All posts tagged: Proving

Taking a second COVID-era loan is proving costly to some faith groups

Taking a second COVID-era loan is proving costly to some faith groups

Published by skeptic

(RNS) — A dispute over a single word in a COVID-era relief law — and the political divides over Israel – have cost a Jewish advocacy group dearly. Jewish Voice for Peace, a Washington, D.C.-based anti-Zionist nonprofit, agreed in mid-January to pay $677,634 to settle allegations made by a pro-Israel lawyer that the progressive Jewish organization had fraudulently received a second Paycheck Protection Program loan. At issue was a provision in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, that authorized the PPP COVID-era loans, which banned groups that “primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities” from applying for a second loan.  Jewish Voice for Peace, while it opposes military aid for Israel and supports “Palestinian liberation,” said its activities are not primarily political. The Department of Justice disagreed. The department also alleged that JVP committed fraud by checking a box on an application for a $338,817 loan that said the group was not primarily political. That loan was granted in September 2021 and forgiven later that year.  To avoid a costly …

Flushed with success: how an innovative sanitation product is proving a hit in low-income countries | A Better Home For Everyone, Everywhere

Flushed with success: how an innovative sanitation product is proving a hit in low-income countries | A Better Home For Everyone, Everywhere

Published by Sam

The human cost of the global sanitation crisis is devastating: more than 1,000 children under five die every day [pdf] from diseases linked to dirty water and poor sanitation, while the educational gender gap deepens as menstruating girls often miss classes due to a lack of products as well as toilets and privacy at schools. While many of us have the privilege of not having to give it too much thought, the reality is that hygiene is the foundation of how individuals, communities and whole societies function. Inadequate sanitation and hygiene is multifaceted, costing billions for local communities and economies, while crippling opportunities for growth and development across entire regions. ‘People must be at the core of the solution’When a small team of engineers including Daigo Ishiyama arrived at a remote village in rural Bangladesh in 2012, these were among some of the challenges they were hoping to solve. How could Ishiyama and his colleagues use their expertise in water and housing products to address the sanitation needs of disadvantaged consumers in one of the …

Is Russia proving today how China can win Taiwan tomorrow?

Is Russia proving today how China can win Taiwan tomorrow?

Published by skeptic

The term “useful idiot” was first coined in the Cold War to describe unwitting supporters of the Soviet Union. Since then the phrase has morphed into other areas of everyday life, but is still largely rooted in the fields of politics and international confrontation.  China is learning all sorts of useful stuff from the war in Ukraine about how far to push against established international norms; how to inoculate one’s country from a global backlash against bad behaviour and how to drive a wedge between one’s adversaries.  All this has come at virtually no cost to Beijing as the Kremlin has copped most of the flak. So, as he casts a hungry eye at Taiwan, does Xi Jinping see Vladimir Putin as a very useful idiot indeed? In this episode of Defence in Depth, Dominic Nicholls, The Telegraph’s associate editor, explains how, by invading Ukraine, Putin has shown his Chinese counterpart where the edges of Western tolerance for aggression lie. Watch Dominic’s video analysis above. Find more episodes of Defence in Depth on The Telegraph’s …

For a song contest trying to avoid politics, Eurovision 2024 is proving challenging | Ents & Arts News

For a song contest trying to avoid politics, Eurovision 2024 is proving challenging | Ents & Arts News

Published by Sam

“Boycott Eurovision” a man shouts into a microphone, “shame on Eurovision”. For a song contest striving to avoid politics, Eurovision 2024 is proving challenging. Thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors gathered in Malmo today to demonstrate against Israel’s inclusion in the contest as the war in Gaza rages on. Read more: Everything you need to know about this year’s show Tonight, Israeli entrant Eden Golan will find out if she’s through to the final. A decision to allow Israel to participate has been contentious, prompting some to boo during Golan’s dress rehearsal. Image: Pic: AP The outcry follows months of demonstrations and calls for a boycott. Among the crowd today a group carries a sign reading “murder on the dance floor”. “I’ve come because I want to kick out Israel from Eurovision,” one woman tells me. Image: Demonstrators are calling for a boycott of the contest “Some people would argue that you shouldn’t mix politics and music, but I feel that is a very narrow view of the world because in the end it is all about …

iPhone 15 and 15 Plus Proving Less Popular With Buyers This Year

iPhone 15 and 15 Plus Proving Less Popular With Buyers This Year

Published by skeptic

Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro models were its most purchased smartphones in the U.S. in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) report. The ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ and Pro Max accounted for 22% and 23% of all iPhones sold in Q1 2024, for a 45% combined share. The iPhone 15 Plus took a 9% share of all iPhones sold, while the ‌iPhone 15‌ and iPhone 14 were the third most popular, each taking 14% of the share. The ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ and Pro Max share hardly changed compared to the ‌iPhone 14‌ Pro and Pro Max the same quarter a year ago. However, Apple saw sales of the base model ‌iPhone 15‌ decline relative to a year ago. The overall mix of ‌iPhone 15‌ models was lower, accounting for 68% of all iPhone sales. By contrast, in Q1 2023 the ‌iPhone 14‌ series had a 7% higher share of all iPhones sold, taking 75% combined. The percentages suggest that the ‌iPhone 14‌ and ‌iPhone 14‌ Plus were more …

Trump Cancels Rally Because of Weather, Proving the Difficulty of Balancing a Trial and Campaign

Trump Cancels Rally Because of Weather, Proving the Difficulty of Balancing a Trial and Campaign

Published by skeptic

WILMINGTON, N.C. (AP) — Donald Trump had to cancel his first planned rally since the start of his criminal hush money trial because of a storm Saturday evening in North Carolina, an added complication that highlights the difficulty the former president faces in juggling his legal troubles with his rematch against President Joe Biden. Trump called into the rally site near the Wilmington airport less than an hour before he was scheduled to take the stage and apologized to a few thousand supporters who had gathered throughout the afternoon under initially sunny skies that later darkened with storm clouds. Speaking from his private plane, Trump cited lightning and the incoming storm in explaining that he would not be landing. He pledged to reschedule a “bigger and better” event at the same location “as quick as possible.” The cancellation denied Trump a fresh chance to amplify claims that his multiple pending indictments are an establishment conspiracy to take him down — and, by extension, squelch the voters who first elected him eight years ago. Now, instead …

Taylor Swift’s close-up selfie sparks reaction as she poses with Katy Perry – proving there’s bad blood

Taylor Swift’s close-up selfie sparks reaction as she poses with Katy Perry – proving there’s bad blood

Published by skeptic

As Taylor Swift continues the Australian leg of her Eras Tour, she’s had a number of guests, from Rita Ora to Travis Kelce. But perhaps her most surprising guest so far has been none other than Katy Perry. The “California Girls” star caught up with Taylor at the Sydney gig, sharing photos and videos of their reunion, where the two seemed completely amicable after rumors of a feud 10 years ago. © @katyperry InstagramTaylor and Katy are now great friends The two even posed for a photo together, and Katy was sure to watch the concert – in which Taylor goes through a huge 44-song setlist – alongside Rita. Most shockingly, Katy showed off her priceless reaction to the song “Bad Blood”. As the former American Idol judge filmed Taylor’s performance of the track, she turned the camera on herself with a false-shocked expression, knowing that the song was reportedly about a feud between them. Back in 2014 when Taylor promoted 1989, she told Rolling Stone that “Bad Blood” was about another woman in the …

A Tory general election victory is only possible by proving Brexit is a success | Express Comment | Comment

A Tory general election victory is only possible by proving Brexit is a success | Express Comment | Comment

Published by skeptic

In the short-term, yes – boosting the economy, controlling migration, removing EU red tape are Brexit victories. But Rishi Sunak must also show a long-term vision for how Brexit is laying the foundations for future growth. Opening up overseas markets for British exports – especially fast-growing Asian markets – is crucial. Firstly, because of the boost to British jobs and industry; and secondly because of the opportunity to leap ahead of the EU, which has failed spectacularly to advance new trade deals in Asia. What are trade deals for? They are about removing obstacles to trade: whether financial obstacles such as up to 150% tariffs on certain goods as cars or whisky with India, or legal such as licensing of services, or recognising professionals such as doctors, architects or accountants to be of similar standard so no further long training is required. The Government and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, have made strong progress already. The pan-Asian CP Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) agreement, which includes Australia, Japan, Malaysia and others, was a triumph. This is the …

Why landing on the moon is proving more difficult today than 50 years ago | Space

Why landing on the moon is proving more difficult today than 50 years ago | Space

Published by skeptic

It was a flawless launch. In the early hours of Monday morning, the Vulcan Centaur rocket rattled into the darkness over Cape Canaveral, shed its solid rocket boosters and released the Peregrine spacecraft on the perfect trajectory for its landmark mission to the moon. The success prompted a “Yee-haw!” from Tory Bruno, the chief executive of United Launch Alliance, which built the rocket: this was the Vulcan’s maiden flight, after all. But it wasn’t long before the mood shifted. Astrobotic, the company behind Peregrine, found the spacecraft was leaking propellant. And without sufficient fuel, the chances of landing softly on the moon rapidly fell to zero. It is more than half a century since Nasa landed astronauts on the moon and brought them all home safely. Shouldn’t landing on the lunar surface today be, if not quite trivial, then at least straightforward? Hasn’t the rocket science of the mid-20th century become the basic knowledge of the 21st? Peregrine isn’t the only recent failure. While China and India have both placed robotic landers on the moon, …

why a humanitarian truce is proving so hard to secure – and what that means for people on the ground

why a humanitarian truce is proving so hard to secure – and what that means for people on the ground

Published by skeptic

Reports out of Sudan of continuing violence suggest that the seven-day ceasefire organised during talks in Jeddah – the seventh attempt to end the violence in Sudan – is crumbling. A fighter plane was shot down over Khartoum on May 24 and residents report intense fighting breaking out once again in some areas. The talks, sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the US, are understood to have had a narrow focus based on bringing humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people, according to US secretary of state, Antony Blinken. Blinken’s threat of repercussions “through sanctions and other means” on truce breakers initially led to optimism aid corridors and escape routes could be provided for civilians trapped in the belly of the conflict. But clashes continue and people remain trapped without basic supplies and medicine. This casts doubt on ramping up an already slow humanitarian response amid soaring needs. The UN reports that more than half of the population – about 25 million people – now need humanitarian assistance. Food, water, health and hygiene support are the main …