Ball Aerospace Selected by Defense Innovation Unit to Develop Prototype Antenna for US Navy Ships – PRNewswire

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BOULDER, Colo., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Ball Aerospace was selected by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to develop a prototype of a new multi-band, low-observable satellite communications antenna to be installed on the U.S. Navy's newest stealth ships, the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers.

Ball is leveraging its portfolios of electronically steerable phased array antenna technologies and high-performance stealth technologies to design a solution that can operate over multiple frequency bands, meet existing signature requirements and integrate into the DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer.

"We are pleased to partner with DIU and the U.S. Navy to explore ways to quickly and cost-effectively increase the capabilities of the DDG 1000," said Dr. Jake Sauer, vice president and general manager, Tactical Solutions, Ball Aerospace. "Our multi-band, multi-beam phased array heritage and conformal antenna expertise directly supports the warfighter by addressing emerging threats and taking on new missions."

The selection of Ball to produce the new antenna prototype is part of DIU's Multi-Domain Tactical Communications (MDTC) program. Under the MDTC effort, Ball will develop the antenna architecture, beamforming approach and prototype.

Ball has five decades of experience designing and building electronically steerable phased array antenna systems for the U.S. military, enabling mission-critical communications for the warfighter. The company's experience covers a variety of frequencies (including L, S, X, Ku, K, and Ka-band) and applications, from aviation and maritime to land and space. Lightweight, low profile and with no moving parts, Ball's phased array antennas provide numerous benefits over traditional dish antennas, including a modular design to enable scalable solutions and fast, seamless and accurate steering and tracking between satellites for reliable connectivity.

Powered by endlessly curious people with an unwavering mission focus, Ball Aerospace pioneers discoveries that enable our customers to perform beyond expectation and protect what matters most. We create innovative space solutions, enable more accurate weather forecasts, drive insightful observations of our planet, deliver actionable data and intelligence, and ensure those who defend our freedom go forward bravely and return home safely. Go Beyond with Ball. For more information, visit http://www.ball.com/aerospace or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

About Ball Corporation

Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) supplies innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 18,300 people worldwide and reported 2019 net sales of $11.5 billion. For more information, visit http://www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "targets," "likely," "positions" and similar expressions typically identify forward-looking statements, which are generally any statements other than statements of historical fact. Such statements are based on current expectations or views of the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. You should therefore not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements and any such statements should be read in conjunction with, and, qualified in their entirety by, the cautionary statements referenced below. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be different are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at http://www.sec.gov. Additional factors that might affect: a) our packaging segments include product capacity, supply, and demand constraints and fluctuations, including due to virus and disease outbreaks and responses thereto; availability/cost of raw materials and logistics; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; footprint adjustments and other manufacturing changes, including the startup of new facilities and lines; failure to achieve synergies, productivity improvements or cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation; power and supply chain interruptions,; potential delays and tariffs related to the U.K's departure from the EU; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or a loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; currency controls; changes in foreign exchange or tax rates; and tariffs, trade actions, or other governmental actions, including business restrictions and shelter-in-place orders in any country or jurisdiction affecting goods produced by us or in our supply chain, including imported raw materials, such as those related to COVID-19 and those pursuant to Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act of 1962 or Section 301 of Trade Act of 1974; b) our aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) the company as a whole include those listed plus: the extent to which sustainability-related opportunities arise and can be capitalized upon; changes in senior management, succession, and the ability to attract and retain skilled labor; regulatory action or issues including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; the ability to manage cyber threats and the success of information technology initiatives; litigation; strikes; disease; pandemic; labor cost changes; rates of return on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding geopolitical events and governmental policies both in the U.S. and in other countries, including policies, orders and actions related to COVID-19, the U.S. government elections, stimulus package(s), budget, sequestration and debt limit; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and successful or unsuccessful joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures, and their effects on our operating results and business generally.

SOURCE Ball Aerospace

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Ball Aerospace Selected by Defense Innovation Unit to Develop Prototype Antenna for US Navy Ships - PRNewswire

Tenax non-crimp fabrics and braided fibres qualified for Airbus – Aerospace Manufacturing

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Teijins carbon fibre materials Tenax Dry Reinforcements (DR) has qualified for the Airbus A320neo wing spoilers using a Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) process developed by Spirit AeroSystems.

The highly automated RTM solution incorporates Tenax Dry Reinforcements Non-Crimp Fabrics (DRNF) and Tenax Braided Fibres (DRBF) to form skins and stiffeners while maintaining existing product interfaces, allowing direct replacement of the all final spoiler components.

Tenax DRNF and Tenax DRBF have been developed for resin infusion and resin transfer moulding processes which can offer higher productivity and component integration than conventional autoclave moulding.

Tenax DRNF are created of bundled carbon fibre filaments being spread out in one direction in multiple layers with different directions, depending on the final component`s structural requirements. The fabrics have excellent fibre orientation which results in better mechanical properties than conventional woven fabric and reaches properties equivalent to aerospace grade thermosetting unidirectional prepreg. Tenax DRBF are applied within the spoiler component structure to act as cavity fillers, these materials have been qualified individually by Airbus specifically for this application.

The combination of the Tenax DRNF and Tenax DRBF achieve the Spirit AeroSystems criteria for aircraft component production such as effective process ability, productivity, and cost efficiency. A320neo spoiler components will be manufactured within a new high-volume production facility in Spirit AeroSystems, Prestwick, Scotland.

Teijin is intensively accelerating its development of mid- to downstream applications for aircraft, such as cost-effective carbon fibres with higher-tenacity and higher-tensile modulus, intermediate materials including Tenax Dry Reinforcement carbon fibre materials, carbon fibre thermoplastic unidirectional pre-impregnated tape (Tenax TPUD), carbon fibre thermoplastic consolidated laminate (Tenax TPCL) and thermoset prepreg.

Going forward, Teijin intends to further strengthen its carbon fibre and its intermediate material business as a leading solution provider for aircraft applications.

http://www.teijin.com

Michael Tyrrell

Digital Coordinator

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Tenax non-crimp fabrics and braided fibres qualified for Airbus - Aerospace Manufacturing

How To Hold The Garment Industry To Account? You Vote With Your Wallet. Its Simple Maths – British Vogue

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Shocking claims about the work and pay conditions of the garment workers in factories in Leicester have been headline news this past fortnight. The National Crime Agency said it was investigating modern slavery and human trafficking at a number of business premises in the city after an undercover reporter for the Sunday Times claimed that he had been employed by a Leicester garment factory making clothes for Boohoo, and told he would be paid between 3.50 and 4 an hour. (The national minimum wage for people over the age of 25 is 8.72 per hour.)

In a statement, Boohoo responded: We are grateful to the Sunday Times for highlighting the conditions at Jaswal Fashions, which, if they are as described by the undercover reporter, are totally unacceptable and fall woefully short of any standards acceptable in any workplace. Our investigations have shown that Jaswal Fashions is not a declared supplier, and is no longer trading as a garment manufacturer. It therefore appears that a different company is using Jaswals former premises and we are currently trying to establish the identity of this company. We are taking immediate action to thoroughly investigate how our garments were in their hands, and we will ensure that our suppliers immediately cease working with this company.

Subsequent reports by the Guardian have linked the factory in question to a business with links to Jalal Kamani, a Boohoo shareholder and the brother of Boohoos executive chairman, Mahmud Kamani. Boohoo has confirmed that the factory in the centre of the allegations is run by Morefray Ltd, but said that Mahmud Kamani had no involvement in the business. Investors have continued to sell off shares in the company.

What a difference a quarter makes. Ahead of the Covid-19 outbreak, Boohoo was an extremely agile, successful business. Sales for the year to February 2020 rose by 44 per cent to 1.2 billion and pre-tax profit grew 54 per cent to 92.2 million. As well as its own online platform, currently selling Disco Slinky Twist Front mini dresses for 7 (down from 12), and long-sleeved Bardot crop tops for 4 (at 50 per cent off), Boohoo owns Boohooman, Pretty Little Thing, Nasty Gal, Coast, Karen Millen, and recently added Oasis and Warehouse to its stable.

This is a business that believes in paying above and beyond where its top executives are concerned. In 2019, Primarks former chief operating officer John Lyttle joined the company as CEO on a salary of 615,000 and with an annual bonus of up to 150 per cent of his annual salary, as well as company shares. Co-founders Mahmud Kamani and Carole Kane were both paid more than 1.3 million each for the last financial year. In June, a third of Boohoos investors voted against a proposed bonus of 50 million for Lyttle if the company reaches its target of a valuation of 6 billion by March 2024. The fact that the company had 2 billion wiped off its market worth last week, plus a massive press and social media backlash, means Lyttle has his work cut out for him.

Boohoo, meanwhile, announced an independent investigation into its supply chain, an attempt to regain the trust of its investors, not to mention its customers the majority of whom are aged 16 to 24, and make up a generation that is increasingly political and outspoken. One such customer is Vas J Morgan, who had been paid to promote Boohoo via his social media following of 466k on Instagram, but withdrew his services. He captioned an Instagram post: Although 80 per cent of people working in these factories are women of colour; this is not about race, this is about human rights This is not an attack on Boohoo this is a wake up call for ALL fashion companies... His followers responded with comments suggesting that they were emptying their shopping baskets.

At the same time, 21-year-old Isabel Hambly, graduating from her fashion degree at Nottingham Trent University, just down the road from Leicester, posted on her Instagram feed a short essay she had written earlier in the year about the seductive value of a 3 dress. The allure of that killer dress would soon falter if the conditions in which it was made were revealed, she wrote. I told my flat mates about my research into slavery in factories at the time, she said when I called her this week. They didnt seem that bothered about it. Now, people who never thought about it before are messaging me. There will be outrage for a few weeks we need to keep up the clamour for change.

Hamblys own research showed her that while the allegations centring in Leicester have been spot lit against a backdrop of the local spike in coronavirus, illegal labour conditions have been well documented since 2014, when the University of Leicesters Centre for Sustainable Work and Employment Futures published a report on working conditions in UK garment manufacturing. This report, which was not specifically investigating Boohoo, but was focussing on manufacturing across Leicester and East Midlands, identified a new business model that was based on small margins and relatively small orders, caveated with fast turnaround times. It detailed that there was widespread under- or even non-payment of wages, which were well below the minimum wage. A conservative estimate on the above evidence would put the underpaid wage sum in apparel manufacturing within the East Midlands at 1 million per week, the report stated.

Several years later, in March 2017, the Labour MP Harriet Harman went on a fact-finding mission to the city and found that between a third and three-quarters of people were working in situations where they did not have contracts of employment or received below the minimum wage. She called it an epidemic of factory workers being badly treated. In August of that year, Asos and New Look bosses described the dark underbelly of Leicesters factories as a ticking timebomb. This was widely reported, including here at Vogue.

Separately, according to a subsequent report by Labour Behind the Label, released in June, most of the garment workers in Leicester are from ethnic minority groups, largely from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh but also Somalia and increasingly Eastern Europe. The report observed: These workers are vulnerable to abuse as a result of their immigration status, language skills, integration in the community (and support mechanisms such as union membership etc) as well as higher unemployment rates.

Last week, Priti Patel described the allegations of exploitation of people in sweatshops for commercial gain as truly appalling. Either Patel has not been paying attention for the past six years, or these illegal practices on their own have not caused enough of a public outcry to warrant serious action until now.

Because ultimately its about inequality an inequality and an imbalance of power that underpins the industry, one that is built on exploiting peoples aspirations in the most cynical of ways. When the millionaire CEO and founder of Pretty Little Thing, 32-year-old Umar Kumani, who is the son of Boohoos founder Mahmud Kamani, paid Kylie Jenner a six figure sum in July 2016 to wear a 15 orange dress to host a pool party for the brand in an LA mansion, complete with pink cocktails and flamingo floats, it resulted in a 10-fold increase in sales. While there is an argument that cheap fashion provides access to people on low incomes to dress like their favourite influencer, the issue is whether a dress can be sold for 15 without having to exploit another human being. The price tag it is feared is only possible because someone, somewhere, is vulnerable enough to need to work for next to nothing, in unsafe conditions that put them and their families at risk.

The Boohoo allegations have shone a light on the inequalities that lie at the heart of the industry, said Orsola de Castro, co-founder of Fashion Revolution, the campaign for a more transparent fashion industry. What is particularly shocking about these allegations is how our own communities are affected. This is happening right under our noses.

So, how can brands change the systems that allow exploitation to happen within the fashion supply chain? Frankie Phillips set up her business To Be Frank in 2019 to prove that a brand can operate in a way that respects both environment and people and still maintain affordable prices. Nothing is worth the mistreatment of another person, no matter what it is, but especially if its a pair of polyester leggings, she told me, earlier this week. Phillips lived in Asia for three years as a supply chain manager for a high-street brand before setting up on her own. To Be Frank pays its workers in Turkey a living wage of $9 per hour (in a country where minimum wage is $4). You have to make sure you are working with a factory operating with full transparency, she says. They are open about sharing pay cheques. If a supplier wont share this information, she says, then you know something is wrong.

The price for a kilo of cotton is set at market rates. But labour costs are not. The reality is: there is always someone whose situation is desperate enough to take a pay cut. The thought of not earning enough to feed your family is not acceptable. How can a brand sell clothing for that cheap and pay themselves such huge bonuses? asks Phillips.

Subcontracting is part of the problem: it provides cheap labour that can be hidden away. The pricing structure is built on what the brand wants a garment to cost on the website, not on what the garment actually costs in terms of materials and labour.

What worries Phillips is the fact that the unregulated factories that are called out subsequently see their contracts cut which means those workers are now out of work, without a safety net. When your income is already on a knife edge, there is no cushion to prevent you from starvation and homelessness. But this is what thousands of garment workers in garment-producing countries including India, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Vietnam are facing. For while shops in the UK are starting to open up, and we are being encouraged to spend, garment workers around the globe are still not being paid, as factories are still reeling from the sudden pause in orders. Many big-name brands and retailers have still not paid up for orders that were produced pre or during lockdown and then not shipped.

De Castro is hopeful that a new generation will not stand for brands exploiting fellow humans. Climate emergency, Black Lives Matters and anti-racism are encouraging the next generations to be more political, more informed, and this is the kind of cultural shift we need to see permanent changes, she says.

Each of us has the power to demand that governments hold illegal practice to account, as well as to make careful choices when we shop. You can see brands that are behaving unethically and not fulfilling their contracts to pay for orders, and sign the petition to protect workers in supply chains, at Labour Behind the Label. You can donate to a range of organisations who are organising aid to workers including the Awaj Foundation founded and led by garment workers in Bangladesh. The Worker Rights Consortium has a tracker that shows which brands have paid up and which havent. Theres also the Clean Clothes Campaigns Fashion Checker. But as Phillips says, most importantly: You vote with your wallet. Its simple maths.

For the latest news on the impact of Covid-19 in the fashion industry, a list of ways to get involved, how to email a brand, make your voice heard and support the garment workers, go to Fashionrevolution.org/covid19

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2 tropical storms, 1 hurricane set to hit US and Caribbean this weekend – New York Post

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Parts of the US and Caribbean are in for a triple threat of extreme weather this weekend.

A hurricane and tropical storm were churning toward Hawaii and Texas, respectively, Friday as a cyclone also was set to strike the Caribbean.

Tropical Storm Douglas is expected to wallop the southern coast of Texas on Saturday afternoon with 4 to 8 inches of rain and up to a foot in some isolated areas, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The storm was roughly 260 miles east of Corpus Christi, swirling northwest with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, by Friday afternoon, the agency said in a public advisory.

This rain may result in life-threatening flash flooding, rapid rises on small streams and isolated minor to moderate river flooding, it warned.

Meanwhile, Hawaii was bracing for Hurricane Douglas, which was roughly 900 miles from the city of Hilo with maximum sustained winds of up to 120 mph on Friday, according to AccuWeather.

The hurricane is expected to hit the Aloha State on Sunday, bringing powerful winds and prompting Hawaii Gov. David Ige to declare a state of emergency.

NOAA

NOAA

Following LeBron James first NBA game in more than four...

In the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Gonzalo was picking up speed Friday as experts warned it could could strengthen into a hurricane.

The storm, which had a maximum speed of 50 mph Friday, was moving west toward the islands of Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and was expected to hit Saturday, according to AccuWeather. A hurricane watch is in effect for the islands, along with St. Lucia.

Gonzalo is the earliest ever G-named storm since the 1960s beating out Tropical Storm Gert, which formed July 24, 2005.

New York City wont see much impact from the storms, with weekend weather expected to be mostly sunny and hot. Temperatures are forecast reach up to 88 degrees on Saturday and 94 degrees on Sunday, according to AccuWeather.

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2 tropical storms, 1 hurricane set to hit US and Caribbean this weekend - New York Post

US Coast Guard Seizes $38.5 Million in Cocaine in the Caribbean – The Maritime Executive

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Coast Guard Cutter Heriberto Hernandez offloaded 55 bales of seized cocaine - U.S. Coast Guard photo by Ricardo Castrodad

By The Maritime Executive 07-22-2020 08:04:28

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Heriberto Hernandez returned to its homeport in San Juan, Puerto Rico on July 22 to offload approximately 1,375 kilograms of cocaine with an estimated wholesale value of more than $38.5 million seized when the cutter came upon a go-fast in the Caribbean Sea. The interdiction was the result of multi-agency efforts in support of U.S. Southern Command's enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere, and during Operation CASTNET II, in coordination with Joint Task Force East.

Im extremely proud of my crew as well as the performance and reliability of the Coast Guard fast response cutter, said Lt. Russo, cutter Heriberto Hernandez commanding officer. The crews proficiency in using all of the cutters systems and capabilities throughout our patrol, gave us the ability to effectively operate deep inside the Caribbean Sea which led to this successful outcome and prevented over a ton of cocaine from ever reaching the streets.

Crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Heriberto Hernandez offloading in San Juan July 22, 2020 - U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class John Hightower

On the afternoon of July 16, the cutter during its patrol came up on the suspected drug smuggling operation. As the cutter Heriberto Hernandez closed-in to interdict the go-fast vessel, the smugglers began to jettison multiple bales of the suspected contraband while fleeing the area at high speed. The crew of the Heriberto Hernandez conducted a thorough sweep of the area where the jettison occurred, and they were able to recover 55 bales which later tested positive for cocaine.

On April 1, the U.S. Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of illegal narcotics in the region. The cuter was working as part of the Joint Task Forces East at the time of the apprehension. Operation CASTNET coordinates interagency operations within Puerto Rico with the intent to disrupt and degrade vulnerabilities and increase the overall security of the island. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, are all participating in the counter-drug operations.

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US Coast Guard Seizes $38.5 Million in Cocaine in the Caribbean - The Maritime Executive

USS Shamal Shows Fury in Interdicting Go Fast – U.S. Southern Command

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By U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command / U.S. 4th Fleet

CARIBBEAN SEA The Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Shamal (PC 13) with embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) recovered more than 3,900 pounds of suspected marijuana, July 4.

While on routine patrol in the Caribbean Sea, Shamal spotted the go-fast vessel (GVF). Once detected, the crew observed suspected drug smugglers aboard jettisoning packages overboard.

In a coordinated effort, Shamal launched their small boat and the LEDET was deployed to the scene to further investigate.

Upon arriving on scene, the Shamal and the embarked LEDET recovered a total of 708 bales of suspected marijuana, totaling more than 3,940 pounds worth over an estimated wholesale value of $6.9 million.

"The Shamal Team performed very well during the interdiction and safely boarded the vessel," said Shamal Commanding Officer Lt. Cmdr. Daniel O'Neill. "We received outstanding training in preparation for this patrol, and it really motivates the Shamal team when we're able to demonstrate our abilities with a successful bust.

USS Shamal is deployed to the U.S. Fourth Fleet area of operations supporting U.S. Southern Commands enhanced counter drug operations mission in the Caribbean.

On April 1, U.S. Southern Command began enhanced counter-narcotics operations in the Western Hemisphere to disrupt the flow of drugs in support of Presidential National Security Objectives. Numerous U.S. agencies from the Departments of Defense, Justice and Homeland Security cooperated in the effort to combat transnational organized crime. The Coast Guard, Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, along with allied and international partner agencies, play a role in counter-drug operations.

The fight against drug cartels in the Caribbean Sea requires unity of effort in all phases from detection, monitoring and interdictions, to criminal prosecutions by international partners and U.S. Attorneys in districts across the nation. The law enforcement phase of counter-smuggling operations in the Caribbean Sea is conducted under the authority of the 7th Coast Guard District, headquartered in Miami. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are led and conducted by members of the U.S. Coast Guard.

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet supports U.S. Southern Commands joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability, and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American region. For more news from U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command & U.S. 4th Fleet, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/cusns/.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.Get more information about the Navy from US Navy facebook or twitter.

For more news from U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command & U.S. 4th Fleet, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/cusns/.

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COVID Stories: Worcester’s Caribbean food truck easily adapted to pandemic restrictions – Worcester Business Journal

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As the Central Massachusetts economy cautiously reopens in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, WBJ has started a frequent series called COVID Stories, talking one-on-one with local businesses owners about how they are adjusting. Read other COVID Stories: More Information

Luckily for Jermaine Smith, owner of the Caribbean Press food truck of Worcester, the food truck industry was easily adaptable for COVID-19 operations.

Food trucks were one of the lucky businesses, said Smith, our food is all take-out, and all we had to do was set up in a location; and we were able to have people come, be six feet apart, and pick up meals that way.

Smiths food truck does a Caribbean twist on the panini and first opened in September.

The Caribbean Press was open throughout the pandemic, with its main location being at White Eagle parking lot in Worcester.

At first, he was not that busy because of COVID restrictions and the fact that people were not leaving their homes, but recently business has picked up.

People werent really going out, so everyone in the food truck business was trying to get out there and hustle as much as possible until people were feeling more comfortable and the restrictions in Massachusetts opened up, said Smith.

In late April, the food truck began visiting a second location at the Austin Liquors parking lot on Park Avenue.

The Caribbean Press offers some catering services to customers and local businesses as well.

Smith did not have to change most of the ways he operates because of COVID, but he does now focus more on cleaning, sanitizing, wearing masks, and social distancing.

Were really trying to follow the letters of the law of how to carry on our business, said Smith.

He obtained a ServSafe Takeout: COVID-19 Precautions training certification.

Smith was the only one working the food truck until business picked up in the last few months, and he hired an employee to be outside of the food truck handling payment.

One of the biggest challenges for Smiths food truck and other food trucks is the absence of festivals.At festivals, you can get up to several thousand customers, said Smith.

Though there are not festivals to go to, breweries and wineries offer a unique opportunity for food trucks like Smiths.

A lot of people are venturing out to breweries because they have a lot of open space and are more spread out, so people can grab their food and then have their table to themselves outside and far apart from one another, said Smith.

The Caribbean Press food truck has been to Greater Good Imperial Brewing Co. in Worcester, Sail to Trail WineWorks in Worcester, and Oakholm Brewing Co. in Brookfield.

For breweries and wineries without kitchens, food trucks offer an easy and COVID adaptable way to add that food element to their space.

Though the business opportunity of serving large crowds at festivals might not exist for a while, the Caribbean Press food truck continues to find other ways to reach customers safely.

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COVID Stories: Worcester's Caribbean food truck easily adapted to pandemic restrictions - Worcester Business Journal

Over 14 Caribbean markets will have access to Reggae Sumfest 2020 Flow – Jamaica Observer

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KINGSTON, Jamaica Fans in over 14 Caribbean markets will be able to tune in to watch Reggae Sumfest tonight and tomorrow from the comfort of their homes.

The 2020 staging of the event was moved online following the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak earlier this year. The event will be powered by Flow Jamaica, which will provide all technology support required for the virtual staging of the annual festival.

Reggae Sumfest is a premier event with a solid reputation of stellar performances and world-class production. With the impact of COVID-19, we've gone virtual but will still be delivering the event at the high standard that our supporters expect. To this end, our partnership with Flow is a no brainer, Joe Bogdanovich, chairman and CEO of Downsound Entertainment, the producers of Reggae Sumfest, said.

The success of our first ever virtual staging is heavily dependent on the technology backbone that supports it and so we've opted to go with Flow as the provider of choice for these kinds of executions. The Sumfest team is encouraging our fans all over the world to enjoy our gift of music as we take a respite from the challenges of COVID-19, he added.

Night One kicks off on Friday, July 24 at 8:00 pm and will feature acts such as Agent Sasco, Ding Dong Shenseea, Teejay, Konshens, Ishawna, D'yani, Tanto Metro & Devonte, Chronic Law, Marcy Chin, Frisco Kid, Daddy 1 and Chakka Demus & Pliers.

Night Two will follow on Saturday, July 25, at 8:00 pm and will feature acts such as Tarrus Riley, Freddie McGregor, Sizzla, Gyptian, Maxi Priest, Koffee plus some special performances.

The company said supporters can watch the virtual performances for free at @ReggaeSumfest on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as well as @Musicians on Facebook.

A delayed broadcast of the event will be played across the Caribbean on Flow 100, the company's cable TV channel.

Now you can read the Jamaica Observer ePaper anytime, anywhere. The Jamaica Observer ePaper is available to you at home or at work, and is the same edition as the printed copy available at http://bit.ly/epaperlive

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Over 14 Caribbean markets will have access to Reggae Sumfest 2020 Flow - Jamaica Observer

Planetary science – Wikipedia

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Science of astronomical objects apparently in orbit around one or more stellar objects within a few light years

Planetary science or, more rarely, planetology, is the scientific study of planets (including Earth), moons, and planetary systems (in particular those of the Solar System) and the processes that form them. It studies objects ranging in size from micrometeoroids to gas giants, aiming to determine their composition, dynamics, formation, interrelations and history. It is a strongly interdisciplinary field, originally growing from astronomy and earth science,[1] but which now incorporates many disciplines, including planetary geology (together with geochemistry and geophysics), cosmochemistry, atmospheric science, oceanography, hydrology, theoretical planetary science, glaciology, and exoplanetology.[1] Allied disciplines include space physics, when concerned with the effects of the Sun on the bodies of the Solar System, and astrobiology.

There are interrelated observational and theoretical branches of planetary science. Observational research can involve a combination of space exploration, predominantly with robotic spacecraft missions using remote sensing, and comparative, experimental work in Earth-based laboratories. The theoretical component involves considerable computer simulation and mathematical modelling.

Planetary scientists are generally located in the astronomy and physics or Earth sciences departments of universities or research centres, though there are several purely planetary science institutes worldwide. There are several major conferences each year, and a wide range of peer-reviewed journals. Some planetary scientists work at private research centres and often initiate partnership research tasks.

The history of planetary science may be said to have begun with the Ancient Greek philosopher Democritus, who is reported by Hippolytus as saying

The ordered worlds are boundless and differ in size, and that in some there is neither sun nor moon, but that in others, both are greater than with us, and yet with others more in number. And that the intervals between the ordered worlds are unequal, here more and there less, and that some increase, others flourish and others decay, and here they come into being and there they are eclipsed. But that they are destroyed by colliding with one another. And that some ordered worlds are bare of animals and plants and all water.[2]

In more modern times, planetary science began in astronomy, from studies of the unresolved planets. In this sense, the original planetary astronomer would be Galileo, who discovered the four largest moons of Jupiter, the mountains on the Moon, and first observed the rings of Saturn, all objects of intense later study. Galileo's study of the lunar mountains in 1609 also began the study of extraterrestrial landscapes: his observation "that the Moon certainly does not possess a smooth and polished surface" suggested that it and other worlds might appear "just like the face of the Earth itself".[3]

Advances in telescope construction and instrumental resolution gradually allowed increased identification of the atmospheric and surface details of the planets. The Moon was initially the most heavily studied, as it always exhibited details on its surface, due to its proximity to the Earth, and the technological improvements gradually produced more detailed lunar geological knowledge. In this scientific process, the main instruments were astronomical optical telescopes (and later radio telescopes) and finally robotic exploratory spacecraft.

The Solar System has now been relatively well-studied, and a good overall understanding of the formation and evolution of this planetary system exists. However, there are large numbers of unsolved questions,[4] and the rate of new discoveries is very high, partly due to the large number of interplanetary spacecraft currently exploring the Solar System.

Planetary science studies observational and theoretical astronomy, geology (exogeology), atmospheric science, and an emerging subspecialty in planetary oceans.[5]

This is both an observational and a theoretical science. Observational researchers are predominantly concerned with the study of the small bodies of the Solar System: those that are observed by telescopes, both optical and radio, so that characteristics of these bodies such as shape, spin, surface materials and weathering are determined, and the history of their formation and evolution can be understood.

Theoretical planetary astronomy is concerned with dynamics: the application of the principles of celestial mechanics to the Solar System and extrasolar planetary systems. Every planet has its own subject.

Planet: Subject: Named after (NB: these terms are rarely used)

The best known research topics of planetary geology deal with the planetary bodies in the near vicinity of the Earth: the Moon, and the two neighbouring planets: Venus and Mars. Of these, the Moon was studied first, using methods developed earlier on the Earth.

Geomorphology studies the features on planetary surfaces and reconstructs the history of their formation, inferring the physical processes that acted on the surface. Planetary geomorphology includes the study of several classes of surface features:

The history of a planetary surface can be deciphered by mapping features from top to bottom according to their deposition sequence, as first determined on terrestrial strata by Nicolas Steno. For example, stratigraphic mapping prepared the Apollo astronauts for the field geology they would encounter on their lunar missions. Overlapping sequences were identified on images taken by the Lunar Orbiter program, and these were used to prepare a lunar stratigraphic column and geological map of the Moon.

One of the main problems when generating hypotheses on the formation and evolution of objects in the Solar System is the lack of samples that can be analysed in the laboratory, where a large suite of tools are available and the full body of knowledge derived from terrestrial geology can be brought to bear. Direct samples from the Moon, asteroids and Mars are present on Earth, removed from their parent bodies and delivered as meteorites. Some of these have suffered contamination from the oxidising effect of Earth's atmosphere and the infiltration of the biosphere, but those meteorites collected in the last few decades from Antarctica are almost entirely pristine.

The different types of meteorites that originate from the asteroid belt cover almost all parts of the structure of differentiated bodies: meteorites even exist that come from the core-mantle boundary (pallasites). The combination of geochemistry and observational astronomy has also made it possible to trace the HED meteorites back to a specific asteroid in the main belt, 4 Vesta.

The comparatively few known Martian meteorites have provided insight into the geochemical composition of the Martian crust, although the unavoidable lack of information about their points of origin on the diverse Martian surface has meant that they do not provide more detailed constraints on theories of the evolution of the Martian lithosphere.[11] As of July 24, 2013 65 samples of Martian meteorites have been discovered on Earth. Many were found in either Antarctica or the Sahara Desert.

During the Apollo era, in the Apollo program, 384 kilograms of lunar samples were collected and transported to the Earth, and 3 Soviet Luna robots also delivered regolith samples from the Moon. These samples provide the most comprehensive record of the composition of any Solar System body beside the Earth. The numbers of lunar meteorites are growing quickly in the last few years [12] as ofApril 2008 there are 54 meteorites that have been officially classified as lunar.Eleven of these are from the US Antarctic meteorite collection, 6 are from the JapaneseAntarctic meteorite collection, and the other 37 are from hot desert localities in Africa,Australia, and the Middle East. The total mass of recognized lunar meteorites is close to50kg.

Space probes made it possible to collect data in not only the visible light region, but in other areas of the electromagnetic spectrum. The planets can be characterized by their force fields: gravity and their magnetic fields, which are studied through geophysics and space physics.

Measuring the changes in acceleration experienced by spacecraft as they orbit has allowed fine details of the gravity fields of the planets to be mapped. For example, in the 1970s, the gravity field disturbances above lunar maria were measured through lunar orbiters, which led to the discovery of concentrations of mass, mascons, beneath the Imbrium, Serenitatis, Crisium, Nectaris and Humorum basins.

If a planet's magnetic field is sufficiently strong, its interaction with the solar wind forms a magnetosphere around a planet. Early space probes discovered the gross dimensions of the terrestrial magnetic field, which extends about 10 Earth radii towards the Sun. The solar wind, a stream of charged particles, streams out and around the terrestrial magnetic field, and continues behind the magnetic tail, hundreds of Earth radii downstream. Inside the magnetosphere, there are relatively dense regions of solar wind particles, the Van Allen radiation belts.

Geophysics includes seismology and tectonophysics, geophysical fluid dynamics, mineral physics, geodynamics, mathematical geophysics, and geophysical surveying.

Planetary geodesy, (also known as planetary geodetics) deals with the measurement and representation of the planets of the Solar System, their gravitational fields and geodynamic phenomena (polar motion in three-dimensional, time-varying space. The science of geodesy has elements of both astrophysics and planetary sciences. The shape of the Earth is to a large extent the result of its rotation, which causes its equatorial bulge, and the competition of geologic processes such as the collision of plates and of vulcanism, resisted by the Earth's gravity field. These principles can be applied to the solid surface of Earth (orogeny; Few mountains are higher than 10km (6mi), few deep sea trenches deeper than that because quite simply, a mountain as tall as, for example, 15km (9mi), would develop so much pressure at its base, due to gravity, that the rock there would become plastic, and the mountain would slump back to a height of roughly 10km (6mi) in a geologically insignificant time. Some or all of these geologic principles can be applied to other planets besides Earth. For instance on Mars, whose surface gravity is much less, the largest volcano, Olympus Mons, is 27km (17mi) high at its peak, a height that could not be maintained on Earth. The Earth geoid is essentially the figure of the Earth abstracted from its topographic features. Therefore, the Mars geoid is essentially the figure of Mars abstracted from its topographic features. Surveying and mapping are two important fields of application of geodesy.

The atmosphere is an important transitional zone between the solid planetary surface and the higher rarefied ionizing and radiation belts. Not all planets have atmospheres: their existence depends on the mass of the planet, and the planet's distance from the Sun too distant and frozen atmospheres occur. Besides the four gas giant planets, almost all of the terrestrial planets (Earth, Venus, and Mars) have significant atmospheres. Two moons have significant atmospheres: Saturn's moon Titan and Neptune's moon Triton. A tenuous atmosphere exists around Mercury.

The effects of the rotation rate of a planet about its axis can be seen in atmospheric streams and currents. Seen from space, these features show as bands and eddies in the cloud system, and are particularly visible on Jupiter and Saturn.

Planetary science frequently makes use of the method of comparison to give a greater understanding of the object of study. This can involve comparing the dense atmospheres of Earth and Saturn's moon Titan, the evolution of outer Solar System objects at different distances from the Sun, or the geomorphology of the surfaces of the terrestrial planets, to give only a few examples.

The main comparison that can be made is to features on the Earth, as it is much more accessible and allows a much greater range of measurements to be made. Earth analogue studies are particularly common in planetary geology, geomorphology, and also in atmospheric science.

The use of terrestrial analogues was first described by Gilbert (1886).[13]

Smaller workshops and conferences on particular fields occur worldwide throughout the year.

This non-exhaustive list includes those institutions and universities with major groups of people working in planetary science. Alphabetical order is used.

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The Moon Might Have Formed a Little Later than Originally Believed – Universe Today

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According to the Giant Impact Hypothesis, the Moon formed when a Mars-sized object (named Theia) collided with Earth billion years ago, at a time when the Earth was still a ball of magma. This event not only led to the Earth-Moon system we recognize today, it is also beleived to have led to the differentiation of the Earths core region into an molten Outer Core and a solid Inner Core.

However, there has been an ongoing debate as to the timing of this impact and how long the subsequent formation of the Moon took place. According to a new study by a team of German researchers, the Moon formed from a magma ocean that took up to 200 million years to solidify. This means that the Moon finished forming about 4.425 billion years ago, or 100 million years later than previously thought.

The study, which recently appeared in the journal Science Advances (titled A long-lived magma ocean on a young Moon), was conducted by planetary geophysicists from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), along with researchers from the Technical University of Berlin and the Institute of Planetology at the University of Mnster.

When Earth was still in the process of forming roughly four-and-a-half billion years ago, the Solar System was a rather chaotic place. At the time, planetesimals that had also formed from the protoplanetary disk were tossed about and would occasionally collide with a planet. In Earths case, this had the effect of adding to its mass and causing its core region to become denser and hotter.

Over time, heavier elements sunk to the center of the Earth, leading to the formation of its iron-nickel core. At the same time, increasingly large parts of the Earths mantle melted to form a magma ocean. When Theia collided with Earth, this ocean became several thousands of kilometers deep and much of it was expelled into space. This material either was then reabsorbed by Earth or coalesced in orbit around it to form the Moon.

While most scientists today believe that this is an accurate scenario for how the Moon formed, there has been disagreement about the details and timing of the process. As Maxime Maurice, a researcher with the DLR and the lead author on the study, said:

The results of our latest modelling suggest that the young Earth was hit by a protoplanet some 140 million years after the birth of the Solar System 4.567 billion years ago. According to our calculations, this happened 4.425 billion years ago with an uncertainty of 25 million years and the Moon was born.

One of the reasons there has been disagreement over the Grand Impact Hypothesis has to do with the very thing that inspired it in the first place: Moon rocks. Basically, of all the Moon rocks brought back to Earth by the six Apollo missions and the three Soviet Luna landers, none provide a direct record of the Moons age. As a result, scientists have had to rely on indirect methods for coming up with lunar age estimates.

In addition, the energy gained by the accretion of material also led to the formation of a magma ocean on the Moon, which covered the entire surface and was over 1000 km (620 mi) deep at the time. Also like Earth, this magma ocean began to quickly cool and crystallize to form a crust, which had the effect of insulating the magma beneath it and slowing down the cooling process.

Until now, scientists were unable to determine how long it took for the magma ocean to crystallize completely, which made determining when the Moon originally formed tricky. To arrive at their estimates, Maurice and his colleagues used a new computer model that comprehensively considered the processes involved in the solidification of the magma similar to what did Maurice (though in greater detail) for his Ph.D. thesis.

This consisted of calculating how the composition of silicate minerals in the Moons crust that are rich in magnesium and iron (which formed during the solidification of the magma) changed over time. What they found was evidence that as solidification progressed, there was a drastic change in the composition of the remaining magma ocean.

This finding allowed the team to link the formation of different types of rock on the Moon to a certain stage in the solidification process. Ultimately, this led them to conclude that the Moons magma ocean took almost 200 million years before it fully solidified to form the Moons crust. This contradicts what scientists previously thought, which was that it took only 35 million years to solidify.

As Sabrina Schwinger, a researcher with the DLR and a co-author on the study, summarized:

By comparing the measured composition of the Moons rocks with the predicted composition of the magma ocean from our model, we were able to trace the evolution of the ocean back to its starting point, the time at which the Moon was formed.

Last, but not least, the results of this study are consistent with previous age estimates obtained with the uranium-lead method. Based on the rate at which uranium decays to become lead, scientists found that the Earths metallic core completed forming at roughly the same time. Therefore, this study is the first to directly link the age of the Moon to an event that occurred at the very end of the Earths formation.

As always, determining how one body in the Solar System formed can shed light on how the others did as well. And when it comes to the Earth-Moon system, the origins of one are inextricably tied up with the other.

Further Reading: DLR, Science Advances

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‘Not much hope’: Macau casinos see deepening losses as virus slams China travel – Reuters

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HONG KONG (Reuters) - Casinos in the worlds biggest gambling hub Macau are staring at heavy losses for the second quarter, with not much hope for a near-term recovery as a resurgence in coronavirus cases muddies the outlook for when China will reinstate travel visas.

FILE PHOTO: A man wears a mask as he walks in front of the closed Grand Lisboa casino, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Macau, China February 5, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

Visitors from greater China make up for over 90% of Macaus tourists, but given travel has dried up amid the health crisis, Morgan Stanley warns casinos in the special administrative region could rack up losses of $1 billion over April to June.

The Las Vegas Sands (LVS.N) unit, Sands China (1928.HK), said it flipped into the red with a $549 million loss, setting the stage for a dire quarter for Macau casinos that have been operating with almost no income and no visitors since February.

Even after easing curbs for some travellers, Macau saw only 2,000 visitors per day in July, a tiny fraction of the 108,000 daily average in 2019, as the individual travel scheme through which visitors from the mainland gain entry remains suspended.

Without the individual visitation scheme being resurrected, theres not much hope for the casinos to come back, said Rob Goldstein, president of Las Vegas Sands, which operates properties including the Venetian and Parisian in Macau.

Sands Chinas revenue was almost wiped out in the second quarter. Other operators, Melco Resorts (MLCO.O), Wynn Macau (1128.HK), Galaxy Entertainment (0027.HK), MGM China (2282.HK) and SJM Holdings (0880.HK), will report in the coming weeks.

A Reuters calculation shows Macau casino operators came into 2020 with a cumulative cash position of just over $12 billion, providing a solid buffer to survive the coming months.

But anything longer could spell trouble as they continue to bleed millions of dollars in daily operating costs.

Macau has not had a new local coronavirus case for over 100 days, while Hong Kong and some parts of the mainland have seen a sharp spike in infections. Ferry services between Hong Kong and Macau remain halted, further hurting the casino business.

Four casino operators have issued or said they plan to issue new debt, worth a total $4.2 billion, in the past two months, highlighting the challenges they face even as they cut costs and streamline operations.

Operational expenses in the second quarter dipped 5% from the prior three months, noted Praveen Choudhary, an analyst at Morgan Stanley, Hong Kong. This could help the industrys earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization break even in the third quarter, he added.

Macaus gambling industry is crucial for the Chinese-ruled territory where the sector employs about three quarters of its 600,000 population, either directly or indirectly.

The government has mandated casinos to safeguard employment for local staff, prompting operators to find ways other than job cuts to reduce costs such as offering staff unpaid leave.

There is nothing else we can do at this point, a senior casino executive said. We thought it (restrictions) would be done by April, then May, then June, then July. Now this year we say is not going to be a good year, he added on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media.

Reporting by Farah Master; Editing by Himani Sarkar

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Virus Outbreak: StarLux to boost flights to Macau and Penang –

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By Kao Shih-ching / Staff reporter

Starting next month, StarLux Airlines Co () is to increase its number of flights to Macau and Penang, Malaysia, to meet rising air cargo demand and help its pilots build up flight hours, the airline said yesterday.

From Aug. 1, Starlux is to offer four round-trip flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Macau International Airport every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, compared with three per week now, it said in a statement.

It would also operate three round-trip flights per week from Taoyuan to Penang International Airport every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, from two at present, it said.

Photo courtesy of StarLux Airlines

Although air travel is unlikely to rebound quickly in the third quarter as the COVID-19 pandemic shows no signs of slowing, Starlux decided to expand its operations on expectations that the air cargo business would remain rosy, spokesman Nieh Kuo-wei () told the Taipei Times by telephone.

The start-up airline, which was struck by the pandemic after beginning operations on Jan. 23, has been concentrating on cargo services between Taiwan and Macau and Penang to mitigate the effects of a faltering passenger business amid travel restrictions.

Frankly speaking, we would operate the flights even without any passenger, as the cargo revenue would be enough to cover variable costs, Nieh said.

However, StarLux has yet to resume its operations to Da Nang, as Vietnam has not eased its restrictions on air travel and cargo demand is low, he said.

Starlux also wants its pilots to accumulate more flight hours, which would give it an advantage when applying to the Civil Aeronautics Administration to launch new flights, Nieh said.

In related news, EVA Airways Corp () yesterday said it is likely to increase its flights in the third quarter, as many countries ease border controls.

We adjust our flight schedules on a rolling basis depending on the pandemic, official measures and consumer demand, it said.

In the short term, domestic air travel would continue to outperform international travel, as a mandatory 14-day quarantine for returning citizens has dampened desire to travel abroad, it said.

As EVA lends its planes to Uni Air (), which has been increasing its flights to outlying islands due to high demand, it also benefits from the domestic travel boost, it said.

Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the user banned. Final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times.

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WHO concerned over rising virus cases in Europe – Macau Business

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The European chapter of the World Health Organization on Friday expressed concern over the resurgence of new coronavirus cases on the continent, saying countries should impose tighter restrictions if necessary.

The number of infections in Europe crossed three million on Thursday, a fifth of the worlds more than 15 million cases. It remains the hardest hit in terms of deaths, with 206,633 out of 627,307 worldwide.

With 335 new cases for 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks, Kyrgyzstan is the worst affected country in the sprawling zone covered by WHOs European chapter.

Others include Montenegro (207), Luxemburg (196), Bosnia (98), Serbia (71), Romania (52) and Bulgaria (46).

However the numbers of new infections have gone down significantly in Armenia (197 cases per 100,000), Kazakhstan (128), Moldavia (82), and Russia (60).

The recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases in some countries following the easing of physical distancing measures is certainly cause for concern, a spokeswoman told AFP.

Where new clusters of cases appear, these need to be controlled through rapid and targeted interventions including rapid case detection and isolation and diligent contact tracing and quarantining, she said.

If the situation demands, reintroduction of stricter, targeted measures with the full engagement of communities may be needed.

However, the number of new cases across Europe has remained stable at around 20,000 daily since May 20 more than two times lower than peak numbers at the start of April.

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Consumption smartcard top-up to start on Monday – Macau News

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Residents can start to top up their consumption smartcards for the second phase of the governments subsidy scheme to boost locals spending from Monday at various service points across the city, the government announced on Thursday.

The top-up amounts to MOP 5,000.

Residents can top up their smartcards at the service points, including public administration premises, community association venues and bank branches, without the need to present their ID cards. They merely need to hold their smartcards over a reader.

Residents will have to spend the MOP 5,000 between 1 August and 31 December. As in the current first phase (MOP 3,000), they can only spend up to MOP 300 per day during the second phase.

Both permanent and non-permanent residents are entitled to the consumption subsidy scheme. Macaos around 190,000 non-resident workers are excluded from the scheme.

Those who did not pick up their smartcards for spending during the current first phase can, however, obtain the second-phase subsidy of MOP 5,000, in which case they can pick up their cards at one of several card collection points by presenting their ID cards.

The government announced details of the second phase of its consumption subsidy scheme during a press conference at Government Headquarters on Thursday.

1st phase ends next Friday

The first phase of the consumption subsidy scheme, a 3,000-pataca smartcard, started on 1 May and ends next Friday. The government has said that the second phase is needed to continue boosting local consumption and stabilising the job market amid the ongoing adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Macaos economy.

Before the first phase started in May, residents needed to register online to pick up their 3,000-pataca consumption smartcards known in Cantonese as siu fai kat.

Those who never registered for a consumption smartcard or failed to pick up their card in the first phase can collect their smartcard for the second phase without having to register in advance, but they have to show their ID card.

If a resident does not spend all the MOP 3,000 in the first phase of the scheme, the remainder will not be carried forward into the second phase but will revert to the public coffers.

During Thursdays press conference, Economic Services Bureau (DSE) Director Tai Kin Ip said that residents can obtain the second-phase subsidy of MOP 5,000 between Monday and 14 December for both topping up their existing card (those who had previously picked it up) and collecting a new card (those who did not pick it up previously).

According to Tai, only those who have already spent the MOP 3,000 in their smartcards can start to top it up from Monday. Those who still have money left in their cards before 1 August can only top it up from 1 August when the money remaining from the first phase will revert to the government.

Tai underlined that those who top up their smartcard or collect a new card before 1 August can only start to use the new MOP 5,000 from 1 August. Tai said the measure allowing residents to have the 5,000-pataca subsidy credited to their consumption smartcards between Monday and next Friday aimed to divert the flow of people so that not all residents start to top-up the cards from 1 August.

As in the first phase, the smartcards cannot be used for paying public utility bills such as water and electricity or telecom services, and they cannot be used to buy ferry or air tickets. Neither can residents use the card to pay for outbound tourism services or health services. In addition, the card cannot be used for spending in casinos, pawnshops, banks, insurance companies or other financial institutions.

The smartcards are operated by MacauPass. Residents can spend the subsidy credited to their contactless stored-value card by placing it over MacauPass terminals installed at local shops or other businesses for goods and services.

Transferable but not for cash

The consumption subsidy cannot be converted into cash, and it can only be used to buy goods and services. The cards are transferable.

Tai said that those who already have a consumption smartcard can hold it over a reader to top it up at 190 top-up points across the city, comprising 29 venues on government premises, 31 community association venues, 127 bank branches and three MacauPass service points. They will not have to register or make an appointment in advance and will not have to present their ID cards at the top-up points.

Tai said that those who did not pick up their 3,000-pataca consumption smartcard previously or have lost their 3,000-pataca smartcard can pick up a new 5,000-pataca smartcard at one of six card collection points where they will only have to present their ID cards without the need to register or make an appointment in advance.

According to Tai, those who have lost their 3,000-pataca smartcard will have to report the loss to the police first before they can pick up the new 5,000-pataca smartcard.

For the consumption subsidy schemes first phase, a minors smartcard needed to be picked up by one of their parents or legal guardian. Tai said that for the second phase, the 5,000-pataca smartcard of a minor can also be picked up by his or her grandparents, adult brother or sister, uncle or aunt, in addition to his or her parents or legal guardians.

As in the first phase, residents may also download an authorisation from the Economic Services Bureau website to designate another person to pick up the smartcard for them. That person needs to present the smartcard holders ID card and his or her own ID card together with the authorisation form signed by the smartcard holder when collecting the consumption smartcard.

According to Tai, the government will penalise businesses that engage in price gouging or provide misleading price information to consumers for the schemes second phase. Tai said that depending on the severity of the offence, the government may disallow all or some outlets of the business concerned to benefit from the scheme for a certain period of time.

According to Tai, 624,000 residents picked up their first-phase 3,000-pataca smartcards before the 17 July deadline, or 95 per cent of the 658,000 who had registered. Some 732,000 residents were eligible for the subsidy in the first phase. So far some MOP 1.82 billion have been spent by holders of the consumption smartcards in the first phase, Tai said.

Tai said that based on the governments population growth estimate during the next few months, 737,000 Macao residents are expected to be eligible for the second-phase 5,000-pataca smartcard. Tai said that therefore the government expected to spend up to MOP 3.68 billion on the schemes second phase.

Tai also said that as the governments ongoing Macao tour scheme is not an outbound tourism service, residents can pay for the local tours with their consumption smartcards.

(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)PHOTO Daryl Chapman Photography

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From the Moon to Mars: China’s long march in space – Macau Business

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China launched a rover to Mars on Thursday, another milestone for its space programme after putting humans into orbit and landing a probe on the Moon.

It is among a trio of nations, along with the United Arab Emirates and the United States, launching missions to the Red Planet this month, taking advantage of a period when Mars and Earth are favourably aligned.

Beijings space programme has made huge strides in recent years as it tries to catch up with the United States and Russia.

Here are five things to know about the programme:

Chinas Mars probe lifted off on July 23 from the southern island of Hainan.

The mission was dubbed Tianwen-1 (Questions to Heaven) in a nod to a classical Chinese poem that has verses about the cosmos.

The probe aims to go into Martian orbit, land on the planet and release a small rover to conduct research on its surface.

The craft will travel at least 55 million kilometres (34 million miles) to reach its destination. It will arrive seven months after launch, in February, according to an official.

It is not Chinas first attempt to go to Mars.

A previous mission with Russia in 2011 failed because the Russian launcher was unable to get the craft into a transfer orbit to slingshot towards the Red Planet.

The hardware partially disintegrated as it later crashed back to Earth.

Following that failure, Beijing decided to try again on its own.

Its purposes are not different from those of other countries: develop the capability, explore the universe and finally, create political influence and national prestige, said Chen Lan, an independent analyst at GoTaikonauts.com, which specialises in news about Chinas space programme.

The rover, weighing 240 kilogrammes (530 pounds), has six wheels and four solar panels, Chinese state media reported.

The rover will roam Mars for three months, according to Sun Zezhou, chief engineer of the probe.

The machine is supposed to analyse the planets soil and atmosphere, take photos, chart maps and look for signs of past life.

China sent two rovers to the Moon, Jade Rabbit One and Two (Yutu in Chinese), in 2013 and 2019.

The second rover made a historic soft landing on the far side of the Moon, making China the first country to do so.

The lunar Yutu rovers are good practice in many ways for a Martian rover. The terrain is broadly similar, Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told AFP.

But the distance from Earth means communication will be slower, McDowell said, adding that the risk of problems increases with such a long trip.

China has poured billions of dollars into its space programme to catch up with the US, Russia and Europe.

In 2003, it became the third nation after the US and Russia to send a human into space.

It has launched a slew of satellites into orbit, completing a constellation in June to set up its own navigation system, Beidou, to rival the US GPS system.

The Asian powerhouse plans to assemble a space station by 2022 in Earth orbit.

And China is aiming even higher, hoping to become only the second nation to send humans to the Moon a decade from now.

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UN calls on US to ensure right to peaceful protests – Macau Business

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The UN warned Friday against using excessive force against demonstrators and media in the United States, and said the deployment of unidentified officers increased the risk of human rights violations.

Responding to questions about violent clashes in the US city of Portland between federal forces and demonstrators protesting against racism and police brutality, a UN spokeswoman stressed that the right to peacefully assemble and protest must be protected.

Peaceful demonstrations that have been taking place in cities in the US, such as Portland, really must be able to continue, UN rights office spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssel told reporters in Geneva.

People must be able to demonstrate, and journalists must be able to cover such protests, without risking arbitrary arrest or detention, being subject to unnecessary disproportionate or discriminatory use of force or suffering other violations of their rights, she said.

Protests raged in the US after the killing of George Floyd, an African American man who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis on May 25.

Those protests began losing steam earlier this month, before reports emerged of federal officers snatching Portland protestors and taking them away in unmarked vehicles, spurring a fresh wave of demonstrations.

The US Justice Departments independent watchdog announced Thursday it was launching probes into the use of force by federal agents in Portland.

Throssel said that the reports of unidentified officers making arrests were a particular cause for concern.

She noted that such practices could give rise to arbitrary detention and other human rights violations.

We would stress that the authorities should ensure that the federal and local security forces deployed are properly and clearly identified and use force only when necessary, proportionate, and in accordance with international standards, she said.

Globally, she added, authorities must ensure that people deployed for law enforcement do not threaten the use of force to deter peaceful protesters.

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Russia to resume some international flights in August – Macau Business

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Russia said on Friday it will resume some international flights on August 1 after a four-month pause to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Russia closed its borders and halted international air travel in March, though some cross-border flights have been allowed to repatriate Russians stranded abroad.

We have made a decision to relaunch international air travel, said Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin at the start of a cabinet meeting.

Flights will initially resume from Moscow, Saint Petersburg and the southern city of Rostov.

Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said that for the moment Russia would only resume flights with Britain, Tanzania and Turkey.

Flights to London and Turkish cities Ankara and Istanbul will resume on August 1, with air travel to three Turkish resorts popular among Russians beginning again on August 10, she said.

Russians will only be allowed to travel to the island of Zanzibar in Tanzania, which Golikova said was an exotic route that is popular among a certain category of our citizens.

She said foreigners arriving in Russia will have to show a negative coronavirus test completed within 72 hours before departure.

Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh said Russia was in negotiations with 30 more countries to restart flights.

Russia has the fourth hightest number of coronavirus infections in the world, with 800,849 cases and 13,046 deaths, according to an official tally on Friday.

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Russia rejects space weapon claim as ‘propaganda’ – Macau Business

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Russia on Friday dismissed accusations from the United States and Britain that it had tested an anti-satellite weapon in space as propaganda.

Moscow responded after the United States Space Command on Thursday accused Russia of test-firing an anti-satellite weapon in space and warned the threat against US systems was real, serious and increasing.

The head of Britains Space Directorate, Air Vice-Marshal Harvey Smyth, also reacted, tweeting that actions of this kind threaten the peaceful use of space.

The Russian foreign ministry insisted on Moscows commitment to obligations on the non-discriminatory use and study of space with peaceful aims.

We call on our US and British colleagues to show professionalism and instead of some propagandistic information attacks, sit down for talks, the ministry said in a statement.

The US said that Russia conducted a non-destructive test of a space-based anti-satellite weapon.

Clearly this is unacceptable, tweeted US nuclear disarmament negotiator Marshall Billingslea, adding that it would be a major issue discussed next week in Vienna, where he is in talks on a successor to the New START treaty.

The treaty caps the nuclear warheads of the US and Russia the two Cold War-era superpowers.

The Russian foreign ministry said tests carried out by the countrys defence ministry on July 15 did not create a threat for other space equipment and most importantly, did not breach any norms or principles of international law.

It in turn accused the US and Britain of moves to develop anti-satellite weaponry.

The US and Britain naturally keep silent about their own efforts, it said, claiming the countries had programmes on the possible use of inspector satellites and repair satellites as counter-satellite weapons.

Commenting earlier Friday on the accusations, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia supports full demilitarisation of space and not basing any type of weapons in space.

The US Space Command said the test consisted of Russias satellite called Cosmos 2543 injecting an object into orbit.

Russian state media reported in December that a satellite called Cosmos-2542, which was launched in November 2019 by the Russian military, ejected another smaller satellite once in space.

The Russian defence ministry said the inspector-satellite was meant to monitor the condition of Russian satellites, but state daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta said it could also get information from somebody elses satellites.

The system is the same one that Space Command raised concerns about earlier this year, when it manoeuvred near a US government satellite, said General Jay Raymond, head of US Space Command.

This is further evidence of Russias continuing efforts to develop and test space-based systems, and consistent with the Kremlins published military doctrine to employ weapons that hold US and allied space assets at risk, Raymond said in a statement.

It is the latest example of Russian satellites behaving in a manner inconsistent with their stated mission, the Space Command statement added.

This event highlights Russias hypocritical advocacy of outer space arms control, said Christopher Ford, a US assistant secretary of state for arms control.

The statement also came as China launched a rover to Mars on Thursday, a journey coinciding with a similar US mission as the powers take their rivalry into deep space.

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UNU Macau and Caritas Macau partner to advance research & capacity building initiatives – Macau News

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The United Nations University Institute in Macau (UNU Macau) and Caritas Macau announced on Wednesday a five-year strategic partnership to strengthen cooperation on projects that promote policy as well as practice-relevant research and capacity building activities in the fields of sustainable community development, social innovation, and civil society cyber resilience.

In order to achieve these shared objectives, both parties signed on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to coordinate their work and synergise efforts on the implementation of projects and other activities of mutual interest through joint research, workshops, conferences, and other modalities.

We are glad to be signing our first MOU with UNU Macau after our continued collaboration with them on various projects and engagements in the past few years. Through this partnership, we hope to enhance evidence-based practice and scientific support to improve social services and capacity building initiatives in Macao. This also aligns with our objectives of strengthening collaboration with international organisations to establish a platform for networking, information exchange on global issues and ultimately to achieve greater human goals, the statement quoted Paul Pun Chi Meng, secretary-general of Caritas Macau, as saying.

Caritas Macau has been a long-term friend of the institute. We have many shared interests, such as sustainable community development and social innovation in Macao. We have collaborated on research projects in the past, thanks to Dr Mamello Thinyanes initiatives. Currently, Caritas is working with us on the Smart City-zen Cyber Resilience project funded by the Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT) where we aim to explore the role of civil society toward cyber resilience and enhance the cyber resilience preparedness in Macao. We are excited about this partnership with Caritas Macau. As the only United Nations presence in Macao, our Institute is working with local partners to connect Macao with the rest of the world through research and innovation, and helping transform the region into a hub of global technology innovation, the statement quoted UNU Macau Director Dr Huang Jingbo as saying.

According to the UNU Macau website, Dr Thinyane, a principal research fellow, works within the UNU Macaus Small Data Lab investigating the role of locally-relevant, citizen-generated data to empower individuals and community-level actors towards the Sustainable Development Goals targets, as well as the role of this data within the larger social indicators data ecosystem.

Dr Thinyane is the chairman of the board of the African Footprints of Hope Organisation, an NGO that facilitates strategic multistakeholder engagements towards socio-economic development of communities in Southern Africa. He is also a visiting researcher at the Australian Centre of Cyber-Security at the University of New South Wales in Canberra.

One of the key initiatives that both organisations will be working on is the Smart City-zen Cyber Resilience project which aims to enhance the cyber resilience of smart city-zens in Macao and around the world involving civil society actors in local preparations against cybersecurity threats. This project was designed to help accelerate the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and Macaos development plans.

According to the UNU Macau website, the Smart City-zen Cyber Resilience project aims to enhance the cyber resilience of civil society in Macao and globally through the development of a civil society-centric cyber resilience management model, as well as the operationalisation of the model through tools and applications in partnership with civil society and governmental stakeholders.

(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)PHOTO The Macau Post Daily

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NBA pulls out of Xinjiang project – Macau Business

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The National Basketball Association has severed ties to a training centre in Chinas western Xinjiang region, where Beijing faces growing international condemnation over its treatment of minorities.

In a letter published online by Senator Marsha Blackburn, the US league also said it had lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue after Chinese broadcasters dropped its games last year amid a bitter row triggered when a Houston Rockets executive expressed support for Hong Kong pro-democracy protests.

The NBA statements were contained in the letter dated July 21 to Blackburn that was posted on the Tennessee politicians official Senate webpage on Wednesday.

Signed by NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum, it was sent in response to questions raised by Blackburn about NBA involvement in Xinjiang, described by the senator as one of the worlds worst humanitarian zones.

China is in the midst of a bitter falling out with the United States on a range of fronts, including human rights, trade and Hong Kong.

The NBA has had no involvement with the Xinjiang basketball academy for more than a year, and the relationship has been terminated, Tatum wrote in the letter, which was confirmed as genuine by an NBA official.

More than one million ethnic Uighurs and other minorities, mostly Muslim Turkic peoples, have been herded into Xinjiang internment camps where they undergo political indoctrination, according to human rights groups and experts.

The existence of the camps had been revealed in recent years and appear aimed at taming long-time opposition by many Uighurs marked a spate of violent incidents over political and religious repression by Beijing.

The NBAs lucrative broadcast and merchandise interests in China the leagues most valuable market outside of the United States went into a tailspin after Rockets general manager Daryl Moreys tweet regarding Hong Kong protesters last October.

The comments infuriated the Chinese government and basketball fans and caused state broadcaster CCTV to stop showing matches.

The financial impact of NBA games not airing on television in China has been significant, Tatum wrote.

We estimate the loss of revenue to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

China is under mounting pressure from the United States and other trading partners over issues including Xinjiang and a new security law that Beijing imposed in Hong Kong, sparking fears that civil liberties in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory will be crushed.

The NBA has been in shutdown since March, when the coronavirus pandemic erupted across North America.

The league is relaunching its season with teams based in Orlando for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs.

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NBA pulls out of Xinjiang project - Macau Business