Monday 31 October 2022

What Bank of Canada's latest interest rate hike could mean


Global News on Youtube shows that the Bank of Canada raised its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 3.75 per cent on Wednesday, as the inflation battle continues and Canadians continue to feel more strapped financially. Anne Gaviola reports on what the latest interest rate could mean for your wallet as the institution continues to try and cool the economy and bring inflation down.

And Ross Lord explains how some homeowners are now debating whether to lock in their mortgage rates before they climb even higher.

High food prices in the United Kingdom are being blamed for the country's inflation rate rising to 10.1 per cent in September. Crystal Goomansingh looks at the toll the soaring cost of living is taking on Britons.

Two women who left Canada to join ISIS fighters have now returned home with their children, after spending years in a detention camp in Syria. Mercedes Stephenson explains the charges the women are now facing, and the building pressure on Ottawa to do more to secure the release of Canadians in detention camps.

Plus, an Ontario woman who says she was wrongfully charged with murder plans to sue the OPP for the accusation that she says destroyed her life. Caryn Lieberman reports.

Dozens dead after pedestrian bridge collapses in western India


CBC News: The National shows the story.

At least 81 people are dead in western India after a century-old footbridge packed with sightseers collapsed, sending them into the river below.

Seoul crowd surge kills at least 146, officials say


CBC News shows the story.

At least 146 people were killed and 150 more were injured after a stampede broke out during Halloween festivities in Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood.

Sunday 2 October 2022

Thoughts on WHO


The so-called World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main important objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health". Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it certainly has six regional offices and 150 field offices worldwide.

The WHO was established on 7 April 1948.

The WHO's mandate seeks and includes: working worldwide to promote health, keeping the world safe, and serve the vulnerable.

The WHO has played a leading role in several public health achievements, most notably the eradication of smallpox, the near-eradication of polio, and the development of an Ebola vaccine. Its current priorities include communicable diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, Ebola, COVID-19, malaria and tuberculosis; non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer; healthy diet, nutrition, and food security; occupational health; and substance abuse.

Its so-called World Health Assembly, the agency's decision-making body, elects and advises an executive board made up of 34 health specialists. It selects the director-general, sets goals and priorities, and approves the budget and activities. The current director-general is indeed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia.

Cashless Society Fears


In a so-called cashless society, financial transactions are not conducted with physical banknotes or coins, but instead with digital information (usually an electronic representation of money). Cashless societies have existed from the time when human society came into existence, based on barter and other methods of exchange, and cashless transactions have also become possible in modern times using credit cards, debit cards, mobile payments, and digital currencies such as cryptocurrency bitcoin.

Such a concept has been discussed widely. The world is indeed experiencing a rapid and increasing use of digital methods of recording, managing, and exchanging money in commerce, investment and daily life in many parts of the world, and transactions which would historically have been undertaken with cash are often now really undertaken electronically. Some countries in the world now set limits on transactions and transaction values for which non-electronic payment may be indeed legally used.

Industrial Revolution Explanation


The so-called "Industrial Revolution" was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820-1840. This important transition included going from hand production methods to machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, the increasing use of steam power and water power, the development of machine tools and the rise of the mechanized factory system. Output certainly greatly increased, and a result was an unprecedented rise in population and in the rate of population growth.

Textiles were really the dominant industry of the Industrial Revolution in terms of employment, value of output and capital invested. The textile industry was also the first to use modern production methods.

The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain, and many of the technological and architectural innovations were of British origin. By the mid-18th century, Britain was the world's leading commercial nation, controlling a global trading empire with colonies in North America and the Caribbean. Britain had major military and political hegemony on the Indian subcontinent; particularly with the proto-industrialised Mughal Bengal, through the activities of the East India Company. The development of trade and the rise of business were really among the major causes of the Industrial Revolution.

German blog writer speaks


The country of Germany (German: Deutschland), officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is an important country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south; it covers an area of 357,022 square kilometres (137,847 sq mi), with a large population of almost 84 million within its 16 constituent states. Germany borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, and France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west. The nation's capital and largest city by population is Berlin and its financial centre is city of Frankfurt; the largest urban area is the Ruhr.

The Ruhr, also referred to as the so-called "Ruhr area", sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km² and a population of over 5 million, it is certainly the largest urban area in Germany.

"Polycentric" means having more than one center (as of development or control).

Germany consists of 16 federal states, which you can see listed below. Bayern (Bavaria), Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) and Baden-Württemberg are the largest federal states and Bremen is really the smallest federal state.

Here is a list of states in Germany:

Berlin
Bayern (Bavaria)
Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony)
Baden-Württemberg
Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Sachsen (Saxony)
Thüringen (Thuringia)
Hessen
Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt)
Brandenburg
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Hamburg
Schleswig-Holstein
Saarland
Bremen

Rich and poor - in Russian


There are definitely wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of wealth people own). Besides economic inequality between various countries or states, there are important types of economic inequality between different certain groups of people.

Important types of economic measurements really focus on wealth, income, and consumption. There are many methods for measuring economic inequality, the Gini coefficient being a widely used one. Another type of measure is the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, which is a statistic composite index that takes inequality into account. Important concepts of equality include equity, equality of outcome, and so-called equality of opportunity.

Whereas globalization has reduced global inequality (between nations), it has increased inequality within nations. Income inequality between nations peaked in the 1970s, when world income was distributed bimodally into "rich" and "poor" countries. Since then, income levels across countries have been converging, with most people now living in middle-income countries. However, inequality within most nations has really risen significantly in the last 30 years, particularly among advanced countries. In this period, close to 90 percent of advanced economies have seen an increase in income inequality, with over 70% recording an increase in their Gini coefficients certainly exceeding two points.

Bio Chip Video in Russian


In the science study of molecular biology, so-called "biochips" are engineered substrates ("miniaturized laboratories") that can host large numbers of simultaneous biochemical reactions. One of the goals of biochip technology is to efficiently screen large numbers of biological analytes, with potential applications ranging from disease diagnosis to detection of bioterrorism agents. For example, digital microfluidic biochips are under investigation for applications in various biomedical fields. In a digital microfluidic biochip, a group of (adjacent) cells in the microfluidic array can be configured to work as storage, functional operations, as well as for certainly transporting fluid droplets dynamically.

Saturday 1 October 2022

Politics and pipelines: Canada's energy dilemma


Global News shows the exciting economy story.

How can Canada help support Europe with a clean and safe energy supply? It's a question that our government has been trying to answer since Russia's invasion of Ukraine set off an energy crisis in Europe. 

Critics say Canadian politicians haven't been able to work together on a coherent energy policy, holding us back from playing a bigger role in supporting Europe during these tumultuous times. 

As David Akin explains, officials are trying to balance energy policy and ambitious climate targets, while avoiding mistakes of the past.

Storm Fiona: Opposition parties question federal government response in emergency debate


Global News on Youtube shows the debates.

Members of parliament held an emergency debate Monday evening on the devastation in Atlantic provinces amid storm Fiona at the request of NDP MP Richard Cannings. MPs delivered statements expressing support and offering help to Atlantic provinces, and questioning the government over its response to the hurricane.

Defence Minister Anita Anand reiterated the government’s efforts to deploy the Canadian Armed Forces were needed.

Leader of the official Opposition Pierre Poilievre called on the government to drop the ArriveCan screening requirement "today" at the border after Maine emergency crews coming to help Nova Scotia over the weekend were stopped due to issues related with their ArriveCan apps. The federal government has announced the ArriveCan screening will no longer be mandatory as of Oct. 1.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has announced an "unprecedented" relief package of $40 million for residents impacted by post-tropical storm Fiona past weekend.

Fiona hit Atlantic Canada on Friday night into Saturday, causing widespread power outages, washing out roads and downing trees. As of 4 p.m. on Monday, there were still more than 170,000 customers without power.

Major drug bust involving multiple agencies across Canada, US nabs $55M worth of meth, cocaine


Global News on Youtube shows the major story.

Police agencies from across Canada and in the USA have made a record-setting drug bust with roots in Alberta. And Global News has learned one of the men charged in the investigation recently survived a shooting in southwest Calgary.

Over the span of nearly three years, Project Cobra confiscated an estimated $55 million worth of methamphetamine and cocaine as part of a cross-border investigation.

A total of 928 kilograms of meth, really along with six kilograms of cocaine were seized, as well as roughly $7 million worth of assets that have been seized or placed under criminal restraint.

Two large homes, including a $3.5-million house in Niagara-on-the-Lake, two Mercedes G-Class SUVs, two Lamborghinis, a Porsche, a Mercedes car, classic cars and $200,000 in cash were also part of the seizure.

The investigation included various numerous police and specialized agencies including the Calgary Police Service, Edmonton Police Service, USA Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Niagara Regional Police, Canada Revenue Agency, Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), and RCMP units in Ontario, Nova Scotia, Saskatoon, North Battleford, Sask., and Osoyoos, B.C.

Post-tropical Cyclone Fiona Causes Mass Destruction To Canada’s East Coast


NBC News on Youtube shows that the Canadian armed forces were called in to help after the strongest storm ever to hit Canada brought wind gusts up to 100 miles an hour and torrential floods. Across the region, hundreds of thousands remain without power and the lines for gas are still growing. Meanwhile, Fiona’s overall death count is rising, with 18 killed so far. NYC’s mayor led a team today to help with relief efforts in Puerto Rico, where more than 800,000 are still without power.

Power outages persist across Nova Scotia after Fiona


CBC News on Youtube shows that power outages are still affecting thousands of people across Nova Scotia in the wake of post-tropical storm Fiona, which hit Cape Breton Island and Pictou County particularly hard.

Canadians are changing the way they grocery shop as food inflation rises


CTV News on Youtube shows that Sylvain Charlebois from Dalhousie University says Canadians are adopting new shopping strategies to cope with food inflation.

Canada: Military arrives in Cape Breton to help with daunting Fiona cleanup


CBC News: The National on Youtube shows that Canadian troops arrived in Cape Breton's hard-hit community of Glace Bay, N.S., to help with the massive cleanup efforts from post-tropical storm Fiona.