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Germany Scares The Greeks And Shifts The Balance Of Power In The Mediterranean For The Turks

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Germany is selling high-tech submarines to Turkey, shifting the balance of power in the Mediterranean and scaring the Greeks:
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source <a href="https://shoebat.com/2021/07/01/germany-scares-the-greeks-and-shifts-the-balance-of-power-in-the-mediterranean-for-the-turks/">https://shoebat.com/2021/07/01/germany-scares-the-greeks-and-shifts-the-balance-of-power-in-the-mediterranean-for-the-turks/</a>

armageddon Germany Scares The Greeks And Shifts The Balance Of Power In The Mediterranean For The Turks

Germany is selling high-tech submarines to Turkey, shifting the balance of power in the Mediterranean and scaring the Greeks: [embedded c...

US Troops Leave Bagram Air Base In Afghanistan After Nearly 2 Decades

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So far Germany and Italy have both confirmed the full withdrawal of their troops from Afghanistan (File).
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Kabul:
All US and NATO troops have left the biggest air base in Afghanistan, a US defence official told AFP Friday, signalling the complete withdrawal of foreign forces from the country after two decades of war was imminent.
Bagram Air Base served as the linchpin for US operations in the rugged country, where the long war against the Taliban and their Al-Qaeda allies was fought with air strikes and resupply missions from the airfield.
"All coalition forces are off Bagram," said the official -- who asked not to be identified -- without specifying when the last foreign troops left the base, 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Kabul.
He did not say when it will be officially handed over to Afghan forces.
"We still have not been informed of any official handover of the base to Afghan forces," a senior Afghan official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The US military and NATO are in the final stages of winding up involvement in Afghanistan, bringing home an unspecified number of remaining troops by a deadline of September 11.
The Taliban have launched relentless offensives across Afghanistan in the past two months, gobbling up dozens of districts as Afghan security forces have largely consolidated their power in the country's major urban areas.
The ability of Afghan forces to maintain control over the vital Bagram airfield will likely prove pivotal to maintaining security in the nearby capital Kabul and keeping pressure on the Taliban.
Over the years, the mini-city has been visited by hundreds of thousands of US and NATO service members and contractors.
It boasted swimming pools, cinemas and spas -- and even a boardwalk featuring fast-food outlets such as Burger King and Pizza Hut.
The base also hosted a prison that held thousands of Taliban and jihadist inmates.
Bagram was built by the US for its Afghan ally during the Cold War in the 1950s as a bulwark against the Soviet Union in the north.
Ironically, it became the staging point for the Soviet invasion of the country in 1979, and the Red Army expanded it significantly during their near decade-long occupation.
When Moscow pulled out, it became central to the raging civil war -- it was reported that at one point the Taliban controlled one end of the three-kilometre (two-mile) runway and the opposition Northern Alliance the other.
In recent months, Bagram has come under rocket barrages claimed by the jihadist Islamic State, stirring fears that militants are already eyeing the base for future attacks.
The NATO-led non-combat mission aimed to train Afghan forces into ensuring their country's security after the departure of foreign forces.
As of February 2021, there were about 9,500 foreign troops in Afghanistan, of which the US made up the largest contingent of 2,500.
So far Germany and Italy have both confirmed the full withdrawal of their troops.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/all-us-nato-troops-leave-bagram-air-base-in-afghanistan-news-agency-afp-quoting-us-defence-official-2477451">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/all-us-nato-troops-leave-bagram-air-base-in-afghanistan-news-agency-afp-quoting-us-defence-official-2477451</a>

news world US Troops Leave Bagram Air Base In Afghanistan After Nearly 2 Decades

So far Germany and Italy have both confirmed the full withdrawal of their troops from Afghanistan (File). Kabul: All US and NATO troops...

Australia Halves Overseas Arrivals To Curb Virus Outbreaks

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COVID-19: Australia has less than 8 per cent of adults fully vaccinated.
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Sydney:
Australia announced a dramatic cut in the number of people who will be allowed to enter the country Friday, as it struggles to contain coronavirus clusters that plunged major cities into lockdown.
With almost half of the nation's population under stay-at-home orders, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said quotas for overseas arrivals would be cut by around 50 per cent to help prevent further outbreaks.
Under the current "zero Covid" strategy, just 6,000 people are allowed to enter Australia on overseas commercial flights each week and arrivals must undergo mandatory two weeks hotel quarantine.
That quota will be cut to around 3,000 by the middle of July, Morrison indicated, although the government will at the same time step up its private repatriation flights.
Morrison announced the decision amid growing anger over repeated snap lockdowns, the leakiness of hotel quarantine facilities and what critics have dubbed a vaccine "stroll out."
More than 18 months into the pandemic, less than eight per cent of adults have been fully vaccinated.
"This is a difficult time when people are dealing with restriction," Morrison said. "There is still quite a journey ahead of us."
Sydney, Brisbane and Perth are currently in lockdown -- a total of around 10 million people -- in an effort to suppress outbreaks that delivered 27 new local cases on Thursday.
Although shutdowns are being lifted in Alice Springs, Darwin and Queensland's Gold Coast, the clusters continue to grow, particularly in Sydney.
Trying to address growing anger at the prospect of border restrictions entering their second year, Morrison previewed a "new deal" that would shift the country's strategy from suppressing coronavirus to managing it.
The government, he said, would soon adopt vaccination targets, which when reached, would allow the gradual opening of borders and a return to normal life.
He indicated borders would open first for vaccinated Australians and overseas travellers, who could also be subject to reduced quarantine requirements.
The vaccination targets are likely to be set by scientific advisors rather than politicians.
"If you get vaccinated, you get to change how we live as a country, you get to change how you live in Australia," Morrison said.
Before the pandemic began, around 260,000 people entered Australia each week, and citizens were free to travel overseas.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/australia-restricts-overseas-arrivals-to-curb-covid-outbreak-2477427">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/australia-restricts-overseas-arrivals-to-curb-covid-outbreak-2477427</a>

news world Australia Halves Overseas Arrivals To Curb Virus Outbreaks

COVID-19: Australia has less than 8 per cent of adults fully vaccinated. Sydney: Australia announced a dramatic cut in the number of pe...

Singapore CEO, 28, Spends $38 Million In A Week On 2 Luxury Homes

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Ian Ang lodged a caveat this week for a S$15 million five-bedroom penthouse.
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The 28-year-old co-founder of Secretlab, a Singapore-based maker of ergonomic chairs for gamers, shelled out S$51 million ($38 million) in just a week on two luxury properties in the city-state.
Ian Ang, who's chief executive of the firm, exercised an option last week to purchase a S$36 million bungalow in the exclusive Caldecott Hill area from Dymon Asia Capital Pte. founding partner Danny Yong, according to the Straits Times newspaper. Both Ang and Yong declined to comment to the newspaper.
It's an example of how Singapore's property market has been heating up in the past year as buyers capitalize on low interest rates and expectations that prices will rise further after the pandemic. Values of luxury homes have jumped, with some sales breaking records.
Ang also lodged a caveat this week for a S$15 million five-bedroom penthouse near the UNESCO-protected Botanic Gardens, which he plans to stay at while the bungalow is torn down and rebuilt, according to the report. Both properties are located in some of the country's most prime districts.
The chair maker was started in 2014 by former professional gamers Ang and Alaric Choo and has since expanded its business beyond Asia to Australia, North America and Europe. Heliconia Capital Management Pte., a unit of state investment company Temasek Holdings Pte., bought a minority stake in 2019.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ian-ang-singapore-ceo-28-spends-38-million-in-a-week-on-2-luxury-homes-2477403">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ian-ang-singapore-ceo-28-spends-38-million-in-a-week-on-2-luxury-homes-2477403</a>

news world Singapore CEO, 28, Spends $38 Million In A Week On 2 Luxury Homes

Ian Ang lodged a caveat this week for a S$15 million five-bedroom penthouse. The 28-year-old co-founder of Secretlab, a Singapore-based ...

COVAX Calls For Equal Recognition Of Covid Vaccines For Travel

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The COVAX statement comes as nations begin to re-open travel to vaccinated individuals (File)
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United Nations:
Calling for "equal recognition of vaccines", COVAX on Thursday urged all governments to recognise as "fully vaccinated" those people who have received COVID-19 vaccines deemed safe by WHO, saying any move that restricts travel of people based on the vaccines they have received is "counter-effective, both in spirit and outcome".
In a statement, COVAX -- the global alliance for equitable vaccine distribution -- said it was built on the principle of equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines to protect the health of people all across the globe and that means protecting their lives and livelihoods, including their ability to travel and conduct trade.
"As travel and other possibilities begin to open up in some parts of the world, COVAX urges all regional, national and local government authorities to recognise as fully vaccinated all people who have received COVID-19 vaccines that have been deemed safe and effective by the World Health Organisation and/or the 11 Stringent Regulatory Authorities (SRAs) approved for COVID-19 vaccines, when making decisions on who is able to travel or attend events," it said.
As per WHO, the 11 SRAs are Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Belgium's Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP), Health Canada, EU's European Medicines Agency (EMA), France's L'Agence nationale de securite du medicament et des produits de sante (ASNM), Germany's Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), The Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA), The Medicines Evaluation Board of Netherlands, Swissmedic, UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).
COVAX noted that "any measure" that only allows people protected by a subset of WHO-approved vaccines to benefit from the re-opening of travel into and with that region "would effectively create a two-tier system, further widening the global vaccine divide and exacerbating the inequities we have already seen in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines".
"It would negatively impact the growth of economies that are already suffering the most," it said.
The statement noted that such moves are already undermining confidence in life-saving vaccines that have already been shown to be safe and effective, affecting uptake of vaccines and potentially putting billions of people at risk.
"At a time when the world is trying to resume trade, commerce and travel, this is counter-effective, both in spirit and outcome," COVAX said.
COVAX commended countries that have already shown commitment to equity as well as safety by accepting travellers protected by all vaccines validated by WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) and/or the 11 SRAs approved for COVID-19 vaccines. "We call on other nations and regions to do the same," it said.
The COVAX statement comes as nations begin to re-open travel to vaccinated individuals.
There have however been apprehensions that some nations may not allow individuals to enter their regions if they have received certain vaccines.
The European Union's Digital Covid certificate or "Green Pass" came into effect Thursday with an aim to facilitate free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under this framework, persons who have taken vaccines authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be exempted from travel restrictions within the EU region.
India has already asked the EU member countries to individually consider allowing Indians who have taken Covishield and Covaxin vaccines and want to travel to Europe. There have been apprehensions in India that people who took Covishield and Covaxin jabs are unlikely to be eligible to travel to the European Union member states under its 'Green Pass' scheme.
The EU Digital Covid certificate or 'Green Pass' will be mandatory to travel to European countries and the document will serve as proof that a person is vaccinated against COVID-19.
An EU official on Tuesday said individual member states of the EU will have the option to accept vaccines authorised by WHO like Covishield for obtaining the bloc's digital Covid certificate.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday took up the issue of inclusion of Covishield in the EU digital Covid certificate scheme during a meeting with Josep Borrell Fontelles, the High Representative of the European Union.
Nine European nations are accepting Covishield vaccines for travel to their countries, sources said on Thursday. Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Greece, Iceland, Ireland and Spain are among the countries allowing travel by people who have taken Covishield vaccines, the sources said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/covax-calls-for-equal-recognition-of-covid-vaccines-for-travel-2477390">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/covax-calls-for-equal-recognition-of-covid-vaccines-for-travel-2477390</a>

news world COVAX Calls For Equal Recognition Of Covid Vaccines For Travel

The COVAX statement comes as nations begin to re-open travel to vaccinated individuals (File) United Nations: Calling for "equal r...

Spanish Couple Develop High-Tech Glasses To Help Son See

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The glasses, which need to be customised for the specific needs of each user, cost 4,900 euros.
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Barcelona, Spain:
When their two-year-old son Biel started falling over a lot and had difficulty climbing stairs after learning to walk, Jaume Puig and his wife sought medical help to figure out the problem. 
After visiting several doctors, the toddler was diagnosed with low vision, a condition far more common than blindness that makes daily tasks a challenge.
In Biel's case, it was due to an optic nerve problem but the condition can also be caused by defects in the retina, brain or other parts of the visual system, or by conditions such as glaucoma or macular degeneration.
Low vision can't be corrected with glasses or surgery. And while magnifiers can help with specific tasks like reading, there was no available technology to help the toddler get around. 
So in 2017, Puig, a Spanish electrical engineer, and his wife Constanza Lucero, a doctor, founded Biel Glasses, a company which created a digital device to help those with low vision to move about safely on their own.
"There are canes and guide dogs. Nothing else. We got into this because we saw there was a need for it," Puig, 52, told AFP at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering.
The headset is on display at the show. 
A cross between gaming goggles and glasses, it creates a 3D image onto which text, graphics and video can be overlaid upon real-world images.
It also uses AI to detect and signal obstacles.
Real-time visual warning
"We thought we could use these technologies to take advantage of the vision he does have so he can be more independent. 
"Maybe we can't cure him but we can help him," said Puig of his son who is now eight.
When a wearer approaches an object blocking their path, a large red circle will appear on the screen warning them of the obstacle.
It also allows them to zoom in on a street sign or other object.
Developing the glasses cost 900,000 euros ($1 million), of which the couple invested 65,000 euros of their own money, while the rest came from public institutions and crowd-funding.
They worked with a team of doctors and computer engineers, among them one of Spain's top specialists on low vision, to create the product which has been approved for use in the European Union. 
It is expected to go on sale in Spain and Denmark later this year.
The glasses, which need to be customised for the specific needs of each user, cost 4,900 euros ($5,850).
Puig, who has founded several other technology startups, now hopes to add voice activation and a navigation system that works with Google Maps in future versions of the glasses.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/spanish-couple-develop-high-tech-glasses-to-help-son-see-2477385">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/spanish-couple-develop-high-tech-glasses-to-help-son-see-2477385</a>

news world Spanish Couple Develop High-Tech Glasses To Help Son See

The glasses, which need to be customised for the specific needs of each user, cost 4,900 euros. Barcelona, Spain: When their two-year-o...