How can I make money?: June 2020

Tuesday, 30 June 2020

COVID-19: Rand Paul Doubts 'Group of Experts Somehow Knows What's Best For Everyone’

On Tuesday, the US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing where they spoke to a group of top US health officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on the state of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in the country and other related issues.

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New York Attorney General Announces $19 Mln Settlement Reached in Harvey Weinstein Case

68-year-old Harvey Weinstein, a former movie producer, was found guilty of sexual assault and rape and sentenced to 23 years in jail, having been accused by multiple women, including Hollywood actresses Weinstein used to work with.

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How to download YouTube videos

In this time of ubiquitous internet and abundance of content, downloading videos to your hard drive is rarely necessary. But sometimes, an important video can be hard to find, or can even be permanently removed from a platform, in which case it's not a bad idea to have a personal copy.

Say you've encountered a cool YouTube video and want to download it for your archive to make sure you still have it in case it disappears. YouTube has no easy "download" button, so how do you download a video off the platform?

Fortunately, there are a few ways to grab a YouTube video fairly easily, and in good quality. However, before we continue, note that downloading videos from the regular, free version of YouTube is against the site's terms of service. And this brings another problem: Because of this, many of the ways to download YouTube videos that you'll find online are fairly dangerous as they're riddled with spamware and shady ads. Read more...

More about Youtube, Tech, and Consumer Tech

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Make sense of SEO with this heavily discounted training bundle

TL;DR: The Complete SEO Certification Training bundle is on sale for £24.41 as of July 1, saving you 96% on list price.

It's been said that attention to detail is the determining factor in whether something is great or just good. That's certainly true when you're dealing with search engine optimisation or SEO.

Things like HTML tag structure and lead images might seem minor and irrelevant to an untrained user, but with a little training, one will come to realise that they're often the determining factors in whether your site ranks on the first page of Google search results or in No Man's Land. Read more...

More about Seo, Online Classes, Mashable Shopping, Shopping Uk, and Uk Deals

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Sweet Golden Retriever Puppy Loves Food

Dogs are sometimes lovingly called "man's best friend"; Golden retrievers play this roll perfectly and are great with children. But be careful - because they are so rarely aggressive, they make terrible guard dogs.

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'Offering to Buy Ankara’s S-400s US Aims to Collide Turkey and Russia,' Ret. Turkish Lt.-Gen. Says

US Republican Senator John Thune has proposed to purchase Russian S-400s from Turkey as evidenced by an amendment to the draft law on budgetary allocations for 2021. But the document did not indicate whether Ankara has either the desire or right to resell the weapons without Moscow's permission.

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Trump Vows to Veto Defense Authorization Bill if it Includes Amendment on Renaming US Military Bases

US President Donald Trump had previously referred to the military bases named after Confederate leaders as “Hallowed Grounds” where soldiers that won two world wars were trained. He added that his administration “will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations".

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'Nothing For Europe': Expert Raises Alarm as US Buys Almost All Remdesivir Stock

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced in a statement on Monday that the Trump administration had secured over half a million courses of remdesivir, the first drug approved for the treatment of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

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Chinese Opera Singer Reportedly Blocked on Social Media For Resemblance to Xi Jinping

Chinese opera singer Liu Keqing, currently living in Berlin, uses social media footage to demonstrate his outstanding vocal abilities. The singer has stated that he does not "feel like" he shares a resemblance to the Chinese leader and denies that he has attempted to use his "similarity" for personal gain.

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USMCA Trade Pact Goes Into Effect, Replacing NAFTA

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) enters into force on Wednesday, amending the rules of the multitrillion regional market to the liking of President Donald Trump and becoming a possible benchmark for future commercial pacts.

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Netizens ‘Can’t Wait’ to See Biden Compare His ‘Cognitive Ability’ to Trump

The presumptive US 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, has expressed on numerous occasions his readiness to debate his rival, US President Donald Trump. The latter claimed that the former vice president “doesn't know where he is, or what he's doing”.

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US Allegedly Has Financial Data to Support Russia Bounty Claims - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US intelligence community's claims that Russia offered bounties for US soldiers in Afghanistan is allegedly supported by data obtained showing financial transfers from the GRU to a Taliban-linked account, the New York Times reported citing three officials familiar with the matter.

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No Legal Ground For Re-Selling Russian S-400 to US, Turkey Says

Earlier, the US Senate introduced an amendment to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which would allow the United States to purchase Russian-made S-400 defence systems from Turkey to resolve issues over the missile's alleged incompatibility with the US F-35 fighter jet program.

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Failure to Reopen US in ‘Humane, Open Way’ Puts Millions of Unemployed in ‘Unspeakable Position’

As identified cases of COVID-19 approach 2.63 million in the US and record numbers of the cases continue to be recorded daily, states such as Arizona have once again closed bars, gyms and theaters. One expert tells Radio Sputnik that US issues with rebounding may be related to the federal government’s initial response to the pandemic.

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US Marine in Japan Accused of Punching Local Man While Violating COVID-19 Restrictions

A US Marine based in Okinawa, Japan, was arrested by police Sunday after allegedly punching a 21-year-old local college student at a nightclub in Naha, the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture.

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Twitterati and the World Celebrate Messi's 700th Career Football Goal

Argentinian Lionel Messi, at 33, is one of the greatest football players in history, often compared with another famous forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, as the two are the only footballers who have scored 700 lifetime goals.

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US' Pompeo Denounces China's 'Draconian' Security Law, Pledges to Defend Hong Kong's Freedoms

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday denounced China's new national security law for Hong Kong and pledged to defend the city's freedoms.

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'Bar Lives Matter' concert promoted by Texas bar owner to protest coronavirus restrictions

The coronavirus is thrilled to learn that a bar owner in Texas is organizing a 'Bar Lives Matter' concert to protest the state's restrictions to slow the COVID-19 outbreak.

Protesters are upset @GovAbbott shut down bars in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19. More than 30 bar owners are suing over the executive order. Protesters are demonstrating at the State Capitol and soon at the Governor’s Mansion. @KVUE pic.twitter.com/MaRSILqIxk

— Jenni Lee (@JenniL_KVUE) June 30, 2020

It's pretty nuts in Texas, where coronavirus infections and deaths are accelerating.

HAPPENING NOW: The “Texas Bars Fight Back” protest is happening outside the Texas Capitol to protest the closing the bars statewide. pic.twitter.com/NPLen0fFmF

— Kacey Bowen (@KaceyonFox7) June 30, 2020

There was apparently an organized protest by other bar owners today at the Texas Capitol.

'Bar lives matter' protesters descend on Texas capitol to oppose closures https://t.co/TeAMK1KDo0

— Newsweek (@Newsweek) June 30, 2020

From The Hill:

A Texas bar owner who is one of several currently suing Gov. Greg Abbott (R) over reimposed restrictions on bars organized a “Bar Lives Matter” concert and protest Sunday.

Tee Allen Parker, owner of The Machine Shed Bar & Grill in Kilgore, about two hours southeast of Dallas, hosted the gathering outside the bar Sunday. A second protest is planned on the steps of the capitol in Austin Tuesday, according to KLTV, a local ABC affiliate.

“You can’t tell me that my tiny little bar is the problem. He’s the problem,” Parker, who is one of multiple Texas bar owners who have banned the wearing of masks in their establishments, said of Abbott in an interview with The Washington Post. “He’s targeting us, and it’s discrimination.”

Jared Woodfill, a Houston attorney representing Parker and 21 other plaintiffs, said Abbott's order illegally bypasses the legislative process and unfairly singles out bars while allowing businesses like barber shops and hair salons to continue operating.

Read related news at The Washington Post:
‘We’re not the problem’: Texas bar owners sue over governor’s shutdown order

And KLTV, an East Texas news channel:
East Texas bar holds protest against governor’s shutdown

A Central Texas radio personality is organizing a weekend rally to protest the governor’s decision to close bars. What he chose to name it may ruffle some feathers. https://t.co/3ins4iAVaZ

— KWTX News 10 (@kwtx) June 26, 2020

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Trump tweets 14 white supremacist words

“This is a battle to save the Heritage, History, and Greatness of our Country! #MAGA2020” —Donald J. Trump, on June 30, 2020.

Donald Trump just tweeted a 14 word message that echoes the popular white supremacist slogan known as The 14 Words: "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."

This is a battle to save the Heritage, History, and Greatness of our Country! #MAGA2020

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2020

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A Reading List: How Race Shapes the American City

From Aric Jenkins, a collection of articles on “how race continues to shape the design and infrastructure of American cities”. I’m interested to read Corinne Ramey’s piece on America’s Unfair Rules of the Road:

In the shadow of the bridge sits a small neighborhood called the West Side, where the asthma rate is more than four times the national average, and residents report a host of other health issues. Advocates say the thousands of trucks driving overhead spew harmful diesel emissions and other particulates into their community. The pollutants hover in the air, are absorbed into buildings and houses, and find their way into the lungs of neighborhood residents, who are primarily people of color. “It’s constant asthma problems on the West Side,” says Sharon Tell, a local resident.

And Un-Making Architecture from WAI Think Tank:

Buildings are never just buildings. Buildings respond to the political foundations of the institutions that fund, envision, and desire them. Buildings are physical manifestations of the ideologies they serve. Although a naively detached or romantic position may be able to render buildings as semi-autonomous artifacts capable of sheltering or enveloping space, this depoliticized attitude overlooks their historical and material relationship to regimes of violence and terror. Buildings can protect but they can also confine, instill fear, crush, oppress. Buildings can school, and foment hospitality but can imprison and torture. Buildings can be tools for ethnic segregation, cultural destruction and historical erasure. Buildings can reinforce the status quo and aide in the implementation of settler-colonial desires of expansionism. An anti-racist democratization of access is only possible through the decolonization of buildings and public spaces. Architects should be aware of the programs of the buildings they design and be held accountable for doing so.

Tags: architecture Aric Jenkins cities Corinne Ramey lists racism USA

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Cendana Capital, which has been backing seed funds for a decade, has $278 million more to invest

When in 2010, former VC Michael Kim set out to raise a fund that he would invest in a spate of micro VC managers, the investors to which he turned didn’t get it. Why pay Kim and his firm, Cendana Capital, a management fee on top of the management fees that the VC managers themselves charge?

Fast forward to today, and Kim has apparently proven to his backers that he’s worth the extra cost. Three years after raising $260 million across a handful of vehicles whose capital he plugged into up-and-coming venture firms, Kim is now revealing a fresh $278 million in capital commitments, including $218 million for its fourth flagship fund, and $60 million that Cendana manages expressly for the University of Texas endowment.

We talked with Kim last week about how he plans to invest the money, which differs slightly from how he has invested in the past. Rather than stick solely with U.S.-based seed-stage managers who are raising vehicles of $100 million or less, he will split Cendana into three focus areas. One of these will remain seed-stage managers. A smaller area of focus — but one of growing importance, he said — is pre-seed managers who are managing $50 million or less and funding ideas more or less.

A third area of growing interest is in international managers. In fact, Kim says Cendana has already backed small venture firms in Australia (Blackbird Ventures), China (Cherubic Ventures, which is a cross-border investor that is also focused on the U.S.), Israel (Entree Capital), and India (Saama Capital), among others.

Altogether, Cendana is now managing around $1.2 billion. In exchange, investors are charged 1% of each Cendana-run fund as a management fee and 10% of its profits, atop the 2.5% management fee and 20% “carried interest” that his fund managers collect.

“To be extremely clear about it and transparent,” said Kim, “that’s a stacked fee that’s on top of what are fund managers charts. So Cendana LPs are paying 3.5% and 30%. And you might think that seems pretty egregious. But a number of our LPs are either not staffed to go address this market or are too large, like the University of Texas, to actually write smaller checks to these seed funds. And we provide a pretty interesting value proposition to them.”

Says Kim of other, bigger fund managers, “A lot of these well-known fund of funds are asset gatherers. They’re not charging carried interest. They’re in it for the management fee. They have shiny offices around the world, they have hundreds of people working at them, they’re raising billion-dollar-plus kind of funds, and they’re putting 30 to 50 names into each one, so in a way they become index funds. [But[ I don’t think venture is really an asset class. Unlike an ETF that’s focused on the S&P 500, venture capital is where a handful of fund managers capture most of the alpha. Our differentiation is that we’re taking we’re creating very concentrated portfolios.”

Specifically, Cendana typically holds positions in up to 12 funds, plus makes $1 million bets on another handful of more nascent managers that it will fund further if they prove out their theses.

Some of the managers it has backed has outgrown Cendana from an assets standpoint. It caps its investments in funds that are $100 million or less in size. But over time, it has backed: 11.2 Capital, Accelerator Ventures, Angular Ventures, Bowery Capital, Collaborative Fund, Forerunner Ventures, Founder Collective, Freestyle Capital, IA Ventures, L2 Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, MHS Capital, Montage Ventures, Moxxie Ventures, Neo, NextView Ventures, Silicon Valley Data Capital, Spider Capital, Susa Ventures, Uncork VC (when it was still SoftTech VC), Wave Capital and XYZ Ventures.

As for its pre-seed fund managers, these include the firms Better Tomorrow Ventures, Bolt VC, Engineering Capital, K9 Ventures, Mucker Capital, Notation Capital, PivotNorth Capital, Rhapsody Venture Partners, Root Ventures, and Wonder Ventures.

As for its returns, Kim says that Cendana’s very first fund, a $28.5 million vehicle, is “marked at north of 3x” and “that’s net of everything.” Kim also notes that Cendana has 38 so-called unicorns in its broader portfolio, and more than 160 companies that are valued at more than $100 million.

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Facebook shuts down Hobbi, its experimental app for documenting personal projects

Facebook’s recently launched app, Hobbi, an experiment in short-form content creation around personal projects, hobbies, and other Pinterest-y content, is already shutting down. The app first arrived on iOS in February as one of now several launches from Facebook’s internal R&D group, the NPE Team.

Hobbi users have now been notified by way of push notification that the app is shutting down on July 10, 2020. The app allows users to export their data from its settings.

In the few months it’s been live on the U.S. App Store, Hobbi only gained 7,000 downloads, according to estimates from Sensor Tower. Apptopia also reported the app had under 10K downloads and saw minimal gains during May and June.

Though Hobbi clearly took cues from Pinterest, it was not designed to be a pinboard of inspirational ideas. Instead, Hobbi users would organize photos of their projects — like gardening, cooking, arts & crafts, décor, and more — in a visual diary of sorts. The goal was to photograph the project’s progress over time, adding text to describe the steps, as needed.

The end result would be a highlight reel of all those steps that could be published externally when the project was completed.

But Hobbi was a fairly bare bones app. There was nothing else to do but document your own projects. You couldn’t browse and watch projects other users had created, beyond a few samples, nor could you follow top users across the service. And even the tools for documentation were underdeveloped. Beyond a special “Notes” field for writing down a project’s steps, the app experience felt like a watered-down version of Stories.

Image Credits: Hobbi

Facebook wasn’t alone in pursuing the potential of short-form creative content. Google’s internal R&D group, Area 120, also published its own experiment in this area with the video app Tangi. And Pinterest was recently spotted testing a new version of Story Pins, that would allow users to showcase DIY and creative content in a similar way.

It’s not surprising to see Hobbi wind down so quickly, given its lack of traction. Facebook already said its NPE Team experiments would involve apps that changed very rapidly and would shut down if consumers didn’t find them useful.

In addition to Hobbi, the NPE Team has launched a number of apps since last summer, including meme creator Whale, conversational app Bump, music app Aux, couples app Tuned, Apple Watch app Kit, audio calling app CatchUp, collaborative music app Collab, live event companion Venue, and predictions app Forecast. Before Hobbi, the only one to have shut down was Bump. (Some are not live in the U.S., either.)

Of course, Facebook may not intend to use these experiments to create a set of entirely new social apps built from the ground-up. Instead, it’s likely looking to collect data about what features resonate with users and how different creation tools are used. This is data that can inform Facebook’s development of features for its main set of apps, like Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram.

We’ve reached out to Facebook for comment but one had not been provided at the time of publication.

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Lyft’s self-driving test vehicles are back on public roads in California

Lyft’s self-driving vehicle division has restarted testing on public roads in California, several months after pausing operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lyft’s Level 5 program said Tuesday some of its autonomous vehicles are back on the road in Palo Alto and at its closed test track. The company has not resumed a pilot program that provided rides to Lyft employees in Palo Alto.

The company said it is following CDC guidelines for personal protective equipment and surface cleaning. It has also enacted several additional safety steps to prevent the spread of COVID. Each autonomous test vehicle is equipped with partitions to separate the two safety operators inside, the company said. The operators must wear face shields and submit to temperature checks. They’re also paired together for two weeks at a time.

Lyft’s Level 5 program — a nod to the SAE automated driving level that means the vehicle handles all driving in all conditions —launched in July 2017 but didn’t starting testing on California’s public roads until November 2018. Lyft ramped up the testing program and its fleet. By late 2019, Lyft was driving four times more autonomous miles per quarter than it was six months prior.

Lyft had 19 autonomous vehicles testing on public roads in California in 2019, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the primary agency that regulates AVs in the states. Those 19 vehicles, which operated during the reporting period of December 2018 to November 2019, drove nearly 43,000 miles in autonomous mode, according to Lyft’s annual report released in February. While that’s a tiny figure when compared to other companies such as Argo AI, Cruise and Waymo, it does represent progress within the program.

Lyft has supplemented its on-road testing with simulation, a strategy that it relied on more heavily during COVID-related shutdowns. And it will likely continue to lean on simulation even as local governments lift restrictions and the economy reopens.

Simulation is a cost effective way to create additional control, repeatability and safety, according to a blog post released Tuesday by Robert Morgan, director of engineering and Sameer Qureshi, director of product management at Level 5. The pair said simulation has also allowed the Level 5 unit to test its work without vehicles, without employees leaving their desks, and for the last few months, without leaving their homes. Level 5 employs more than 400 people in London, Munich and the United States.

Using simulation in the development of autonomous vehicle technology is a well-established tool in the industry. Lyft’s approach to data — which it uses to improve its simulations — is what differentiates the company from competitors. Lyft is using data collected from drivers on its ride-hailing app to improve simulation tests as well as build 3D maps and understand human driving patterns.

The Level 5 program is taking data from select vehicles in Lyft’s Express Drive program, which provides rental cars and SUVs to drivers on its platform as an alternative to options like long-term leasing.

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Monday, 29 June 2020

Trump Not Briefed on 'Unverified' by Intel Community Afghanistan US Troop Allegations - O'Brien

Groundless allegations that Russia offered reward money for Taliban militants for killing American soldiers raised in the recent publication by The New York Times have been denied by not only Moscow, but also White House press secretary and Taliban itself.

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Netizens Share Laughs Over Cristiano Ronaldo's New Hairstyle

Many have experimented with their hairstyle during the COVID-19 quarantine, despite that it rarely turns into something bearable without the assistance of a professional stylist. Cristiano Ronaldo did an experiment as well, leaving it to netizens to judge whether he did well.

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After losing Grubhub, Uber reportedly hails Postmates

Uber has reportedly made an offer to buy food delivery service Postmates, according to The New York Times.

According to the Times, the talks are still ongoing and the deal could fall through.

For those that have been paying attention to Uber, this appetite is not new, albeit consistent. A little over a month ago, the ride-hailing company was reportedly pursuing an acquisition of Grubhub, another food delivery company. Grubhub was ultimately acquired by Just Eat Takeaway in a $7.3 billion deal, but only after the deal with Uber fell through over a variety of concerns.

Food delivery market has set to benefit largely from the COVID-19 pandemic, as stores remain shuttered or switch operations to takeout only. Latest earnings from the public ride-hailing company show that its ride-hailing business is slowing while its food delivery service is growing like hell. Gross bookings for Uber Eats last quarter were $4.68 billion.

So even though Uber still loses a ton of money ($2.94 billion including all costs), its Uber Eats growth is staggering. And the green shoots might be fueling some of this interest in other competitors.

Sources close to Uber told TechCrunch that regulatory concerns scuttled the company’s bid for GrubHub, but its chief executive later said the JustEat deal was better.

Democratic senators flag Uber’s possible Grubhub deal over antitrust concerns

If regulatory concerns were an issue, Postmates may make a better fit.

With a valuation of $2.4 billion, Postmates is significantly smaller than Grubhub. And while the company filed to go public nearly 16 months ago, it held off eventually citing “choppy market” conditions.

So if Uber Eats and Postmates combined, the result would still be smaller than Doordash’s market hold, but would be competitive nonetheless. DoorDash, last valued at $13 billion, confidentially filed for an IPO nearly four months ago.

Also, Postmates delivers more than just food.

If the merger goes through, the food delivery race would get refueled in an interesting way: Uber Eats and Postmates versus Grubhub and Takeaway versus DoorDash .

Postmates declined to comment on rumors or speculation. Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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U.S. suspends export of sensitive tech to Hong Kong as China passes new national security law

The United States government began measures today to end its special status with Hong Kong, one month after Secretary of State Michael Pompeo told Congress that Hong Kong should no longer be considered autonomous from China. These include suspending export license exceptions for sensitive U.S. technology and ending the export of defense equipment to Hong Kong. Both the Commerce and State Departments also said further restrictions are being evaluated.

The U.S. government’s announcements were made a few hours before news broke that China had passed a new national security law that will give it greater control over Hong Kong. It is expected to take effect on July 1, according to the South China Morning Post.

The term “special status” refers to arrangements that recognized the difference between Hong Kong and mainland China under the “one country, two systems” policy put into place when the United Kingdom handed control of Hong Kong back to Beijing in 1997. These included different export controls, immigration policies and lower tariffs. But that preferential treatment was put into jeopardy after China proposed the new national security law, which many Hong Kong residents fear will end the region’s judicial independence from Beijing.

The U.S Commerce Department and State Department issued separate statements today detailing the new restrictions on Hong Kong. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said the Commerce Department will suspend export license exceptions for sensitive U.S. technology, and that “further actions to eliminate differential treatment are also being evaluated.”

The State Department said that it will end exports of U.S. defense equipment and also “take steps toward imposing the same restrictions on U.S. defense and dual-use technologies to Hong Kong as it does for China.”

In a statement to Reuters, Kurt Tong, a former U.S. consul general in Hong Kong, said that the U.S. government’s decisions today would not impact a large amount of trade between the U.S. and Hong Kong because the territory is not a major manufacturing center and its economy is mostly services.

According to figures from the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Hong Kong accounted for 2.2% of overall U.S. exports in 2018, totaling $37.3 billion, with the top export categories being electrical machinery, precious metal and stones, art and antiques, and beef. But the new restrictions could make more difficult for U.S. semiconductor and other technology companies to do business with Hong Kong clients.

Other restrictions proposed by the United States including ending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong.

Both the State and Commerce departments said that the restrictions were put into place for national security reasons. “We can no longer distinguish between the export of controlled items to Hong Kong or to mainland China,” Pompeo wrote. “We cannot risk these items falling into the hands of the People’s Liberation Army, whose primary purpose is to uphold the dictatorship of the CCP by any means necessary.”

In his statement, Ross said, “With the Chinese Communist Party’s imposition of new security measures on Hong Kong, the risk that sensitive U.S. technology will be diverted to the People’s Liberation Army or Ministry of State Security has increased, all while undermining the territory’s autonomy.”

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India Must Return Rural Economy to the Forefront of a National Growth Trajectory - Experts

New Delhi (Sputnik): Most of India is predominantly rural, with about half of the national economy and over two thirds of total employment generated in rural areas. According to a paper prepared by federal think-tank Niti Ayog, not including farming, rural areas contribute about half of the manufacturing output of the entire country.

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Anne Hathaway Explains Christopher Nolan's ‘Chair Thing’

Hathaway, one of the highest-paid actresses in the world in 2015, worked with director Christopher Nolan in two movies: the 2014 ‘Interstellar’ and the 2012 ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, in which she portrayed Batman’s purring nemesis, Catwoman.

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US Senator Suggests Buying Russian-Made S-400 Defence System From Turkey

The purchase of Russian S-400 defence systems by Ankara drew a response from Washington, as the Trump administration expelled Turkey from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program and threatened sanctions against the country for buying Russian-made defence weapons.

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Learn how to utilize WordPress to its full potential with the help of these training classes

The saying goes that everyone is looking to build a better mousetrap. In the case of Elementor, they decided to take a swing at WordPress, the platform used to build a third of the world’s websites, and make it better. Four years later, there are already three million sites using Elementor, a WP plug-in which brings an additional level of drag and drop easy to the WordPress environment.

Elementor has opened up a whole new world to the tried and true WordPress procedure -- and with the training in The Elementor and WordPress Master Class Certification Bundle, you can learn all the newest and most effective tactics for elevating a WordPress site into a truly special web experience.

The seven courses featured here not only go deep on Elementor but also offer specific guidance on using WordPress to craft some of the most frequently needed site types, so no matter what website template you need, you’ll have a leg up on getting it done and done well.

The Elementor Master Class 2020 gets the ball rolling as you learn how to build fantastic looking web pages without needing to know any code. The course lays out a full plan for using sections, columns and widgets to craft virtually any web page design, all without ever having to mess with any programming problems.

But Elementor is just the tip of the iceberg. If you need to Build a Full One Page Event Website with WordPress, you’ll get complete training in a plug-in called SiteOrigin to make it look stellar. If you want a knockout image presentation, Build a Photo Gallery with WordPress for a photo-optimized website with themed gallery options that make images really pop.

Or if your website needs are all about business, Build a Complete Business Website with WordPress is your first stop, serving up the perfect template to get a company site off the ground. There’s even The Complete WooCommerce Master Class 2020 for adding a full-service eCommerce store to your site, complete with shopping carts, multiple payment methods, and more, all with a few simple additions.

All this WordPress expertise is available now for hundreds of dollars off its regular price, down to only $29.96 for the complete package.

Prices are subject to change.

Do you have your stay-at-home essentials? Here are some you may have missed.

The Word Press ft Elementor & WooCoomerce Master Class Bundle - $29.99

Learn it all for $29.99

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Banking platform solarisBank raises $67.5 million at $360 million valuation

Despite the Wirecard fallout, German fintech startup solarisBank has raised a Series C funding round of $67.5 million (€60 million). Following today’s funding round, solarisBank is now valued at $360 million (€320 million). solarisBank doesn't have any consumer product directly. Instead, it offers financial services to other fintech companies through a set of APIs.

With solarisBank, you can build a fintech startup and leverage solarisBank’s line of products to do the heavy lifting. It’s an infrastructure company in the banking space.

While solarisBank might not be a familiar name, some of its clients have become quite popular. They include challenger banks, such as Tomorrow, Insha and a newcomer called Vivid, business banking startups, such as Penta and Kontist, trading app Trade Republic, cryptocurrency startups Bison and Bitwala, etc.

Overall, solarisBank works with 70 companies that have attracted 400,000 clients in total.

HV Holtzbrinck Ventures is leading the round with existing investor yabeo committing a substantial follow-on investment. Other new investors include Vulcan Capital, Samsung Catalyst Fund and Storm Ventures. Existing investors BBVA, SBI Group, ABN AMRO Ventures, Global Brain, Hegus and Lakestar are investing again.

The company started the fundraising process back in December. Due to the economic prospects, it has been a mixed process. “A lot of investors looked at their portfolio companies and the appetite to look at something new was not there,” solarisBank CEO Roland Folz told me. But everything worked out eventually as around half of the funding comes from existing investors.

“We originally were looking for €40 million but we were overwhelmed by the interest of investors in spite of Covid,” solarisBank Head of Strategy and Shareholder Relations Layla Qassim told me.

solarisBank’s vision could be summed up in two words — regulation and modularity. The company is a fully licensed bank, which means that its clients don’t have to apply to a banking license themselves.

And the startup lets you pick the modules that you want to use for your product. Maybe you’re building a mobile cryptocurrency wallet and you just want to be able to give an IBAN and a debit card to your users. Maybe you’re building a used car marketplace like CarNext and you want to offer credit. Maybe you want to build a challenger bank but address a specific vertical.

With solarisBank, you can open bank accounts and issue payment cards attached to those accounts. You can also issue cards and attach them to a different account in case you’re integrating with existing bank accounts. The startup also offers various services around payments, vouchers, cross-border transactions and more.

More recently, the company launched a new feature called Splitpay with American Express. When customers check out on an e-commerce platform in Germany, American Express customers will be able to choose a repayment plan to pay over multiple months.

solarisBank generates revenue from its clients as they pay to use the company’s APIs and enable accounts and cards. solarisBank also collects the interchange fees on card transactions and share revenue with its clients. Similarly, solarisBank can offer to share revenue on credit interests with its clients.

In the future, solarisBank plans to make its portfolio of financial services even more compelling by introducing local IBANs in the most important European markets. It should make it easier to convince potential clients outside of Germany to use solarisBank as their banking infrastructure.

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'Hamilton' teases fans with a very satisfying new clip ahead of Disney+ release

The filmed original cast performance of Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton is now only a moment away, due to land on Disney+ on July 3. To tide over eager fans as they wait for it, Disney has just released a sneak peek of Renée Elise Goldsberry's Angelica Schuyler performing her iconic song "Satisfied."

The unexpectedly heartbreaking song is one of the musical's most lauded numbers — which is saying a lot considering the entire production won near universal critical and audience acclaim. The performance of "Satisfied" is a defining moment in Hamilton, so it's thrilling that so many people will finally get to see it as it was originally staged. Read more...

More about Lin Manuel Miranda, Hamilton, Musical, Renee Elise Goldsberry, and Disney

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Chinese Parliament Unanimously Passes National Security Law for Hong Kong - Reports

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New Scientific Study Points to Extraterrestrial Reason Behind Dinosaur Extinction

The extinction of monstrous reptiles that inhabited our planet over 200 million years ago has long been a mystery and a subject of hot debate between paleontologists. Now, the ancient secret has allegedly been unveiled.

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US COVID-19 Public Health Practices Being Debated in Political, Not Scientific Field - Researcher

As COVID-19 spreads rapidly across several US states including Florida, Texas, Arizona and California, the US government also continues to politicize the public health issue, Dr. Jason Kindrachuk, an assistant professor of viral pathogenesis at the University of Manitoba and Canada Research Chair in molecular pathogenesis, told Sputnik Monday.

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Lengthy Boeing 737 MAX Recertification ‘What FAA Should Have Done Five Years Ago’ - Former IG

As the air travel industry attempts to rebound from the global pandemic, Boeing will focus on recertifying its grounded 737 MAX jet. One aviation expert told Sputnik the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) should not be applauded for performing its basic duties, but there is one interesting change regarding the aircraft’s anti-stall system.

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NBA to Permit Players Putting ‘Social Justice’ Messages on Jerseys When League Resumes

Amid the ongoing movement for social justice in the United States, the National Basketball Association (NBA) will be allowing players to wear political messages on their jerseys when the season resumes next month in Florida.

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CNN’s Van Jones Slams Report He Was 'Secretly Advising' Trump on Police Reform

Trump’s executive order on police reform includes the creation of a national police misconduct database, guidelines for the use of force and deescalation,k and the banning of chokeholds. This comes amid widespread protest and demands for change over US police killings of African Americans.

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Palestinians Reportedly Ready to Resume Talks With Israel, Negotiate 'Minor' Territorial Concessions

The readiness for negotiations on "minor" territorial concessions comes on condition that the plans announced by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the sovereignty over the West Bank territories are not implemented.

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Nearly 40% of Likely US Voters Suspect Biden Suffers From Dementia, Poll Shows

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Almost four out of 10 US voters believe presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has dementia, a Rasmussen poll revealed on Monday.

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Los Angeles County beaches CLOSED for 4th of July weekend as coronavirus spikes

Officials in Los Angeles have ordered all beaches in the county closed over the Independence Day Holiday, in hopes of slowing the accelerating coronavirus pandemic in Southern California.

All beaches, piers, bike paths, and public access points to the Pacific coast in L.A. County will be closed to the public from July 3 to July 6.

Today, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors announced the closure of our beaches, piers, beach bike paths, and beach access points beginning 7/3/2020 through 7/6/2020. The LHS Beach Team will be patrolling the beaches throughout the weekend...https://t.co/N2Mb1ETR2A pic.twitter.com/251bXVSuTP

— LASD Lost Hills Stn. (@LHSLASD) June 29, 2020

IMAGE: Lost Hills Sheriff's Station.

BREAKING: All L.A. County beaches ordered CLOSED for 4th of July weekend 7/3 through 7/6. This new order makes it illegal to trespass at these locations and is punishable by law to include, but not limited to, a $1000 fine. @FOXLA

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 29, 2020

#BREAKING LA County beaches ordered closed for Fourth of July weekend

All beaches, piers, bike paths, access points closed to public from 7/3-7/6 https://t.co/SxkEek5ctZ

— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) June 29, 2020

BREAKING NEWS: LA County CLOSING beaches for the 4th of July weekend. More on Eyewitness News at 4pm, just minutes away, on ABC7.

— Jovana Lara (@abc7jovana) June 29, 2020

Supervisor Janice Hahn tells KNX 1070 News live on-air Monday afternoon that they have decided to close all of the LA County beaches for the July 4th weekend. https://t.co/DSKtgPCKpE

— KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO (@KNX1070) June 29, 2020

BREAKING: Due to the dramatic rise in coronavirus cases reported on Monday, all beaches will be closed in L.A. County from Friday through Monday, officials said https://t.co/brkOkImVYx

— KTLA (@KTLA) June 29, 2020

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Carl Bernstein: Trump 'delusional' & danger to national security — McMaster, Tillerson, Bolton, Mattis, Kelly

Quite the scoop at CNN.com from Carl Bernstein, yes, the Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein, with a 109-word one sentence lede. One wonders why none of the president's ex-men bothered to do anything about their revelation that Trump is unfit for office, beyond cashing in with speaking engagements and books.

He pandered to enemies and strongmen like Putin and Erdogan, and was extremely abusive toward allies and female heads of state including Theresa May and Angela Merkel.

https://t.co/CiicJAJaMp

— Carl Bernstein (@carlbernstein) June 29, 2020

Writes the one and only Carl Bernstein at CNN:

In hundreds of highly classified phone calls with foreign heads of state, President Donald Trump was so consistently unprepared for discussion of serious issues, so often outplayed in his conversations with powerful leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and so abusive to leaders of America's principal allies, that the calls helped convince some senior US officials -- including his former secretaries of state and defense, two national security advisers and his longest-serving chief of staff -- that the President himself posed a danger to the national security of the United States, according to White House and intelligence officials intimately familiar with the contents of the conversations.

The calls caused former top Trump deputies -- including national security advisers H.R. McMaster and John Bolton, Defense Secretary James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and White House chief of staff John Kelly, as well as intelligence officials -- to conclude that the President was often "delusional," as two sources put it, in his dealings with foreign leaders. The sources said there was little evidence that the President became more skillful or competent in his telephone conversations with most heads of state over time. Rather, he continued to believe that he could either charm, jawbone or bully almost any foreign leader into capitulating to his will, and often pursued goals more attuned to his own agenda than what many of his senior advisers considered the national interest.

The viciousness Donald Trump expresses toward female counterparts is something else.

Excerpt:

By far the greatest number of Trump's telephone discussions with an individual head of state were with Erdogan, who sometimes phoned the White House at least twice a week and was put through directly to the President on standing orders from Trump, according to the sources. Meanwhile, the President regularly bullied and demeaned the leaders of America's principal allies, especially two women: telling Prime Minister Theresa May of the United Kingdom she was weak and lacked courage; and telling German Chancellor Angela Merkel that she was "stupid."

Read the whole piece:
From pandering to Putin to abusing allies and ignoring his own advisers, Trump's phone calls alarm US officials

Responses from some media watchers on Twitter, below.

Senior US officials believed Pres. Trump posed a danger to national security with his freewheeling classified phone calls to other heads of state, attempts to charm leaders like Russia's Vladimir Putin and calling German Chancellor Angela Merkel "stupid." https://t.co/E3GQyG6cnp

— CNN (@CNN) June 29, 2020

Bernstein's report is attributed to "White House and intelligence officials intimately familiar with the contents of the conversations." Former top Trump deputies concluded that POTUS was often "delusional" in his dealings with foreign leaders, two of the sources said.

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 29, 2020

The subtext of the Carl Bernstein CNN article is there are really a lot of people around Trump who know he's an existential threat to the country and they are freaking out.

— Schooley (@Rschooley) June 29, 2020

After covering an impeachment based largely on a Trump foreign leader call, I didn’t think I could be surprised by further reporting about such calls. This effort from Carl Bernstein at CNN is stunning and a true must-read. https://t.co/IqKQ2VKcoj

— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) June 29, 2020

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Three Nevada casinos sued over coronavirus protections for workers, unions claim dangerous working conditions

Unions that represent 60,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas and Reno sued three Nevada casino properties Monday, claiming dangerous working conditions that fail to protect workers from the still accelerating coronavirus outbreak.

“The Culinary Workers Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165 filed the lawsuit on Monday against Harrah’s Las Vegas, owned by Caesars Entertainment Corp, and the Bellagio and Signature Condominiums, both subsidiaries of MGM Resorts International,” reports Reuters:

The lawsuit claims the companies have not sufficiently protected workers and their families from the spread of COVID-19, and that the current rules and procedures for responding to workers who contract COVID-19 have been inadequate.

Among other claims, the lawsuit alleges the companies failed to immediately inform employees about co-workers who tested positive, and only “encouraged” guests to wear face masks while in public areas until June 24, the day the Nevada governor ordered guests to wear them.

“We have offered free testing to all employees before they report to work and require it if they exhibit symptoms or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive and we have made available tests in other circumstances that do not dictate that a test is required,” an MGM Resorts International spokesman said in a statement.

“We have worked to train our managers in our incident response protocols and we work very closely with the health department officials in their efforts to contact trace.”

Unions sue three Nevada casino properties, claiming dangerous working conditions

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Gunmen Attack Stock Exchange Building in Karachi, Pakistan - Video

Four militants have stormed the Pakistan Stock Exchange building and opened indiscriminate fire, according to media reports.

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Iran’s Foreign Ministry Lambasts US, Europe for Funding ‘Rogue Entity’ MKO Terrorist Group

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi on 25 June dismissed the US State Department's annual report on terrorism, claiming that the “biggest state sponsor of terrorism” was in no position to judge other countries.

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Indian startups diversify their businesses to offset COVID-19 induced losses

E-commerce giant Flipkart is planning to launch a hyperlocal service that would enable customers to buy items from local stores and have those delivered to them in an hour and a half or less. Yatra, an online travel and hotel ticketing service, is exploring a new business line altogether: Supplying office accessories.

Flipkart and Yatra are not the only firms eyeing new business categories. Dozens of firms in the country have branched out by launching new services in recent weeks, in part to offset the disruption the COVID-19 epidemic has caused to their core offerings.

Swiggy and Zomato, the nation’s largest food delivery startups, began delivering alcohol in select parts of the country last month. The move came weeks after the two firms, both of which are seeing fewer orders and had to let go of hundreds of employees, started accepting orders for grocery items in a move that challenged existing online market leaders BigBasket and Grofers.

Udaan, a business-to-business marketplace, recently started to accept bulk orders from some housing societies and is exploring more opportunities in the business-to-commerce space, the startup told TechCrunch.

These shifts came shortly after New Delhi announced a nationwide lockdown in late March to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The lockdown meant that all public places including movie theaters, shopping malls, schools, and public transport were suspended.

Instead of temporarily halting their businesses, as many have done in other markets, scores of startups in India have explored ways to make the most out of the current unfortunate spell.

“This pandemic has given an opportunity to the Indian tech startup ecosystem to have a harder look at the unit-economics of their businesses and become more capital efficient in the shorter and longer-term,” Puneet Kumar, a growth investor in Indian startup ecosystem, told TechCrunch in an interview.

Of the few things most Indian state governments have agreed should remain open include grocery shops, and online delivery services for grocery and food. And that has naturally attracted many firms.

People buy groceries at a supermarket during the first day of the 21-day government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Bangalore on March 25, 2020. (Photo by MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP via Getty Images)

E-commerce firms Snapdeal and DealShare began grocery delivery service in late March. The move was soon followed by social-commerce startup Meesho, fitness startup Curefit, and BharatPe, which is best known for facilitating mobile payments between merchants and users.

Meesho’s attempt is still in the pilot stage, said Vidit Aatrey, the Facebook-backed startup’s co-founder and chief executive. “We started grocery during the lockdown to give some income opportunities to our sellers and so far it has shown good response. So we are continuing the pilot even after lockdown has lifted,” he said.

ClubFactory, best known for selling low-cost beauty items, has also started to deliver grocery products, and so has NoBroker, a Bangalore-based startup that connects apartment seekers with property owners. And MakeMyTrip, a giant that provides solutions to book flight and hotel tickets, has entered the food delivery market.

Another such giant, BookMyShow, which sells movie tickets, has in recent weeks rushed to support online events, helping comedians and other artists sell tickets online. The Mumbai-headquartered firm plans to make further inroads around this business idea in the coming days.

For some startups, the pandemic has resulted in accelerating the launch of their product cycles. CRED, a Bangalore-based startup that is attempting to help Indians improve their financial behavior by paying their credit card bill on time, launched an instant credit line and apartment rental services.

Kunal Shah, the founder and chief executive of CRED, said the startup “fast-tracked the launch” of these two products as they could prove immensely useful in the current environment.

For a handful of startups, the pandemic has meant accelerated growth. Unacademy, a Facebook-backed online learning startup, has seen its user base and subscribers count surge in recent months and told TechCrunch that it is in the process of more than doubling the number of exam preparation courses it offers on its platform in the next two months.

Since March, the number of users who access the online learning service each day has surged to 700,000. “We have also seen a 200% increase in viewers per week for the free live classes offered on the platform. Additionally there has been a 50% increase in paid subscribers and over 50% increase in average watchtime per day among our subscribers,” a spokesperson said.

As with online learning firms, firms operating on-demand video streaming services have also seen a significant rise in the number of users they serve. Zee5, which has amassed over 80 million users, told TechCrunch last week that in a month it will introduce a new category in its app that would curate short-form videos produced and submitted by users. The firm said the feature would look very similar to TikTok.

The pandemic “has also accelerated the adoption of online services in India across all demographics. Many who would not have considered buying goods and services online are starting to adopt the online platforms for basic necessities at a faster pace,” said venture capitalist Kumar.

“As far as expansion into adjacent categories is concerned, some of this was a natural progression and startups were slowly moving in that direction anyway. The pandemic has forced people to get there faster.”

Roosh, a Mumbai-based game developing firm founded by several industry veterans, launched a new app ahead of schedule that allows social influencers to promote games on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, Deepak Ail, co-founder and chief executive of Roosh, told TechCrunch.

ShareChat, a Twitter-backed social network, recently acquired a startup called Elanic to explore opportunities in social-commerce. OkCredit, a bookkeeping service for merchants, has been exploring ways to allow users to purchase items from neighborhood stores.

And NowFloats, a Mumbai-based SaaS startup that helps businesses and individuals build an online presence without any web developing skills, is on-boarding doctors to help people consult with medical professionals.

Startups are not the only businesses that have scrambled to eye new categories. Established firms such as Carnival Group, which is India’s third-largest multiplex theatre chain, said it is foraying into cloud kitchen business.

Amazon, which competes with Walmart’s Flipkart in India, has also secured approval from West Bengal to deliver alcohol in the nation’s fourth most populated state. The e-commerce giant is also exploring ways to work with mom and pop stores that dot tens of thousands of cities and towns of India.

Last week, the American giant launched “Smart Stores” that allows shoppers to walk to a participating physical store, scan a QR code, and pick and purchase items through the Amazon app. The firm, which is supplying these mom and pop stores with software and QR code, said more than 10,000 shops are participating in the Smart Stores program.

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Top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Commander Among Three Terrorists Gunned Down by Security Forces in Kashmir

New Delhi (Sputnik): On 26 June, three terrorists were killed following an encounter with security forces in India's Kashmir Valley. Since April, the armed forces, along with the local police, have stepped up counter- terror operations in the country's Jammu and Kashmir.

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MI5 Ignored Plot to Kill Edward VIII Despite Would-Be Assassin’s Warnings, His Memoir Says

The man who pointed a loaded revolver at King Edward VIII in July 1936 was dismissed as a mere attention-seeker. A memoir found 74 years later, which is partly corroborated by MI5 documents, claims that the agency had ignored his warnings, according to the historian who discovered the book.

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Finnish PM Embroiled in 'Russian Influence' Scandal Over Fake Tweet About John Bolton's Book

In his behind-the-scenes book about his tenure at the White House, former National Security Adviser John Bolton has painted Donald Trump's administration in an unfavourable light. Among other things, the book claims Trump once asked his chief of staff whether Finland was a part of Russia.

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Beijing Expresses Protest Over US Exerting Pressure on Chinese Firms - Foreign Ministry

BEIJING (Sputnik) - Beijing expresses its resolute protest against the US exerting pressure on Chinese companies and calls on Washington to stop such a practice, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s press service said on Monday amid reports of possible US sanctions against a number of Chinese firms.

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Fishing for Scritches: Adorable Golden Retriever Begging for Attention

Golden retrievers are a very sociable breed of dog that just love attention and care. That is why they can get frustrated and puzzled when they do not get any - just like this charming fellow.

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Tons of '80s stars turn adorable 'Ferris Bueller' cast reunion into a nostalgia trip of iconic John Hughes moments

In the last episode of Josh Gad's Reunited Apart for a while, the host and superfan brought together the cast of Ferris Bueller's Day Off, arguably the quintessential '80s movie. Matthew Broderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara, and Jennifer Grey joined Gad over video call for a chat about their memories of the shoot, as did Lyman Ward and Cindy Pickett (who played Ferris' parents) and Ben Stein, the economist and occasional actor responsible for "Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller?" (He can also still do that improvised monologue about the Hawley-Smoot tariffs, and it's still super boring.)

Gad also brought in Jake Gyllenhaal to quiz the cast on some seriously obscure Ferris trivia, and High School Musical director Kenny Ortega to talk about the one-take perfection and joyous legacy of the parade scene, which he choreographed. Read more...

More about Ferris Bueller S Day Off, John Hughes, Zoom Reunion, Reunited Apart, and Entertainment

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Elon Musk Says Tesla No Longer Receives Federal Government Subsidies

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The US-based Tesla car manufacturer has stopped receiving federal tax subsidies, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said.

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Twelve People Dead, 10 Missing Due to Heavy Rain Floods in Southwestern China

BEIJING (Sputnik) - At least 12 people have died and 10 went missing due to heavy rains in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Monday.

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GNA Leader Sarraj Calls on ICC to Investigate Actions of LNA in Libya

DOHA (Sputnik) - The head of Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord Fayez Sarraj has called on the International Criminal Court to send specialists to Libya to investigate the actions of the eastern-based Libyan National Army led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

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