, D.C., as the 51st State? What to Know. Short_description: Washington, D.C., as the 51st State? What to Know. Description: The U.S. capital is home to more than 700,000 people -- bigger than the population of Wyoming or Vermont. It pays more federal taxes per capita than any state. But Washington, D.C., isn’t a state, which means (among other things) that it doesn’t have a vote in Congress. A decades-long movement to make D.C. the 51st state may have its best chance now, with Democrats in charge on Capitol Hill and the White House. Though the House , statehood legislation on a party-line vote on April 22, Republican opposition to creating what would be a reliably Democratic new state means it probably will remain just an idea., The , directed that the seat of U.S. government be a “District (not exceeding ten miles square)” over which Congress would “exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever.” The point of a special district, , James Madison, was to prevent any particular state from holding too much power as a result of playing host to the national government. The capital was , from Philadelphia to what was then called Washington City in 1800. Today, the 20th-largest city in the U.S. is interchangeably known as Washington, D.C., and the District of Columbia., Thanks to a , approved by Congress, D.C. residents now elect a local government consisting of a mayor and council, but the laws they pass are subject to congressional review and can be overturned. Congress also has blocked the district’s use of funds to regulate legalized marijuana. The , , ratified in 1961, gave Washington its first-ever say in presidential elections, though it ensures that no matter how its population grows, D.C. can’t have more , than the least populous state (currently, three). The district is represented in the House by one delegate -- currently Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat -- who can introduce bills, vote on committees and speak on the floor but can’t vote on the final passage of legislation. The district has no representation in the Senate., Norton, as D.C.’s sole voice on Capitol Hill, has introduced statehood legislation in every Congress since 1992. The latest is a bill known as , , which passed the House with only Democratic support and is backed as well by President Joe Biden and by , including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP. Statehood advocates note that the U.S. is the only democracy that denies voting rights in the national legislature to the residents of its capital. The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol , , since district leaders lacked the authority to mobilize National Guard troops, as state governors can., Should it ever get that far, the 51st state couldn’t be called Washington, since that’s already the name of the state in the Pacific Northwest that spawned Starbucks Corp. and hosts Microsoft Corp. Norton’s bill proposes “State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth,” combining the names of the first U.S. president and the anti-slavery activist , ., The new state would elect two senators, increasing the membership of the Senate to 102, and one representative, bumping the House to 436. An area of about two square miles including the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Supreme Court, and other federal office buildings near the National Mall would remain a federal enclave called the Capital. Norton’s bill is silent on tweaking the American flag, but D.C. officials , a new design with 51 stars ahead of a statehood hearing in 2019., Republican lawmakers have raised a range of objections. A major one is that unlike the federal territories that have become states through congressional action, changing Washington’s status should require , . Georgia Republican Jody Hice , D.C. would be the only state without an airport, car dealership, or landfill. (, .) Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas , Wyoming, with a smaller population than D.C., is more deserving of statehood because it’s a “well-rounded, working-class state.” The biggest fear among Republicans might be political, since statehood would surely increase the number of Democrats in Congress. Biden won , in the district in 2020. More than 76% of the district’s voters were , as of March 2021, compared to less than 6% Republicans., There was some movement toward bipartisanship in 2009 when the Senate passed legislation giving D.C. one House representative with voting powers, offset by the addition of a seat in heavily Republican Utah, raising the number of lawmakers in the House to 437. More than 60 senators, including six Republicans, voted in support at the time, but the bill was never taken up in the House., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Michael Smallberg. Date Created: 22 Apr 2021, 9:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Shadow Banks investor fear Mexico [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: Why Mexico’s Shadow Banks Are Raising Investor Fears. Short_description: Why Mexico’s Shadow Banks Are Raising Investor Fears. Description: Spooky things can come out of the shadows, and shadow banks, as non-bank lenders are called, have been a source of unpleasant surprises for markets across the globe over the years. Now shadow banks in Mexico, where they have boomed recently, are giving investors the willies after two of the largest of them announced sharp revisions to their financial statements. Bonds for a range of lenders plummeted on fears of what else might be lurking in the sector -- fears compounded by the deep cuts made to Mexico’s financial regulator last year amid the stresses created by the pandemic., Companies including Alpha Holding SA, Credito Real SAB de CV, Financiera Independencia SAB de CV, Unifin Financiera SAB de CV, Operadora de Servicios Mega SA and Mexarrend SAPI de CV, saw their bonds fall sharply in April after Alpha and Credito Real revised annual financial statements., Alpha Holding -- better known as AlphaCredit -- had the first disclosure, saying in a statement it had found an error in its derivatives accounting. The discovery meant the majority of 4.1 billion pesos ($206 million) previously reported as other assets and accounts receivable could be impaired. Just days later, Credito Real said it would revise its 2020 financial statement, showing a portfolio of non-performing loans that was 82% greater than previously disclosed., No other non-bank lender in Mexico has reported a significant revision to their financial statements. Still, debt sold by all the companies is under pressure as contagion fears ripple through the bond market., Non-bank lending has exploded in Latin America’s second largest economy in recent years. Total non-bank lending for consumer credit, mortgages and company financing has , the formal banking sector, rising to 6.9 trillion pesos ($341 billion) versus 5.2 trillion pesos ($257 billion) for banks in the fourth quarter of last year, according to central bank data. The industry, which typically lends in smaller amounts to lower-income people, has been hard hit by the pandemic, compounding fears that issues in Mexico’s shadow banks could spill over into the broader financial system at a precarious time for the country’s economy., Mexico’s Comision Nacional Bancaria de Valores (CNBV) saw its budget slashed in President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s austerity push and the watchdog’s power may be waning. In October, the CNBV was , for missing years of related-party loans above regulatory limits made by Banco Ahorro Famsa SA. Regulators eventually pulled the lender’s banking license and the company entered bankruptcy protection, first in the U.S. and then in Mexico. The upshot is that while the CNBV does oversee the non-bank lending sector, the companies have a much lower regulatory burden than deposit-taking banks, and it’s not clear how closely regulators have been watching., Nobody is sure what else regulators might have missed. Stifel strategist Alexis Panton says there’s concern that companies, particularly Credito Real, could be underreporting delinquencies. Concerns about the company have been rising since a sharp drop in revenue at the start of 2020. He says the company’s latest balance sheet change was because of just one large loan that wasn’t accounted for properly, and similar problems could exist. “Suspicions are growing that something might be amiss here,” he wrote in an April 14 note. Barclays analyst Gilberto Garcia said in a note that Credito Real management wouldn’t confirm how many big loans are on its books. He downgraded the stock to underweight. LM Capital Group co-founder Luis Maizel, who holds Credito Real bonds, described shadow banks as having opened “Pandora’s box” and said he’ll stay away from the sector until there’s more clarity., Credito Real has sought to downplay the issue. In an earnings call, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ochoa said he expects the non-performing loan ratio to fall to 3% from 3.9% by the end of the year, and that there’s no systemic issue. Financiera Independencia Chief Financial Officer Enrique Brockmann said in an interview that the company has a robust auditing process and doesn’t see any issues like those found of AlphaCredit and Credito Real. While Brockmann acknowledged Financiera Independencia bonds have been hit by contagion, he said the company remains in a solid position. AlphaCredit, Unifin and Mexarrend representatives declined to comment., Apart from AlphaCredit, the other four major non-bank lenders are trading above 87 cents on the dollar, despite a selloff. Some have even seen small rebounds. The main driver is investors thinking that the bonds could be a good bet if there are no further accounting issues, particularly for companies that haven’t revised financial statements. And the Mexican economy is recovering after the worst contraction in almost a century, and some investors may be figuring that post-pandemic shadow bank bonds could be worth the risk., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Justin Villamil. Date Created: 03 May 2021, 8:11 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Record Pace China bond [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: Why China's Bonds Are Defaulting at a Record Pace. Short_description: Why China's Bonds Are Defaulting at a Record Pace. Description: (Bloomberg) -- Chinese companies are facing a reality check after years of ramping up debt. A deleveraging campaign that President Xi Jinping began in 2016 to curb risks in the nation’s financial markets has cracked down on , and tightened rules on asset management. As a result, firms are having a tougher time raising new funds to repay existing debt, leading to a record number of bond defaults and government moves to try to alleviate the liquidity crunch. The worsening economic climate isn’t helping., It’s big, with the potential to worsen. More than 12 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) of local note defaults took place in the first two months of 2019, including four private and 12 public offerings, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. The tally last year was a record 120 billion yuan, more than quadruple the 2017 amount. Failures from private sector firms, which accounted for more than 90 percent of total defaults last year, are still the trend. Some 4.8 trillion yuan of bonds will mature in the final 10 months of 2019. To make things worse, many companies may be living on borrowed time: Cash flow deficit for non-financial firms is at the highest level in six years., It’s that liquidity crunch, mainly. Investors and banks, which historically have favored state-backed borrowers, are still reluctant to extend credit to smaller, private companies. Although yields for AA- rated firms, considered junk level in China, have fallen from a 3 1/2-year high in September, they are still well above the three-year average, illustrating the risk aversion., The last time they peaked, in 2016, most of the failures were in industries with excess capacity including coal and steel. This time, a wide range are seeing delinquencies. Oil firm CEFC Shanghai International Group Ltd. and coal miner Wintime Energy Co. were the biggest defaulters in 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This year, China Minsheng Investment Group Corp., a conglomerate with a wide range of assets including property, aviation and health care, came under , from its $34 billion debt pile. It missed payment on a 3 billion yuan note due Jan. 29 before making good on it about two weeks later., Chinese companies have been piling on debt for at least a decade, ever since the leadership team under Xi’s predecessor went on a borrowing binge in response to the global financial crisis. That kept China’s economy chugging but at a cost. The corporate debt to GDP ratio surged to a record 160 percent at the end of 2017, from 101 percent 10 years earlier. Xi and his lieutenants , in 2016 to rein in excessive corporate borrowing and financial market leverage in an effort to reduce the risk to the economy. The government issued , on how money is to be loaned and managed, with a particular goal of curbing China’s $10 trillion ecosystem of unregulated lending known as , ., They’ve spurred investors to reassess risks with Chinese firms amid signs that authorities are more comfortable with letting borrowers renege on payments both in the domestic market and offshore. Investors have grown more skeptical about the quality of Chinese issuers’ , after some defaulters, such as Kangde Xin Composite Material Group Co. and Reward Science and Technology Industry Group Co., had earlier reported a sizable amount of cash on their balance sheets., Yes, while stopping short (so far) of an outright bailout. Since July last year, officials have injected liquidity into the financial markets through measures such as cutting banks’ required reserve ratios. They’ve also , to negotiate with beleaguered borrowers. Regulators have , banks cash and asked them to lend more to help small firms as recently as February. The challenge will be encouraging market-driven efforts to resolve corporate debt issues without reinforcing the old image of a state-dominated financial system., In the current process, troubled companies get up to nine months from when the court accepts a bankruptcy reorganization filing to agree on a restructuring plan with all parties. If they fail they can be declared bankrupt, triggering liquidation. Concerns exist about the government’s , in major restructuring cases and the reluctance of banks to pursue court-supervised plans because they don’t want to bear losses. In practice, the process can be much longer and foreign investors have had limited enforcement rights on some state-owned assets, according to Pacific Investment Management Co., ©2019 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Bloomberg News. Date Created: 21 Feb 2019, 2:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Independence Vote Scotland road Rocky [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: Why Scotland’s Road to an Independence Vote Is Rocky. Short_description: Scottish independence is back on the agenda just seven years after a referendum that saw it defeated by 55% to 45%.. Description: Scottish independence is back on the agenda just seven years after a , that saw it defeated by 55% to 45%. It’s been revived by the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union in 2016 and its acrimonious departure in 2020. While England favored pulling out, Scotland , overwhelmingly to stay, and independence could open the door to readmission. Beyond Brexit, Scotland has its own distinctive culture and a nationalist tradition that has flourished despite the 1707 , between the two countries. Now that three-century-old alliance is under threat., Scotland is holding an election on May 6 that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has described as the most important in her country’s history. The vote, part of wider local elections across the U.K., could have consequences that reach far beyond the nation of 5.5 million people if her pro-independence Scottish National Party succeeds in winning a majority. While some powers in areas such as education and health were devolved to Scotland when the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1999, that has not quelled demands for fuller autonomy. Polls show Scotland’s future as part of the union is the top priority among Scottish voters when deciding which party to vote for, and the election is being set up as a de facto vote on independence., Huge. Scotland voted by 62% to 38% to remain in the EU in 2016. Only two years earlier, claims that Scotland would have to apply to rejoin the EU if it left the U.K. undermined nationalist momentum. Now Brexit has allowed Sturgeon to argue that there’s been a fundamental change in circumstances. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s delivery of a “hard Brexit” -- taking Britain out of the EU’s single market –- has fueled grievances, hitting Scotland’s fishing industry particularly hard, while the U.K.’s , , which allows the British government to override the Edinburgh parliament, has led to accusations of a powergrab. Johnson’s bumbling, upper-class personality has made him unpopular among Scots, who identify more readily with Sturgeon’s directness. Leaked comments by Johnson, who called devolution “a disaster,” have only reinforced those perceptions., Sturgeon’s SNP is likely to be the largest party in the 129-seat parliament after the election, but whether it will win an outright majority is still uncertain. Opinion polls by Ipsos MORI and Opinium have suggested the SNP could secure even more than the 69 , it won in 2011, which Sturgeon would claim is the clear mandate she needs for a second referendum. But perhaps the biggest threat is from other pro-independence parties rather than those wanting to shore up the union. Her one-time mentor and now political rival Alex Salmond is leading the newly formed Alba party in an attempt to take advantage of Scotland’s mixed electoral system, intended to make the Edinburgh parliament more representative. Then there’s the Green Party, which polls show is enjoying a jump in support., Each person gets two votes on polling day, one for their local constituency lawmaker and one for a party slate in the larger region in which they live. There are 73 , and a further 56 elected on the regional list. Results for the regions are weighted in favor of parties that are less successful at constituency level, in a bid to ensure fairer representation of minority interests. That’s a system that makes it harder for the SNP, or any successful constituency party, to gain an overall majority in parliament., Alba is only standing on the regional list. Salmond claims it’s a way of increasing support for a pro-independence “super-majority,” but there’s a risk it could damage the SNP’s chances of winning an outright majority. The Greens, which supported the last minority SNP government, could be the main beneficiary if pro-independence voters use their list vote tactically, according to Emily Gray, managing director of Ipsos MORI Scotland. On independence, polls show the outcome of a referendum right now would be too close to call., The last referendum in 2014 was only held after former Prime Minister David Cameron transferred the necessary powers to Edinburgh, allowing Scots to vote in a legally watertight referendum. Johnson has so far refused to consider that, arguing that the vote then was “once in a generation.” He’s said he won’t grant a second vote now, irrespective of the outcome of May’s election, arguing that the focus should be on recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Sturgeon wants a referendum in the early part of the next parliamentary session, if the pandemic permits., The U.K. government says no and Sturgeon said she’s committed to a legal one. The Scottish leader seems determined not to follow the route taken by Catalan separatists, who held an illegal vote on leaving Spain in 2017. That said, Sturgeon’s SNP appears ready to force the issue if Johnson keeps saying no. Her government has published draft legislation outlining a path to another referendum, and some in her party are suggesting Scotland could hold an advisory vote and force the U.K. to challenge it in court., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Alastair Reed. Date Created: 01 May 2021, 9:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Eyes Pacts Anger China Aukus Quad [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: Why the Aukus, Quad and Five Eyes Pacts Anger China. Short_description: Why the Aukus, Quad and Five Eyes Pacts Anger China. Description: The , of a new defense agreement comprising the U.S., U.K. and Australia, christened Aukus, is to maintain a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” with nuclear-powered submarines potentially on patrol. But you can add it to the list of arrangements among democracies attempting to counter China’s growing power. The so-called Quad partnership, created after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean , , and even the World War II-era “Five Eyes” spy alliance now seem overwhelmingly focused on Beijing. The growing web has provoked fury from Beijing and worries in some Asian states that the new groupings could fuel a dangerous arms race in the region., A new security , that will see Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarine technology -- but not nuclear weapons -- from the U.S. and U.K. While it could take more than a decade for Australia to build its first sub, the agreement shows the U.S. seeking to form a more cohesive defense arrangement in Asia to offset China’s rapidly modernizing military. Australia has long tried to balance security ties with the U.S. and its close economic ties with China, insisting it didn’t need to pick sides. But Beijing’s barrage of punitive , following Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s push for an investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic appears to have drastically changed the strategic calculus in Canberra., Nuclear-powered vessels are vastly superior to their diesel-electric counterparts: They’re faster, can stay submerged almost indefinitely, and are bigger -- , them to carry more weapons, equipment and supplies. Given Australia’s remote location and the fact its subs may operate in waters stretching from the Indian Ocean up to Japan, these are big pluses. Until now, only six nations -- the U.S., U.K., France, China, Russia and India -- have had the technology to deploy and operate nuclear-powered subs. France was , by the Aukus deal, which came as a surprise, because Australia simultaneously canceled a $66 billion agreement it had had with Paris for conventional subs., It brings the U.S., Japan, India and Australia together in an , of democracies with shared economic and security interests that span the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Formed to coordinate tsunami relief efforts, it lay dormant for years afterward until 2017, when it was , under then-U.S. President Donald Trump as his administration sought to challenge China from every angle. Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, organized the first-ever gathering of the Quad leaders in , , at which they , to accelerate production of Covid-19 vaccines and distribute them across Asia. Although their , doesn’t mention China, the talks came amid a , of U.S. diplomacy designed to build a common approach to dealing with Beijing., It’s a decades-old , arrangement among the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It’s so good at keeping secrets that its , wasn’t publicly revealed until the mid-2000s. It isn’t clear how much intelligence is shared, but most of whistle-blower Edward Snowden’s vast 2013 dump of classified U.S. National Security Agency data, for instance, was marked FVEY, meaning it was available to other Five Eyes members. Advocates say the collaboration was used to positive effect in the Afghanistan war as well as in counter-terrorism operations in the Philippines and East Africa. Snowden attacked it as unanswerable to democratic oversight by national governments. Cracks emerged this year over China, when New Zealand , from moves to broaden the group’s remit and take positions on issues such as Beijing’s human rights record., Its rise has steadily become one of the biggest foreign policy challenges not just for the U.S., but for almost every Chinese neighbor and democracies around the world. China’s rapid military development is a particularly acute threat to neighboring countries such as India and the Philippines, which have active maritime or border disputes. But it also threatens the U.S. military presence that has underpinned Asia’s security architecture for decades. Researchers at the University of Sydney, for example, warned last year that China’s growing missile arsenal could wipe out America’s bases in Asia during the “opening hours” of any conflict. China’s global economic reach has also greatly expanded as state-owned companies buy up strategic assets such as ports around the world that could be harnessed in times of war. Its statecraft -- spearheaded by “wolf warrior” diplomats -- has also grown more aggressive, particularly throughout the Covid pandemic. , It has consistently lashed out at what it calls a “Cold War mentality,” denouncing such partnerships as anti-China cliques. Chinese officials argued that Aukus will stoke an , in the Asia-Pacific region. In their view, its members are trying not just to compete, but to , China’s rise — to throw a military net around it in vital waterways like the South China Sea and undermine the country’s economic development. Relations have been getting tenser on all sides. Biden, like Trump, has trained his energies on preventing the world’s second-largest economy from pulling ahead. Beijing also has sparred with the U.K. over , and Canada over detained citizens, while Europe has , China a “systemic rival.”, India and Japan welcomed the Aukus deal, even though they’re excluded, as a strong signal of the U.S. determination to confront China. Malaysia and Indonesia expressed deep , about the potential for sparking an arms race or aggressive action in the region, while Singapore took a more neutral stance. China ally North Korea , the Aukus pact as “undesirable and dangerous” and said the move to transfer nuclear technology to Australia underscored the need for North Korea to continue developing its arsenal of , ., In announcing Aukus on Sept. 15, Biden , that it was being formed on the 70th anniversary of the Australia, New Zealand and United States Security Treaty, a non-binding mutual defense pact designed to promote security in the Pacific. The U.S. , its obligations to New Zealand in 1986 after that country declared itself a nuclear-free zone and refused to allow nuclear-powered U.S. Navy ships to visit. New Zealand’s ties with the U.S. have since been , , although Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Australia’s new nuclear-powered submarines won’t be allowed into its territorial waters either., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Iain Marlow. Date Created: 23 Sep 2021, 2:04 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to New Global Climate Deal eye [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: For a New Global Climate Deal, All Eyes Are on COP26. Short_description: Why This Year’s COP26 UN Climate Meeting Is So Vital: QuickTake. Description: The United Nations has convened world leaders many times before to discuss climate change, dating to the 1990s. The next meeting, scheduled for November in Glasgow, may be the most important ever. U.S. President Joe Biden’s climate envoy, John Kerry, says COP26 will be , for the world to avoid climate disaster., COP stands for Conference of the Parties, and this year’s is the , . Officials from 197 countries gather in one location for a fortnight of negotiations aimed at solving the climate crisis. World leaders set the tone, then negotiators thrash out the details of a communique. COP26 was due to be held in 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. The U.K., which holds the rotating presidency along with Italy, took the lead in organizing the conference., They’re a platform for achieving consensus on cutting emissions and adapting to the , caused by rising temperatures and sea levels. A sticking point of negotiations over the years has been allowing for poor countries to develop their economies while recognizing that rich nations have grown wealthy because they were able to pollute. In 2009, the COP process suffered a major setback after leaders failed to agree on a global deal in Copenhagen. Six years later, talks were back on track, leading to the Paris Agreement -- the international effort to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels, with a “stretch target” of 1.5°C. BloombergNEF calls COP26 “the first concrete test” of the Paris accord., It’s time for signatory countries to update their initial pledges to help achieve the Paris goals. These promises are called NDCs -- , -- and most date back to 2016, when the Paris Agreement took effect. It was clear that initial commitments wouldn’t be enough, so countries agreed to come back in 2020 with “enhanced” NDCs. But many countries haven’t yet submitted their new plans, including China and India, some of the world’s biggest emitters. They have promised to do so before the meeting. Part of the problem is that rich countries haven’t delivered on their decade-old pledge to mobilize $100 billion a year to help poor countries deal with the hazards of climate change, such as storms, floods and rising sea levels. Countries such as Bangladesh and Indonesia say they can’t raise their emissions ambition without more cash from developed countries., While many European countries have increased their climate aid, the U.S. hasn’t kept pace. The Biden administration , $5.7 billion annually beginning in 2024; the European Union, by comparison, provided $24.5 billion in 2019 alone, according to the World Resources Institute. The U.S. fell behind partly because former President Donald Trump temporarily , of the Paris accord., Incoming COP26 President Alok Sharma wants to “consign coal to history,” which would be a key step toward limiting warming to 1.5C. But that’s proving difficult. An all-night meeting of Group of 20 ministers in Naples, Italy, in July failed to produce an agreement on , , the most polluting source of energy. India -- which depends heavily on coal and is the world’s third-largest emitter -- was a key holdout at the Naples meeting. Some key decisions need to be made as well on remaining details of the Paris deal related to financing, transparency, loss and damage, and help for poorer nations to build technical expertise to tackle climate change. At COP25, held in Madrid in 2019, countries , to create a global carbon-market mechanism that could allow them to generate credits from projects that reduce pollution. The idea is to allow the trade of credits, which in theory pushes funding toward places where the biggest gains can be made most cheaply. Countries will be looking to find a compromise this time to get a deal done., The U.K. government has said it’s working hard to make sure the meeting is held in person, and it’s even offering vaccinations to anyone who is accredited. But it still all depends on the scale of the pandemic. “The power of having people in a room together is , when you’re trying to negotiate from lots of different positions,” said Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the U.K. minister in charge of climate adaptation issues at COP26. During the negotiations, countries may also raise concern about vaccine equity., While the final delegate list has still to be decided, it’s likely to include a raft of world leaders including Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Activist Greta Thunberg has said she might boycott the session to protest , ., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jess Shankleman. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 6:42 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Big Pharma Vaccine IP right [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: What It Would Mean for Big Pharma If Vaccine IP Rights Are Waived. Short_description: What It Would Mean for Big Pharma if Vaccine IP Rights Are Waived. Description: A proposal at the World Trade Organization to lift intellectual property protections for makers of Covid-19 vaccines got an unexpected boost when the U.S. , May 5 that it supported the idea. It was a dramatic change of long-standing policy by the U.S., home to some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Supporters of the waiver say it will speed production of vaccines and help poor nations , in the global vaccination effort catch up. Vaccine makers and other critics of the waiver say it undermines the incentives that led to the rapid development of the vaccines and won’t have any practical effect., The WTO agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS, came into effect in 1995 and , the minimum standards that members of the organization must implement to protect intellectual property. Nations must make patents available for inventions in every field of technology, granting their owners the exclusive right to make, use and sell a product. And they must protect copyrights, trademarks and undisclosed information, including trade secrets and test data., Yes. The , of 159 WTO members that are classified as least-developed nations were given a transition period to apply the TRIPS provisions. The period ends July 1 but has already been extended several times. In any case, these members are allowed “maximum , ” in their approach to patents and clinical trial data on pharmaceutical products until at least 2033. Also, under what’s known as a , license, all governments have the right to use any patented invention and can allow someone to use a patented process without the permission of the patent owner, with the patent owner paid some form of compensation. In most cases, those licenses are only for products made for the domestic market. A 2001 , made clear that, in public health emergencies like the AIDS crisis or a pandemic, pharmaceuticals made under a compulsory license can be produced in one country and sold to another. At least 10 countries, including Mozambique, Zambia, Indonesia, Thailand and Brazil have , compulsory licenses for AIDS/HIV drugs, citing health emergencies. More controversially, Egypt in 2002 issued compulsory licenses to allow for generic manufacture of the impotence drug Viagra., In some cases, yes. Egypt’s move, for instance, prompted Viagra manufacturer Pfizer Inc. to scuttle plans for a $300 million production facility in the country. And the U.S. government at times has used , to retaliate for compulsory licenses issued for products made by American companies., The main consequence would be that countries wouldn’t have to fear such sanctions or being dragged before the WTO on allegations of trade violations. While the proposal is often short-handed to a “patent waiver,” the real impact would be on the protections normally afforded to the technical know-how related to the vaccines -- things like the specific cell lines and biologics used, and the recipe for making them. Covid-19 vaccines were developed so quickly, most have not been patented, although the platform technology used to make them may have been. Also, countries can simply decline to issue a patent., They could acquire information that their national health regulators received in confidence to assess the safety of vaccines. That data includes things like vaccine ingredients, manufacturing details and clinical trial information that can be useful in replicating a vaccine. If a vaccine maker has a facility in the country or a manufacturing partner, authorities could pressure those entities to turn over trade secrets that weren’t given to regulators. Governments could also ask other countries to obtain that information. Companies that refuse to turn over information could face various consequences. A big question is whether the U.S. and Germany, where many of the Covid-19 vaccine developers are located, would be willing to force home-grown companies to reveal their secret sauce. The U.S. has been silent on that issue, while Germany has come out against the waiver altogether. Even if governments get the information needed to replicate vaccines, it’s unclear what would happen next. Factories would have to be built or modified, and there’s already a shortage of the raw materials needed for Covid vaccines. There’s also the difficult matter of ensuring any new manufacturers produce vaccines that are as safe as the originals., On a country level, yes. Nations sometimes waive patent rights in cases of emergency, such as in times of war. The U.S. has a century-old , that gives the government the right to use any patented invention as long as the patent owner is compensated. In 2001, when , were killed after letters laced with anthrax began appearing in the U.S. mail, the government threatened to break Bayer AG’s patent on the anthrax treatment Cipro; Bayer instead ramped up production and lowered costs., The WTO is a consensus-driven organization, so all members need to be in agreement for the waiver to be implemented. Finding common ground on such a complex subject is expected to be , , and negotiations to take months. The original , by South Africa and India called for a waiver for all intellectual property enforcement related to “diagnostic kits, vaccines, medicines, personal protective equipment and ventilators,” but the U.S. announcement only mentioned vaccines., The vaccine makers say they are already working to expand manufacturing, both within their own facilities and through voluntary licensing of third parties. Those voluntary licenses would mean the drug makers have some control over who gets access to their secret information., Some commentators argue that President Joe Biden’s support for the waiver is more about politics than expanding vaccine supply. Biden has stressed that he wants the U.S. to be a better collaborator with other countries after the unapologetic “America First” policies of his predecessor Donald Trump. Biden’s administration has made clear that its support for the waiver is a one-time thing prompted by the pandemic, and shouldn’t be seen as part of a push to weaken intellectual property rights in other areas., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Susan Decker. Date Created: 07 May 2021, 2:56 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to U.S. Taxes Estates Heirs [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: How the U.S. Taxes Estates and Heirs, and What May Change. Short_description: How U.S. Taxes Estates and Heirs, and What May Change. Description: The tax levied on estates of wealthier Americans upon death brings in a relatively small amount of money -- about $13.2 billion in 2019, less than one one-hundredth of what was raised through individual income taxes ($1.7 trillion). But the estate tax fuels passions on both sides of America’s political divide at a level far in excess of the dollar figures. President Joe Biden wants to give more teeth to the tax on multimillion-dollar estates and is expected to propose raising the rate while cutting the amount that wealthy families can pass on to heirs tax-free by more than half., The tax applies to the transfer of property -- cash and securities, real estate, insurance, trusts, annuities and business interests -- at death. The vast majority of Americans , of the wealth required to trigger the tax; for those who do meet those thresholds, the tax can reach 40%. The 2017 tax overhaul that was President Donald Trump’s signature legislative achievement doubled the amount that wealthy people can pass to their heirs tax-free. In 2021, an individual can leave $11.7 million to heirs without the estate tax kicking in; for a married couple, that amount doubles. The estate tax changes in the 2017 law are set to expire at the end of 2025., In 2019, the latest year for which IRS data is available, 2,570 estates paid any tax, fewer than one out of every 1,000 people who died. The data come from estate tax returns filed in 2019, which typically correspond to 2018 deaths., He is expected to propose a significant estate tax hike to help pay for increased social spending under his forthcoming American Families Plan. As a candidate, he pledged to restore the estate tax rate and threshold , . Back then, the tax kicked in when the value of an estate surpassed $3.5 million, and top rate was 45%. Biden also , a currently allowed tax adjustment known as , , which minimizes , owed on property that’s passed to an heir., It would mean that unrealized gains on all sorts of assets would become taxable at the owner’s death, even if they are being passed along to the next generation. Currently, when people die with stocks, real estate and other assets that grew in value during their lifetimes, heirs who inherit those assets don’t have to pay capital gains tax on any of the appreciation that occurred under the previous owner. The purchase price of the assets, which is used to determine capital gains tax liability, is adjusted -- “stepped up” -- to the current market value. No taxes are paid at death, and the eventual tax bill is much lower when the heirs finally sell the assets., The Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers say it primarily benefits wealthy households. Lily Batchelder, Biden’s nominee for the top tax job at the Treasury Department, and David Kamin, deputy director of the White House’s National Economic Council, , in 2019 that said nearly 40% of the wealth of the top 1% comes from accrued and unrealized capital gains, citing data from the Federal Reserve Board. They also said the top 1% holds about half of all such unrealized gains. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the current tax break for capital gains at death will allow taxpayers to save almost $42 billion this year., Not without a fight. The estate tax is a deeply partisan issue in Congress, where both parties see it as a symbol for larger policy goals. Democrats support expanding the tax as a way to lessen the growing gap between the rich and lower and middle classes. Republicans would like nothing more than to kill what they call the “death tax,” arguing that it’s punitive and has the potential to hurt family-owned businesses, ranches and farms. Prominent Republican senators including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky have proposed , the estate tax. A group that opposes the estate tax, the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition, commissioned , that concluded eliminating the step-up in basis adjustment would reduce jobs and U.S. gross domestic product., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Allyson Versprille. Date Created: 27 Apr 2021, 8:17 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Biden taxis inheritance [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: How Biden Would ‘Step Up’ Taxes on Inheritances. Short_description: How Biden Would ‘Step Up’ Taxes on Inheritances. Description: Taxing wealth as it passes from generation to generation is an issue that stokes passions on both sides of the U.S. political divide. President Joe Biden is reinvigorating the debate with a plan to target a tax break that benefits recipients of inherited property., He , a currently allowed tax adjustment known as , . Currently, when people die with stocks, real estate and other assets that grew in value during their lifetimes, heirs who inherit those assets don’t have to pay , on any of the appreciation that occurred under the previous owner. The purchase price of the assets, which is used to determine capital gains tax liability, is adjusted -- “stepped up” -- to the current market value. No taxes are paid at death, and the eventual tax bill is much lower when the heirs finally sell the assets., It would mean that heirs would have to pay tax on unrealized gains passed on by the prior owner at death on all sorts of assets, which would amount to a massive increase in their liability. Under Biden’s plan, step up in basis would still exist but only for gains less than $1 million (or $2.5 million per couple when combined with real estate exemptions)., The Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers say it primarily benefits wealthy households. Lily Batchelder, Biden’s nominee for the top tax job at the Treasury Department, and David Kamin, deputy director of the White House’s National Economic Council, , in 2019 that said nearly 40% of the wealth of the top 1% comes from accrued and unrealized capital gains, citing data from the Federal Reserve Board. They also said the top 1% holds about half of all such unrealized gains. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the tax break for capital gains at death will allow taxpayers to save almost $42 billion this year., Democratic senators led by Chris Van Hollen of Maryland introduced a proposal in March to eliminate the step up in basis with a $1 million exemption, similar to the Biden plan. The senators said the exemption was needed to protect small family farms and businesses -- a nod to arguments often raised by opponents of taxes on estates and inheritances. Biden’s plan adds to this by proposing family-owned businesses and farms wouldn’t have to pay taxes when given to heirs who continue to run the business., According to an , by the Penn Wharton Budget Model, other aspects of the Biden plan won’t work as intended if step up in basis isn’t eliminated. Here’s the logic behind that thinking: On its own, Biden’s plan to , the capital gains tax rate on top earners would actually decrease, rather than increase, federal revenue by $33 billion over 10 years, because investors would exploit every possible loophole to avoid paying the tax. But if the boost in the capital gains rate is paired with the elimination of step up in basis, it would raise $113 billion over the same time period., Not without a fight. Groups that generally oppose the estate tax are expected to come out in full force against the plan. One such group, the Family Business Estate Tax Coalition, has already commissioned , that concluded eliminating the step up in basis adjustment would reduce jobs and U.S. gross domestic product., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Allyson Versprille. Date Created: 28 Apr 2021, 2:30 PM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Congress Minute Trump rule [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: Where Congress Stands on Undoing Trump’s Last-Minute Rules. Short_description: Killing Trump’s Rule? Congress Has an Act for That. Description: Like presidents before him, Donald Trump raced to finalize new rules before he left office in January. The U.S. Congress, using a law designed for just such occasions, is moving to repeal as many as three of those rules. But the window to repeal even more probably has closed., The , , enacted in 1996, empowers Congress to overturn rules issued by a federal agency if lawmakers decide those rules veer from the congressional legislation that spawned them. Congress can use the act to undo regulations issued during the waning days of the past administration. Success typically requires one-party control of both chambers of Congress and the presidency. For those reasons, the law generally draws attention only in the immediate months after a change of party in the White House -- which happened in January, when Democrat Joe Biden replaced Trump, a Republican., The Senate and House have both approved repealing three Trump-era rules, with Biden expected to sign the repeals into law. The rules in question relate to , , the lending practices of fintech firms and workplace discrimination claims. Three other proposed repeals have not passed the Senate or the House., Practically speaking, time has run out on Senate Democrats to use the Congressional Review Act to repeal anything beyond the three rules that have already been voted on. That’s because their window to overturn a regulation with just Democratic votes closed in late May, and from now on they’d need at least 10 Senate Republicans on board to successfully overturn a Trump regulation. But the Congressional Review Act is not the only way to overturn regulations of a previous administration. The Biden administration, without needing approval from Congress, could rewrite rules it doesn’t like. That way just takes longer., Until Trump came to office in 2017, the act had been used successfully just once. That was in 2001, when a Republican-controlled Congress passed, and Republican President George W. Bush signed, a measure overturning a Labor Department ergonomics rule issued under Bush’s Democratic predecessor, Bill Clinton. In 2017, congressional Republicans and Trump used the act to repeal 14 rules passed under Barack Obama. Democrats are being much pickier about what regulations they target, in part because the effort eats up precious floor time that Democrats would rather use to advance other priorities while they have control of Capitol Hill and the White House., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Courtney Rozen &. Date Created: 29 Apr 2021, 3:46 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to EU Climate weapon Financial Fine Print [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: Why EU Climate Weapon Is in the Financial Fine Print. Short_description: Why EU Climate Weapon Is in the Financial Fine Print: QuickTake. Description: The fight against climate change involves more than wind turbines and electric cars. A less obvious but potentially potent tool is the fine print of financial regulations. The European Union is , environmental goals in standards for banks, money managers, insurers and member states’ public spending plans, in the , of directing trillions of euros to fund a radical revision of the region’s economy. Skeptics , that some of the rules are veering too far from initial scientific proposals and could allow for “greenwashing.” There are also still fights ahead over whether natural gas and nuclear power can get green labels., The EU is aiming for a 55% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 levels, and to reach net zero emissions by 2050. As part of this effort, the EU wants to raise as much as 250 billion euros ($302 billion) using its first green bonds. But Europe needs as much as , in additional financing to reach those legally binding goals. Setting clear rules of the road in green investments is seen as a crucial part of generating the needed flow of private capital., A crucial component of what might be called a regulatory infrastructure is the development of a green finance taxonomy -- a set of categories and definitions. Sounds dry as dust, but markets require clarity and that requires a common language. In particular, that means defining what activities are considered “green” and what aren’t. That’s important for stamping out , -- what happens when companies call products or investments sustainable even if they don’t really help fight climate change., Policy makers in Brussels have announced or are working on a range of steps:, * They have released the first set of criteria for green investments, which will allow producers of rechargeable batteries, energy efficiency equipment, low-emission cars, wind and solar power plants to earn a green stamp of approval., * The European Commission has called for a significant expansion of climate reporting requirements to cover some 50,000 companies in the continent., * A new “, ” targets greenwashing and aims to tighten measures on banks and credit , so that they properly take into account the risks posed by climate change, * The bloc’s , , which will provide a voluntary framework for issuers of environmentally-friendly debt to qualify for the EU’s stamp of approval. The bloc hopes that this will set the “gold standard” globally as demand picks up and as as some issuers take advantage of loopholes in existing sets of rules., That this is an all-hands-on-deck moment in Europe, so regulators must work closely with elected politicians to achieve climate change goals. The labeling system unveiled by the bloc is , of a “re-engineering of the economy and re-engineering of the financial world,” according to Mairead McGuinness, the European Commissioner responsible for financial services. With demand for green investment opportunities at record highs, the new system could be an incentive to shift economic activity toward sustainability. And since the continent is the first to put forward such a taxonomy, it could also be used as a template for other countries to follow., The taxonomy is coming up against heavy objections from environmental and consumer groups involved in its creation. Five bodies comprising part of the EU’s platform on sustainable finance -- an advisory body for the taxonomy -- suspended their work over worries that the bloc’s rules could open the door to greenwashing. Looseness in the taxonomy could filter down into the green bond standards to be based on it, they say. Other concerns center over the inclusion of bioenergy and forestry, which many environmental groups wanted delayed as current practices are reviewed. Perhaps the biggest fights yet to come will be over the possible incorporation of natural gas and nuclear power later this year, as political horse-trading continues. While nuclear energy produces no greenhouse gases, opponents say its radioactive waste violates rules against not doing other environmental harm. By comparison, the U.K. has , from its own green bond standards., Even Greta Thunberg has weighed in on forestry in her native Sweden, , that “being referred to as the opposite of science is a clear sign that you’re doing something wrong.”, After a decade of post-crisis regulations, many firms are happy to be at the table discussing sustainable finance with authorities -- and the possible new business opportunities the green road may offer. Investors are also keen to get green labels they can trust. The European Fund and Asset Management Association says it supports the commission’s sustainability reporting standards, though it also highlighted that a lack of data is a key barrier to realizing their full potential. On the other hand, the chair of sustainable finance for UBS Group AG, Huw van Steenis, wrote that the rules are , in supporting what is only the “purest shade of green,” an argument echoed by former Bank of England governor Mark Carney., Not immediately. One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is missing data. Companies don’t necessarily report all the information that the market needs to assess the environmental aspect of a bond or a stock. Most euro-area countries are set to submit their recovery plans to Brussels, outlining how they aim to best use EU funds to both revive their economies and underpin the green transition, but some are , . And political bickering over whether to include natural gas and nuclear power in the taxonomy looks set to continue -- and may only be resolved later this year at the earliest. On regulations, the European Banking Authority , it anticipates “delivering a significant amount of work between 2019 and 2025.”, ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Jill Ward, . Date Created: 25 Apr 2021, 9:31 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Germany Fringe Greens contender [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: How Germany’s Greens Moved From Fringe to Contenders. Short_description: How Germany’s Greens Moved From Fringe to Contenders. Description: Germany’s Green party has come a long way from the radical fringe group of the 1980s, moving into the mainstream and appealing to a wider swath of voters backing policies for tackling climate change. It has helped shape Germany’s exit from nuclear power and pushed for Europe’s industrial powerhouse to become a world leader in hydrogen technology. It headed into the Sept. 26 election in a strong position to be part of the next coalition government., It’s very unlikely, even though Chancellor Angela Merkel, 67, is stepping down after 16 years and her conservative bloc has slipped in polls. While Germany’s tradition of coalition governments makes it easier for smaller parties to win power, Baerbock looked too far behind to win but was highly likely to play a key role in coalition talks. In national elections four years ago, Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and its smaller Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union, took a third of the vote. On Sept. 21, a Forsa poll showed the conservative bloc with just 22%, trailing the center-left Social Democrats, Merkel’s coalition partners, on 25% but ahead of the Greens on 17% and the business-friendly Free Democrats on 11%., Their 40-year-old candidate for chancellor, Annalena Baerbock, offered a generational change, and with voters increasingly concerned about global warming, this could be her moment. The Greens have been adept at forming coalitions with the center-right, center-left and liberals in regional governments and catering to business interests. They took part in national governments led by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s Social Democrats from 1998 to 2005, and for the past decade have run the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, home to carmaker Daimler AG and software developer SAP SE., She’s been a member of Germany’s lower house, the Bundestag, since 2013 representing Brandenburg in the former communist East. She’s jointly run the party with Robert Habeck since 2018 but lacks government experience. Brought up near Hanover, she studied international law at the London School of Economics and political science at Hamburg University. She was briefly a journalist and gained political experience working for a European Parliament member. Her considerable popularity suffered somewhat in late May and early June after she said she had forgotten to report to parliament bonus payments from her party worth slightly more than 25,000 euros ($29,310). She has also faced accusations that she embellished her resume and plagiarized passages of a book laying out her political vision. The main contender to become chancellor was Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, the finance minister and vice chancellor, leading the polls in September ahead of the conservative bloc’s Armin Laschet, 60, the premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state., The party is touting a 10-year, 500 billion-euro ($586 billion) program to invest in, among other things, high-speed Internet, biotechnology and climate-neutral infrastructure, including solar panels on every new roof. It advocates loosening restrictions on state borrowing, controversial in Germany with its record of fiscal discipline. Other plans include raising taxes for the wealthy and increasing levies on capital gains. On defense, the Greens support NATO but oppose Merkel’s plans to get Germany closer to the alliance’s guideline of spending at least 2% of gross domestic product on the military. They seek to rid the world of nuclear weapons and oppose selling arms to authoritarian regimes and warring parties., Unlike Merkel, who charted a diplomatic course with the two countries, the Greens are likely to push back strongly on human-rights issues, such as the jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny and China’s treatment of Muslim Uyghurs. The party opposed the Nord Stream 2 pipeline designed to transport Russian gas to Germany. The project was delayed by U.S. sanctions but construction was completed Sept. 10. Baerbock is attracting the attention of the Kremlin with her hawkish attitude, and Russia has identified her as a , to its interests, according to people familiar with the authorities’ thinking. The Greens have already alerted the German security services to an increase in cyber attacks that deploy recognized Russian tactics, though they have no proof that the Kremlin is involved., In France, the Greens are being upstaged as all parties are talking about climate now, even Marine Le Pen’s nationalists. In the U.K., the Green Party won just 2.7% of the , in the 2019 election while in the U.S. it remains marginal. In Austria, Greens partnered in government with the conservative People’s Party from January 2020 and in New Zealand Greens supported Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern since she won office in 2017., The Greens’ early attempts at governing on a local level — in the mid-1980s in the state of Hesse and the late 1990s in the city-state of Hamburg — weren’t especially successful, partly because of conflicts within the party. But under their leadership in Baden-Wuerttemberg, the state’s economy has grown by almost a quarter, and Greens form part of the government in 11 of Germany’s 16 states. As junior partner in two national governments led by the Social Democrats, they pushed through a deal to shutter Germany’s nuclear plants, a policy later taken forward by Merkel in the wake of the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima facility in 2011., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Stefan Nicola. Date Created: 30 Apr 2021, 9:30 AM IST </s>

<s>[INST] Tell me news related to Google Cookie ad Apple [/INST] QuickTakes news. Title: Apple and Google Are Killing the (Ad) Cookie. Here’s Why. Short_description: How Apple, Google Are Killing the Advertising Cookie. Description: Farewell, advertising cookie. After years of debate, Apple Inc. and Google are making separate moves to effectively kill the software marketers use to track your online activity and tailor ads specifically for you. The moves are upending the way companies have reached audiences and made money from ads since the earliest days of the internet. Apple’s plan has pleased privacy advocates but left mobile app developers, ad-tech firms and rivals (chiefly Facebook Inc.) worried and fuming. And Alphabet Inc.’s Google is nearing a similarly contentious update to its Chrome browser, which will radically alter how ads are targeted on websites. With these changes, both companies are wielding the kind of power normally only governments have., Starting on Monday, Apple , running on its devices to get consumer permission before tracking their activity on other apps and websites. The company has already outlawed the use of unauthorized third-party cookies on its Safari web browser. Now, that prohibition is coming to apps. Google, meanwhile, is inventing , , rather than crushing it. Google’s feature will let marketers continue to target desired buckets of consumers, just no longer using an individual’s web history. In theory, this will make it more difficult to mesh ad-tracking with information collected from data brokers and other providers, which has let marketers target consumers based on age, race and gender. Both companies are justifying their moves as improving privacy. Google,though, has pitched its effort as a balancing act between privacy and the survival of web publishing, which relies on ads., Ever use an app and see a screen pop up asking to use your phone’s microphone or camera? Apple’s change will work like that. Apps that want to track for advertising on iPhones and iPads , users to opt in. Apple calls this App Tracking Transparency, or ATT. And it bans app makers from gunning for potential installers or lapsed users with data from other apps, such as purchase history and app-usage patterns. For many months, Apple has signaled this was coming, but still many app businesses are terrified of the financial damage. Presumably, many people won’t opt into being tracked, which will render ad campaigns less effective and potentially harder to measure. One game developer called Apple’s new rule an “, .” Apple says consumers should decide how their data are used. The company also thinks “the industry will adapt” to its ATT standard, Craig Federighi, Apple’s software chief, , European regulators., At some point (Google hasn’t said exactly when), the company’s Chrome browser will nix third-party cookies that target ads based on individual behavior. Google calls its proposed replacement Federal Learning of Cohorts (FLoC), a mouthful for new computer science jujitsu that will lump web surfers together around particular interests. Visit Bloomberg.com, for instance, and you may be categorized as a financial news consumer along with thousands of other people. Go to People.com, you may be put in a cohort of celebrity gossip fans. Advertisers can market to the groups you are in, but your identity (and web habits) will be hidden “in the crowd,” , , which calls this a “privacy-first” system. In trials, Google says, marketers converted their commercial messages to sales at 95% of the rate they did with the old cookie system., Privacy groups are applauding. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group, , Apple’s ATT system “one more step in the right direction.” Even some ad-dependent companies sang praises. Jeremi Gorman, business chief for Snap Inc., told investors last week that the social app-maker supported Apple moves and planned to adopt Apple’s accompanying mobile ad framework. Others are less happy. The loudest griper is Facebook, whose core business relies on ad targeting and access to Apple device owners. , decrying Apple’s moves as harmful to small businesses since they rely on reaching niche consumer groups. Facebook and others accuse Apple of hindering digital ad rivals while developing its own marketing business in the background. Terence Kawaja, CEO of co-founder digital media investment bank Luma Partners, took , , posting a black image of Apple’s famous logo. “Forget their privacy hand-waving,” the image read. “They want to be big in ad tech.”, It’s harder to hear applause for FLoC. “Google, please don’t do this,” the EFF , . “The technology will avoid the privacy risks of third-party cookies, but it will create new ones in the process.” Smaller rival web browsers, such as Firefox and Opera, , FLoC as an inadequate fix for privacy. Microsoft Corp. gave a wishy-washy response to FLoC for its Edge browser. Unsurprisingly, ad-tech companies that compete with Google are not enthused. They think FLoC further increases the power of Google, the largest online ad-seller, which has lucrative first-party data from logged-in Gmail accounts and properties like YouTube. Google’s ad-tech rivals mostly lack this direct relationship with consumers. Several competitors have teamed with web publishers , cookie alternatives. European regulators are also , is phasing out third-party cookies as part of its long-running antitrust probe of the company., Mobile advertising inside apps is a sizable business, and Apple’s move has the potential to gut the sector. Companies that rely on these ads for sales or growth have warned investors of coming damage, particularly as Apple’s iOS mobile operating system typically brings in more money for developers than Android. Then there are the wealth of ad agencies, ad-tech firms and data brokers that thrive on web cookies. Bank of America research estimated Apple’s change could shave as much as 3% off Facebook’s revenue. Google’s upcoming move offers less certainty. Executives at Criteo SA, an ad re-targeting firm, told investors they were working with Google to prepare for FLoC, but weren’t yet sure of the financial impact., ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.. Publisher: Mark Bergen. Date Created: 26 Apr 2021, 3:30 PM IST </s>