#travelled up to northern NH a bit

[ca-d]

solar eclipse // 04.08.2024 ✨

[purkinje-effect]

(im @qualtoth ) did i hear something about vermont fanon. eyes emoji

It took me a few days to get back to you, but hey hi hello again <3

Yep! I've craved for many years to extend the Fallout 4 map to include all of New England, not just Bar Harbor and about a third of Massachusetts. I've called the region between the Great Lakes and Maine "The Hinter," though I fluctuate whether that includes US-annexed Canada, or if that's its own entity. Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are the particular focus for my worldbuilding efforts for The Hinter. (I really need to put in the effort to flesh out what survived of Montréal in the Underground City. Montréal, Ottawa, and Canada in general are a blind spot in the project at present. I don’t really have much of anything for Northern New York yet, either.)

A lot of my focus has been on meteorological and geological features. Settlements are scattered and, as I mentioned in the post about August, many of those are nomadic and don't stay put in any one place for more than a few months. Let's see if I can sort my thoughts a bit better than last time. Starting with an incredibly messy mostly traced map. Let me know if Tumblr shrinks it too much to be legible, and I’ll repost this reply as an image post. Not sure what it does with inline images these days...

Edit: Tumblr done screwed up these inline pics. I made a separate photo post here.

Let’s discuss... The Hinter.

Hinter Settlements

The region called The Hinter starts at the Northern border of Massachusetts. I typically demarcate it somewhere West of Montréal, and out East some way into Nova Scotia. Settlements are few and far between, but it’s not unheard of for individuals and single families to occupy houses “in the middle of nowhere.” There’s a lot of mountain life abound. Vault-Tec only built two proper vaults in New England outside Massachusetts--one in New Hampshire, and one in Bar Harbor, Maine. Most settlements consolidated survivors in locations ripe with prewar amenities.

The warhead that struck Montréal permanently obstructed the flow of the St. Lawrence River. Lake Champlain subsequently dried up and became a valley, no longer able to collect sufficient water from the Richelieu. Its sediment is rich in nuclear deposits washed in from the inundation of the tributary being blasted off course, and its lime in particular a major facet of the glassblowers’ artistry in Burlington, VT.

The Underground City (Montréal, Québec): Based on the location by the same name, much like in the Capital Wastes with its extensive subway tunnels, Montréal’s population largely took shelter beneath it. I haven’t fleshed it out, but it’s definitely still the largest Canadian settlement. It’s not very well known to outsiders, and the primary travelers are Children of Atom pilgrims on Valence track. (Eternal thanks to @mayihavethisdanse for cluing me into details for this area. You’ve contributed some really great insight for this region in general.)

Burlington, VT: A Children of Atom settlement. The Grand Mother Skwodovska of the Hinter Children resides in the Five Sisters monastery here, a sect dedicated to archival of holy knowledge. Much of the settlement overall is monastic glassblowers, who craft with a mixture of lime from the now-dry Champlain Basin and trinitite silicates that washed ashore from the Montréal blast. They make non-radioactive glassware as well, but only for commerce.

Montpelier Galleria, VT: A settlement with both pockets of Children and a sizable secular population. The federal district provides housing for a diverse mercantile settlement structured much like Bunker Hill in the Commonwealth.

Manchester, NH: [Redacted] live here, unknown to a majority of the region. Not even Children at The Ledge tend to be aware of their misanthropic hidden neighbors.

Ant Lane (Nashua, NH): Once the Pheasant Lane Mall, Ant Lane was erected as an experiment in above-ground vault design. It held fast on Great War Day, and now stands as one of the largest settlements in the entire Hinter. Many of the inhabitants of both the mall and the satellite strip are descendants of those shopping on October 23, 2077, but it is a major travel hub on the border of the Hinter. Ant Lane’s Concourse is a significant Granitic Mass site, lined with holy Barre granite, but for reasons unknown to a majority of Children, it does not whisper. Children have thus nicknamed the mall “the Quiet Granite.” Burlington Glassworks is the Children’s home within Ant Lane, and while living at the mall on their Valence pilgrimages, they spend the season diligently maintaining the Armillary Bulbs which illuminate an otherwise entirely dark shopping mall. The Aldermen and the Mayor have a generational dynamic. Also there are literal ants.

Far Harbor, ME

also, included to bridge my worldbuilding, these two aren’t in the Hinter proper, but are still important-ish:

Worcester, MA: CIT Worcester is overrun with Super Mutant activity hostile to outsiders. There are human settlements in the outskirts.

Lowell, MA: Largely a ghost town. There’s still signs of life on base at the Deenwood Compound in Chelmsford, but the largest settlement is in Voire in Centralville. The Furriers are heavily mutated social chem addicts who do travel to do trade with their meat and leather craft. Their leather is the zenith of Rad-Resistant gear, for one intending to live in the Hinter for any duration.

The Hinter Children

Hinter Children’s religious history goes back well before the Megaton caravan brought Cromwell’s Children into New England, but the religion found its direction and unity in their arrival. Much of the area saw Joual-style modification of Quebecois, and Children are frequently fluent in a “Church French” version of Quebecois called Keb, complete with the bleed of Catholic imagery. Many Children are bilingual, but it’s far less common for them to speak English in locations where its inhabitants are residents not travelers, such as Five Sisters, the Rock of Ages, or the Singing Stone District. As a whole, the Hinter speaks Keb, regardless of whether their spirituality follows the Church of Children.

Armillary Bulbs: Glassblowing has become a religious practice for the children of Burlington, approximating the ideology of Holy Atom as a World-Vessel. Their primary commerce by caravan with other settlements is their rich glass artistry, most notably their alchemical lights, armillary bulbs. Klein bottles with necks flourished to intimate an atomic diagram, these bulbs are filled with a fluid which fluoresces in reaction to the radiation present in the glass. (They’re in essence reverse uranium glass: the contents glow, not the glass.) They provide a long-lasting light source free of electrical necessity, a crucial utility for anyone living in The Hinter.

The Far Harbor Children got along on neutral terms with the nomadic Hinter Children for years, until Tektus took on the mantle of High Confessor and shut out the slightest hints of heresy. The lighting in the Nucleus is the only thing that remains now of the time during which Hinter Children could make pilgrimage to the hangar, albeit disguised as or transferred to other vessels to mask their origins. When pressed on the matter, the High Confessor will insist that the chemistry of the light source is a gift found in Atom’s Kingdom and available for the pious and humble, NOT those heathen Fog-Lost.

Atom As a Woman: Burlington Children in particular believe Atom is a World-Mother.

Granitic Mass: The greatest source of Tektus branding them heretics, the Hinter Children regard not just nuclear sites as holy but large granite and marble quarries also. Granitic intrusions have a tendency to “imprint” resonance, especially upon adopting its crystalline structure. All Children believe in Division: just as atoms split and spill forth Atomic Light, so to does the soul. For the Hinter Children, these Granitic Masses are evidence of entire worlds that underwent Division, the cosmic dust of which forged our current world. Certain quarry sites are settlements for higher orders of Hinter Children, most notably the Rock of Ages, home to the Daughters of Radon.

In addition to the quarries themselves, granite hewn from specific quarries to erect architecture and monuments are of particular holy significance to Hinter Children. The Hope Cemetery, the Singing Stone District, and Saint Gaudens Park are notable examples. Traveling Route 89 from Ant Lane to Burlington, Children frequent any major cemeteries rich with statues and headstones. The Singing Stone District in the ruins of downtown Montréal is one of the largest concentrations of both Barre and Stanstead granite, used for federal and financial district structures such as the Sun Life Building. It is a harrowing site to traverse, however, and observing here is often reserved for Hierosacristans.

Valence Pilgrimage: Just as atomic particles follow an orbit drawn in by Atom’s nucleus, Hinter Children travel extensively from Granitic Mass to Granitic Mass. Typical travel takes them clockwise from site to site at the changing seasons or more frequent. Only Sacristans, tasked with curating a Granitic Mass, stay longer. Pilgrims travel in troupes by caravan, doing commerce with non-Children along the way and spreading the good will of the World-Mother. Not all Children travel the same orbit: some cut wide and far, while others visit only a couple of Granitic Masses.

Hierosacristans and the Daughters of Radon: Most Hinter Children follow set travel routes on their Valence orbits. Within Barre’s Daughters of Radon are two groups. The first remains behind to worship the granite and listen to its whispers. The other travels off the well-traveled orbit, in search of documenting other Granitic Masses. The latter, Hierosacristans, are in essence the Hinter Children’s Zealots. They are a rare example of the pacifistic faction taking up armor and defensive weaponry. Sacristans act as scribes, archivists, and religious leaders. Hierosacristans act as trailblazing cartographers. Prior to their exile from the Nucleus, Hierosacristans were afforded access to procuring Marine Armor, but they have since been denied even that. Their armor in recent years is frequently a mix of salvaged metal and the fur and leather of CaRadBou, the fur of which absorbs all Atomic Glow and shines a brilliant white. Due to their sheer size, hunting CaRadBou is also an activity left to Daughters, who can travel as a pack to collect one to feed a settlement as needed.

Stone Tape Sites (Children Holy Sites)

Hinter Children worship not just nuclear sites, but also granite and marble quarries and architectural remains which used stone hewn from them. As stated above, under Granitic Mass, the material’s tendency to record information in its crystalline structure presents itself to Hinter Children as proof of the Worlds Before. (Granite can be very radioactive as well, depending on its composition.)

(A wip of the Ant Lane Concourse.)

The Singing Stone District (Montréal, QC): The federal and financial district in the ruins of what once was downtown Montréal. Barre and Stanstead granite were both used extensively during the city’s deco revival. It’s incredibly hazardous to travel at ground zero in Montréal, both due to failing buildings and the various wildlife that’s reclaimed the involuntary park, so travel here is typically reserved for pilgrims equipped for it. The most highly revered of the structures is the still standing Sun Life Building. Children just love that company logo...

Burlington, VT: The Hinter Children’s mecca. Some study at the Five Sisters monastery as Sacristans. Others observe glassblowing practices, crafting Armillaries. Though not a granitic site, the entire Champlain Basin is of particular significance as a nuclear site, due to the geological sequelae of the Montréal bomb during the Great Division.

Stanstead Quarry (Stanstead, QC): Prewar, this quarry was bored by the same company that owned Rock of Ages. Its makeup is largely the same as Rock of Ages, but it lay deeper in the Fog, and can be a difficult travel location on the Valence orbit. It’s socially acceptable for Hinter Children to season here for long stretches, as most Children are not versed in combat and wildlife this deep North into the Hinter can be harrowing. The granite here typically does not produce audible playback, but often yields breathtaking boreal effects.

The Nucleus (Mt. Desert, Bar Harbor, ME): Nucleus Children call pilgrims the “Fog-Lost” after the High Confessor’s pejorative. They’re forbidden from entering the hangar, but are known to wander the wilderness directly surrounding it. Hinter Children insist that Atom’s Spring is for all Atom’s Children, not only those Tektus will call his own. Every season the Zealots will elect a single “Fog-Lost” to drink from the Spring and report back their experience. If the Zealots believe the individual’s vision indicates the good favor of the Fog Mother, the entire group of pilgrims may partake in a Fog sabbatical together. They are not allowed to season anywhere on the island past this test and ritual. Harbormen no longer trust any Children, regardless of their allegiances. (Mt. Desert is additionally a granitic site, but it is not from a granitic intrusion with strong imprints.)

Maine State Prison (Thomaston, ME): Originally a penitentiary quarry abandoned long before the Great Division, the warden used prison labor for recreational excavation. This location has only just recently been discovered by Hierosacristans, and is not populated. Grand Mother Skwodovska has yet to declare it safe for pilgrimage. Despite its original imprint of the Worlds Before, due to the nature of the labor which carved it out of the Earth, it’s also picked up the essence of repetitive manual labor.

The Ledge (Derryfield Park, Manchester, NH): This granite lights up in a brilliant boreal tapestry under the right conditions. Before the Great Division, prewar Manchesterites were drawn to the water that fills this quarry. Many swimmers were once compelled to jump from the top of the quarry walls down into the water below, often to their deaths. Hinter Children do not venture any deeper West into the ruins of Manchester, content with the forested region surrounding The Ledge and Vault 140. Second only to the Rock of Ages, Children regard wintering at The Ledge to be the height of their religious experience. They will ice skate on the pond well to dance with the lights.

Ant Lane (Pheasant Lane Mall, Nashua, NH): Its Concourse is lined with holy Barre granite, but for reasons unknown to Children it no longer whispers. The Children call the mall “the Quiet Granite.” Children usually only stay for one season at a time, to share the task of maintaining the Armillary Bulbs which illuminate the settlement, before handing the task over to the next caravan of pilgrims coming in from The Ledge.

Saint Gaudens Park: Monument to one of the greatest sculptors of the modern world, and the designer of countless bronze monuments throughout the country, the grounds are filled with examples of his granite, marble, and bronze work. The park lay just off Route 89 on one’s way Northwest through the White Mountains. Many Children pass through here. It still functions as a sculptural school, and here many hone their grasp of three-dimensional space to heighten their glassblowing skills upon returning up the interstate home to Five Sisters. It’s said the artistic medium whispers to the artist, begging to be freed.

Dunwich Borers (Salem, MA): A site chiefly reserved for Hierosacristans, as traversing such a deep mine shaft requires skill and purpose... It’s also necessary for Children entering the mine to be able to remind feral ghouls of what they are, as the deeper one goes, the more one will find. The granite in this location is especially radioactive.

Kingsport Lighthouse (Kingsport, MA): a splinter sect of Children who worship a Glowing One. An example of a denomination of Children who regard ghouls, feral or not, as touched by Atom. They likely once studied at the Church of Eternal Light before traveling with the Megaton caravan that brought the Capital Wastes’ Children into New England. (included as an afterthought cause I forgot)

Thicket Excavations (Bedford, MA): I can’t remember off the top of my head what I had planned out for this site. I can’t even remember if I think the Children would have determined a way to drain it, or if they’d leave it flooded. It’s there. I guess.

Quincy Quarries (Quincy, MA): An abandoned quarry picked as a site for widespread improper nuclear waste disposal. Not a Valence site, but Hierosacristans do make occasional visits to the location in an attempt to convert the rational ghouls who have taken up residence in the quarry. Despite these ghouls’ resistance thus far to listen to religious fanatics, Hinter Children still regard them utmost as Atom’s Undying.

Crater of Atom (Providence, RI): When the Children traveled from Megaton to make pilgrimage to the Nucleus, the caravans eventually split into three directions. The then-Sister Skwodovska took one North, and founded Five Sisters and the Singing Stone District. The Then-Confessors Martin and Tektus led a second Northeast, and founded the Nucleus. Sister Isolde took the third East, and founded the Crater of Atom amidst the Glowing Sea. Now Mother Isolde, she cares deeply for all Atom’s pilgrims. The settlement will accept any of Atom’s Children, regardless of whether they are simply visiting, so long as they will not hesitate to protect the holy site without hesitation. (included in sentiment only cause I cropped to where it isn’t shown on the map)

Retreat Trail (Retreat, Brattleboro, VT): In a similar way that Maine State Prison prescribed prison labor as a mode of rehabilitation, so too did Brattleboro Retreat, the nation’s first asylum committed to recovery. Many of the stone formations in the area Currently only known to a single immodestly heretical Hinter Child, August, though Hierosacristan Fresnel will eventually cross paths with him and seek to study the site. The tower was erected in rough-hewn local granite, but the whispering stone lays below ground in a cistern where digging had allegedly continued past the point the project required. The nature trail which encircles the Tower is of particular caliber for meditative strolls for Hinter Children, a personal solipsistic Valence track of sorts. The asylum itself is a strong candidate for Children housing, should the Grand Mother ever declare it appropriate for Children to make pilgrimage.

Norcross-West Quarry (Dorset, VT): The oldest marble quarry in the country. Though not granite, the metamorphic rock contains some of the most potent Worlds Before imagery. Many of its subterranean inhabitants observe a hybridized religion between their wilderness beliefs and the ideologies the Children have brought with them on their Valence. Sacristans remain on site year-round to study the visions the granite yields, though many inhabitants consider the phenomena ordinary by their everyday standards, they’re so commonplace.

Hope Cemetery (Barre, VT): Mausoleums, monuments, and headstones here are all carved from holy Barre granite. Sacristans curate the monuments here year round, often traveling only a two-site Valence between it and the Rock of Ages. Its imprints are fragmented and scattered, but frequent in the open air.

The Rock of Ages Quarry (Barre, VT): The holiest Granitic Mass to the Hinter Children. Only Hierosacristans are permitted in its deepest caverns, but the vast deep dimension rock face of the site whisper so loudly and so continuously that even Children who are not Daughters of Radon can hear it. Rock of Ages was regarded as a Stone Tape site even before the Great Division, and pursuit of its secrets has been ongoing for centuries. Its history is the most well documented of any of the Children’s holy sites.

Weather

Weather in the Hinter still includes events commonplace before the Great Division, but two types of weather have since developed.

The Fog: Not isolated to Mt. Desert Island, a dense radioactive fog blankets a high ratio of the Hinter. Unless settlers are able to tolerate mountain life above the Fog, they must adjust their living conditions accordingly. It can yield a weak magnetic field at times that can cause the simplest technology to malfunction. Even a seasoned internal compass can be led astray. Without extensive Wasteland homoeopathy or sufficient Rad Resistance, it’s impossible to survive in the Fog for any extended duration.

Nor’easters: Before the war, they posed the risks of both a blizzard and a hurricane, but now the highly radioactive seawater they carry ashore has mutated them into an entirely different, more potent hazard. Once a storm cell hits the Fog front, they magnify one another, generating deeply disorienting magneto-acoustic fields and scattering upwards of ten feet of radioactive snow at a time. These magneto-acoustic fields “activate” the granite imprints and trigger replay events of the sensory input contained therein. Children consider such experiences deeply entheogenic, as only Daughters can experience the granite whispers without a storm to bring out the Worlds Before.

Hinter Children are especially winter-ready, and even pilgrims mid-transit rarely struggle in the face of heavy winter weather. They have to be ready, if they’re to witness for themselves every event time the eldritch arcane seems to bleed from one reality into the next.

_________________________________________

I’ve probably forgotten things here and there... but here she is. Gonna put a lampshade on my Lovecraft-grade spoiler dodging and call it a night.

[snarkesthour]

Happy St George's Day!

· In the midst of a pandemic when schools are all closed, the government votes to not allow free school meals to schoolchildren during school holidays, despite this being the only meal many of them have each day

· Marcus Rashford, a footballer, led the drive to feed the nation’s children, 49% of which live in poverty, and forced the government to provide food for them during the school holidays

· Instead of previous years when vouchers were given to parents that can only be spent on nutritious food, members of government give contracts to friends to provide a week’s work of food costing £5 to schoolchildren for a price of £30. Food is unhealthy and would not last a week

· Parcels also expect parents to cook two tablespoons of rice at a time in the oven and bake their own bread every day, ignoring poverty-stricken families possible lack of access to such equipment

· Wife of conservative MP attacks poor families for eating unhealthy food when healthy food is cheaper, ignoring the fact that not all families have access to equipment needed to store and cook it

· Nigel Farage, head of the Brexit party came out strongly against the government for their stance on starving schoolchildren. Not a good look.

· Another MP came out and said that poor families should not receive government assistance because the money would be going direct to brothels and crackhouses and the parents would spend it on drink and drugs instead of feeding their kids, a dangerous and persistent stereotype of working class people

· For the first time in its history, UNICEF is feeding kids in the UK – the 5th richest country in the world – and the head of the House of Commons accused them of “playing politics” and said they should “be ashamed of themselves”

· J.K. Rowling came out hard as a TERF (Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist), writing a book about a serial killer that dresses up as a Muslim woman, which isn’t subtle when you look at her history of transphobia and other “-isms”

She also publicly supported an author who wrote a book about the destruction of Europe by waves of Muslim immigration

· Speaking of J.K. Rowling, the government’s response to the Gender Recognition Act.

· It is now impossible for under 16s to receive reversible puberty blockers

· Wait times at NHS Gender Clinics, of which there are only 7 in the country, have doubled, with wait times now up to 60+ months (5+ years)

· Keir Starmer, head of the Labour (left wing) party says he doesn’t want to get involved in trans issues

· With the loss of Labour, no major party supports trans rights

· Self ID is no longer allowed, meaning every step of transition is medicalised and involves the trans person having to prove that they are “trans enough” at every stage to panels of cis people

· Government wants to invalidate non-enrolled deed polls, essentially making available a public list of every trans person in the UK

· Hate crimes have quadrupled

· Anti-trans campaigners are now setting their sights on trans adults’ access to hormones

· A petition was formed to counter this and was reviewed by the government, who determined that nothing was wrong with the GRA except that it might have been a bit lax.

· The Guardian newspaper ran child labour and child starvation supporting stories

· Internal border now along the border of Kent and lorry drivers must produce travel papers (Brexit Passport) to cross it, placing the county of Kent in a state of “no man’s land”

· Government fails to lockdown on time, every time

· Government refuses to ban conversion therapy in the UK

· Scotland adopts Human Rights of Children, which requires the government to better support children and families, especially those who are poor, disabled, minorities or young carers. England does not

· The government declared that sleeping rough is now grounds for deportation

· Schools reopened several times despite being warned not safe to do so

· The government banned NHS workers from speaking out about COVID

· Do Not Resuscitate orders proposed for those in care homes, with learning disabilities and who are autistic

· The government cut pensions as the COVID death toll rose

· The government learnt about new South-East COVID strain in September and didn’t come forwards until December

· New COVID strain targets kids, teens, and young adults, and yet none of those groups are allowed vaccination unless a serious pre-existing condition is had, even if they are key workers

· Downing Street says UK should be model of racial equality because government report says no institutional racism in the UK

· Report also says young people are young and foolish for thinking it exists and that minorities are superstitious and irrational and are sabotaging themselves out of success

· It came out that the government was given the independent report and rewrote it to the version that was released to the public – the version that says racism doesn’t exist in the UK

· The rewritten report also refers to the slave trade as the “Caribbean experience”, like those enslaved were on holiday

· Woman in London abducted, murdered and dismembered by off-duty cop and when socially distanced vigil goes ahead, police wait until dark before trapping women, arresting them, using excessive force on them, and also destroying memorial

· Bill passed in government that allows undercover officers to commit serious crimes such as murder, torture and rape

· Plainclothes police to now patrol nightclubs and bars due to aforementioned murder by police officer

· Bill passed that bans any protest at all, no matter how quiet, unobstructive or small it is, including single-person protests. Bill also includes a 10 year sentence for damaging a statue, which is a longer sentence than for rape

· TV programmes critical of the government have been cancelled

· Universities have been told what to platform and schools have been told what to teach, including banning material speaking about BLM and calling for “overthrow” of capitalism

· Voting has been supressed, mainly those who are working class or POC

· During protests in Bristol, press was assaulted and pepper sprayed by police and two legal observers were arrested

· Being Roma/Traveller and living the traditional Roma/Traveller lifestyle is now illegal under that same bill that bans protests. They also have to register as such and receive a licence or risk losing their vehicles

· Hours before Eid, lockdown across the UK with no warning whatsoever, meaning people woke up the next morning after visiting relatives to find themselves “criminals”. The country was opened up specifically for Christmas though

· Conservative (right wing) party blamed BAME (Black And Minority Ethnic) communities for dying of COVID more than white people

· Landlords have been protected extensively and renters blamed for living in close quarters or having to take public transport to work

· Conservatives have launched investigation into possible corruption in Liverpool Council. Liverpool is a Labour stronghold and if corruption is found then the Conservatives can seize control of the council. No evidence of corruption is present as of yet

· Military threatened to stage a coup if Corbyn (then head of the labour party) became Prime Minister

· Government orders all government buildings in England, Wales and Scotland to fly the Union Flag every day to boost patriotism

· MPs call for the curriculum to require teaching the history of the Union Flag rather than Britain’s many atrocities

· The first fortnight of April saw a mini heatwave with temperatures up to 20°C immediately followed by snow, and this is ignored in favour of debating “vaccine passports” in order to visit the pub

· UK allows for international summer holidays despite being warned it will cause a third wave, such as the situation in Germany

· Government placed asylum seekers arriving in the UK in army barracks where they were to sleep 24 to a room with no open windows or air circulation, and when COVID inevitably ran rampant, the Home Secretary accused the asylum seekers of not following COVID protocol, such as social distancing

· Several accounts of self-harm and suicide attempts were reported from the asylum barracks and were dismissed

· UK to deport unaccompanied minor asylum seekers

· UK refuses entry into the UK for radicalised teen failed by system who joined ISIS. Case is difficult and controversial because teen wishes to return to the UK temporarily to fight for her citizenship after the UK broke international law by stripping it from her, despite her not having dual citizenship. Argument given was that her parents were from Bangladesh and so she could apply for citizenship there. Bangladesh refused. Teen is now stateless and living in a refugee camp after losing several children, unable to fight for her citizenship to be reinstated.

· Rioting in Northern Ireland, which included the first use of water cannons in 6 years, a bus being hijacked and burnt, a press photographer attacked, and people throwing bricks, fireworks and petrol bombs at police, not to mention some of the clashes happening over a peace wall in west Belfast, completely ignored in British media and then later drowned out by non-stop news of Prince Phillip’s death, obscuring any important news from being heard. Riots were over Northern Ireland’s being a part of the UK

· MPs take vote on whether China’s treatment of Uighurs constitutes genocide. They decide it does, but that it isn’t their job to do anything further

· Home Office released their spending for the 2020 fiscal year. It’s a mess, including over £77,000 at an eyebrow salon in March alone, and £6,000+ in Pollyanna Restaurant which doesn't appear to exist.

· When people started questioning the spending, the Home Office sent a tweet fact checking themselves

· Country reopened over the summer for Eat Out To Help Out, a scheme to boost the economy. COVID cases rose sharply and the government then blamed people, but mostly working class people, for not following restrictions such as only leaving the house when absolutely necessary, after telling them it was safe

· Foreign NHS workers denied COVID vaccinations

· GCSEs and A-Levels were cancelled due to COVID-19 and expected exam grades were to be used instead. Private school students received grades much higher than they were expecting, and state school students received grades much lower, some grades falling as far as an A to an E. This was because the government couldn’t imagine state school students being smart enough to receive the high grades they were predicted to get; after much uproar the grades were scrapped, and a new method was introduced

· BBC offered staff grief counselling following Prince Philip’s death, but not after having to report on the ever-rising COVID death toll

· The COVID-19 Infection Survey closed in mourning for Prince Philip, with workers to contact participants to reschedule visits for “as soon as possible” when they return to work

· Census workers told to pack up and go home and were placed on immediate unpaid leave due to the death of Prince Philip, but told they must make up the hours later

· Conservative MPs lobbied for a new royal yacht after voting to keep schoolchildren hungry (see first points)

· The BBC’s complaint page crashed over the amount of complaints they got of their coverage of Prince Philip’s death. It was covered non-stop for over 24 hours and the page came in at over 100,000 complaints before going down

· BBC also fast becoming politically biased despite their requirement to be apolitical, after cutting out the audience laughing at Boris Johnson on Question Time, displaying Corbyn as a communist figure in front of a prominent piece of Russian architecture, and providing a platform for a Conservative MP to tell a stage 4 bowl cancer patient that her life wasn’t valuable on live television

· On the COVID-19 pandemic, the BMJ, (British Medical Journal) said about the government that “science was being suppressed for political and financial gain” by “some of history’s worst autocrats and dictators”

· Not only did Boris Johnson launch Eat Out To Help Out when he was warned it was dangerous, lifted lockdowns too early when he was warned it was too dangerous, reopened schools when he was warned it was too dangerous, but when scientists said the second COVID jab should be delivered within 3 weeks he decided that was too tall an order and it should be within 12 weeks – after a period of radio silence, suddenly the science fit his plan. No scientists came forwards to defend it

· The Home Secretary, Priti Patel, blamed protestors for protests that became violent from police attacking protestors, bullied staff members under her, bought members of staff in her department, said it was “disgraceful” to topple the statue of Edward Colson, a slave trader, in Brighton because it undermined anti-racism protests, held treasonous meetings with Israel with the plan to divert aid money, and threatened to starve Ireland in order to get them to agree to Brexit

· She also wants to set up Australian-style asylum processing centres on British islands, but the islands she wants are in the Atlantic ocean and over 4000 miles away from the UK. This is because she wants to help asylum seekers enter the UK legally, completed ignoring or oblivious to all the reasons that asylum seekers might not be able to do that, and for the fact that to seek asylum you must essentially walk up the border and ask for it

· The bungling of the Track and Trace system – the government spent £10bn on a system to track and trace the spread of COVID-19. All data was stored on an Excel spreadsheet which developed a technical glitch and many results were lost before the system was scrapped

· As Autism Acceptance month began, the BBC ran a story saying the autism causes fascism, and that an autistic person who had chosen to embrace the ideology was incapable of seeing that a neo-Nazi group he joined was morally bad because he was autistic

[dailynewsprime]

Why does India have so many COVID instances? | Coronavirus pandemic News

Something has gone horribly flawed in India. Today, the nation has reported 346,786 new instances of COVID-19 for the earlier 24 hours, with 2,624 deaths – the world’s highest daily toll for the reason that pandemic started final yr. Overall, almost 190,000 individuals have died from COVID within the nation, whereas greater than 16.6 million have been contaminated. The new outbreak in India is so extreme that hospitals are working out of oxygen and beds, and many individuals who have been taken unwell are being turned away. New Zealand, Hong Kong, the UK and the US have both banned direct flights to and from India, or have suggested residents towards travelling altogether; and the record could properly get longer. The UK’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, who's eager to safe a post-Brexit commerce cope with the nation, has been pressured to cancel a planned trip to India this coming week and, as an alternative, plans to fulfill with President Narendra Modi just about. For a rustic the place COVID numbers gave the impression to be dropping dramatically just some weeks in the past, what has gone so flawed in India? The Indian variant, generally known as B.1.617, seems to be wreaking havoc within the nation. Since April 15, India has been reporting greater than 200,000 instances of coronavirus on daily basis and its capital, Delhi, just lately introduced a week-long lockdown after an increase in instances there overwhelmed the healthcare system. “If we don’t impose a lockdown now, we might face a bigger calamity,” Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal mentioned as he addressed the town on Indian tv on April 19. Worryingly, mattress areas and oxygen supplies in hospitals seem like stretched, with experiences of sick sufferers being turned away from hospitals and social media feeds crammed with distraught relations whose family members can not entry the healthcare they want. On Wednesday this week, because the COVID toll was rising, Delhi’s highest court docket took the bizarre step of publicly criticising the central authorities and its method to managing the nation’s oxygen disaster. The court docket was listening to a petition filed by Max Hospitals looking for pressing assist to tide over the oxygen scarcity it was dealing with in six of its hospitals within the capital. “Human lives are not that important for the State it means. We are shocked and dismayed that government doesn’t seem to be mindful to the extremely urgent need of medical oxygen,” the Bench said. “We direct Centre to provide safe passage…so that such supplies are not obstructed for any reason whatsoever,” it mentioned. “Hell will break loose .” Damning phrases for the federal government in a time of disaster. It shouldn't be completely clear why this surge has occurred in India, however it's prone to be due to crowded occasions organised within the run-up to elections – President Modi himself hit the marketing campaign path addressing election rallies in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on March 30 because the upturn of instances started. Large teams and social gatherings throughout spiritual festivals have additionally performed a component, in addition to the re-opening of public areas and easing of lockdown measures which passed off steadily all through 2020 with the ultimate “unlocking” of restrictions taking place in December 2020. There can also be a lot concern in regards to the emergence of recent variants of the coronavirus in India. It is believed the dominant pressure within the nation now's the variant which was first recognized within the UK, and which has proven to be as much as 60 p.c extra transmissible between people. On March 25, it was additional introduced {that a} new “double mutant” variant had been detected in India, now generally known as the “Indian variant”. This growth is what has different international locations spooked. The Indian authorities don't assume this new variant has but change into the dominant COVID pressure within the nation, however it's prone to be contributing to the growing numbers. Genome sequencing of the brand new variant has proven that it has two vital mutations: 1. The E484Q mutation: This is just like the E484K mutation recognized within the Brazil and South African variants, which have additionally been reported in latest months. The concern is that this mutation can change elements of the coronavirus spike protein. The spike protein types a part of the coronavirus outer layer and is what the virus makes use of to make contact with human cells. Once contact has been made, the coronavirus then makes use of the spike protein to bind to the human cells, enter them and infect them. The immune response that the vaccines stimulate creates antibodies that concentrate on the spike protein of the virus particularly. Therefore, the fear is that if a mutation adjustments the form of the spike protein considerably, then the antibodies could not be capable of recognise and neutralise the virus successfully, even in those that have been vaccinated. Scientists are inspecting whether or not this may increasingly even be the case for the E484Q mutation. 2. The L452R mutation: This has additionally been present in a variant regarded as chargeable for outbreaks in California. This variant is believed to extend the spike protein’s capacity to bind to human host cells, thereby growing its infectivity. A examine of the mutation additionally suggests it could assist the virus to evade the neutralising antibodies that each the vaccine and former an infection can produce, although that is nonetheless being examined. This new wave in India has been devastating for the nation. A coordinated response is required between Indian states and central authorities to handle the provision of oxygen and important medicine if the variety of COVID-related deaths is to be introduced beneath management. There can also be a priority that we do not know the true number of deaths from COVID, as some individuals have died at house earlier than they might get to hospital and many others in India, notably in rural areas, have had issue accessing testing services. Pressure urgently must be lifted off the healthcare system and the one approach to do this is to ramp up the vaccination programme, strengthen social distancing procedures and re-introduce lockdown measures.

In the physician’s surgical procedure: Teaching medical college students throughout a pandemic

One of my passions as a physician is with the ability to move on my information to the docs of tomorrow. I have accomplished it for years and am a senior lecturer at two UK universities. A big a part of the instructing I do includes getting my college students to talk to and study sufferers. This has been a problem within the final 12 months as bringing sufferers into the surgical procedure for them to see college students has been too dangerous, and the sufferers that tended to have the sicknesses the scholars wanted to see have been usually shielding to cut back the probabilities of them catching COVID-19. Medical college students have been lending a serving to hand to COVID-ravaged hospitals everywhere in the world, and their help has been welcomed by many. But we additionally want to arrange them for a world past COVID and, within the restricted time we have with them, to make sure they're ready for a variety of medical circumstances from the bodily to the psychological. But how can we do this in the event that they have been unable to see sufferers as regular? Technology has been the reply. Our surgical procedure, the place I work as a household physician in Bradford, northern England, is fortunate sufficient to have a scientific abilities lab that college students can study in. This is a room that has “model” physique elements that the scholars can use for examination functions. Students can come into the surgical procedure and, initially, maintain phone consultations with sufferers, chatting with actual sufferers who ring in about their illnesses. The college students file a medical historical past by chatting with the sufferers and try to give you a administration plan which they then run previous me or one other physician for approval. Because the scholars can not study the sufferers bodily, we then make a listing of the examinations the scholars would have accomplished and, as soon as their clinic record is full, transfer over to the scientific abilities lab. I then ask them to observe the examination they might have accomplished on the fashions. This may embody a chest examination, a rectal or vaginal examination. The fashions will be adjusted so that every time the scholar makes use of them they may make a distinct examination discovering, equivalent to a brand new lump or irregular respiration sounds. It actually is kind of intelligent. Although it is going to by no means actually exchange the true factor, this methodology has allowed us to maintain medical schooling going all through the pandemic – one thing that has challenged medical colleges the world over.

And now, some excellent news: Exercising can cut back the dangers of COVID

A brand new study by Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland has proven that common train can cut back the chance of getting infections like COVID-19 by as much as 37 p.c. The researchers carried out a full-scale systematic overview of 16,698 worldwide epidemiological research revealed between January 1980 and April 2020, with world-renowned immunologists and epidemiologists from University College London (UCL) within the UK and Ghent University (UGent) in Belgium, in addition to train and sports activities scientists from Cádiz University in Spain and a public well being marketing consultant from NHS Lanarkshire (NHSL) within the UK. They discovered that doing half-hour of train which will get you out of breath and a bit sweaty 5 instances every week strengthens your immune response to infectious ailments. It is believed that common train will increase the variety of immune cells within the physique appearing on the primary line of defence – the mucosal layer of antibodies. These cells are chargeable for figuring out international brokers or “germs” within the physique with out miserable the remainder of the immune system, so it’s completely protected and protects you towards infectious illness. We have recognized for a while about the advantages train can have for an individual’s general bodily and psychological well being. Now, within the time of COVID, it has been proven to assist enhance your immune system too. So the message is obvious; get open air and train in the event you can or to the health club whether it is in line with your native COVID tips. If neither is feasible, your kitchen or front room is a wonderfully good place to do half-hour of dancing, leaping or no matter floats your boat!

Reader’s query: Is it protected to go to my hospital appointment throughout a pandemic?

Over the previous 12 months, individuals have repeatedly been informed that the most secure place for them is house and that hospitals are busy coping with COVID-19 sufferers. While that's true, it is usually vital to do not forget that different sicknesses have not gone away. I have discovered that many of my sufferers are usually not attending their appointments for different circumstances as a result of they're frightened about catching COVID or assume their sickness shouldn't be as vital as coronavirus. Hospitals and GP surgical procedures everywhere in the world have gone out of their option to make massive elements of their buildings COVID-free. This implies that they can be utilized for non-COVID-related companies and workers working there is not going to be crossing over to cowl COVID wards or clinics. So, in the event you obtain an appointment to attend a clinic or hospital service, it's actually vital that you simply do go. Read the full article

[newstfionline]

Friday, February 5, 2021

Canada puts Proud Boys on terror list, cites active security threat (Reuters) Canada named the far-right Proud Boys a terrorist entity on Wednesday, saying it posed an active security threat and played a “pivotal role” in last month’s attack on the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead. Although the Proud Boys have never mounted an attack in Canada, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said domestic intelligence forces had become increasingly worried about the group. The group’s assets can now be frozen by banks and financial institutions, and it is a crime for Canadians to knowingly deal with assets of a listed entity. Anyone belonging to the group can be blocked from entering Canada. The move underscored constitutional concerns about a Canadian government’s ability to designate a group as a terrorist entity, said Leah West, a national security professor at Ottawa’s Carleton University and former lawyer with the Canadian justice department. Designations are impossible to challenge beforehand and difficult to address afterward, especially given lawyers may be reluctant to provide counsel to members of a terrorist group, she said by phone.

US to cut off support for Saudi-led operations in Yemen amid humanitarian crisis (Guardian) The US has announced an end to its support for Saudi-led offensive operations in Yemen, citing the role the bombing campaign has had in creating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The announcement was made byJoe Biden during a visit to the state department, capping a whiplash fortnight of dramatic foreign policy changes since his 20 January inauguration. “This war has to end,” Biden said. “And to underscore our commitment, we’re ending all American support for offensive operations in the war in Yemen, including relevant arms sales.” The distancing of Washington from Riyadh is one of the most conspicuous reversals of Donald Trump’s agenda, but it also marks a break with the policies pursued by Barack Obama, who had backed the Saudi offensive in Yemen, although he later sought to impose constraints on its air war. The US will also freeze arms sales to Saudi Arabia, and name a special envoy to Yemen, to put more pressure on the Saudis, Emiratis and the Houthi forces they are fighting, to make a lasting peace agreement.

Capt. Tom’s legacy lives on (AP) The legacy of Capt. Tom Moore, the super fundraiser who died Tuesday of COVID-19, lives on in others. Capt. Tom, a World War II veteran recovering from a broken hip, set out to raise 1,000 pounds ($1,400) by walking 100 laps of his back garden before his 100th birthday last April. Three weeks later, he had raised 33 million pounds ($45 million) for Britain’s NHS after his quest cheered a nation in lockdown and triggered donations from around the world. But he also made a broader impact as his simple challenge—to do whatever you can to help others—persuaded the young it’s never too soon to start, and the old that it’s never too late. Take Margaret Payne, 90, who walked up the stairs in her home 282 times to raise 416,000 pounds for the NHS. Payne, from Ardvar in the Scottish Highlands, calculated that the feat was the equivalent of climbing 731 meters (2,398 feet), or the height of Suilven, one of Scotland’s best known mountains that she scaled when she was 15. And then there’s Tony Hudgell, a 5-year-old who lost both legs after being abused as a baby, set out to walk 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) and raise 500 pounds for the Evelina London Children’s Hospital. After completing the challenge in a series of daily walks he had attracted more than 1 million pounds of donations. “Captain Sir Tom inspired so many people to take on their own extraordinary challenges, from running marathons to swimming lakes, and he gave us all hope,” said Ellie Orton, chief executive of NHS Charities Together.

How a Bavarian supermarket is helping shoppers find love amid shutdown (The Local/Germany) Can you find love while shopping in Germany? For many, a supermarket may be just about the least likely place for a starry eyed encounter. An Edeka supermarket in the Bavarian town of Volkach, however, is trying to break through barriers amid the coronavirus crisis: every Friday evening has been set aside for “singles shopping.” Every Friday between 6 and 8pm, singles can grab a heart with a number on it at the entrance and stick it on their jacket. If they spot someone they fancy amid the shelves, they can opt to have that person’s number called out at the checkout. Those who are a bit more bashful can simply leave their phone number with a message. For this purpose, slips of paper are laid out on which the type of contact can be ticked off, such as: “I’d be happy to meet you for an orange juice in the fruit department.” “Nothing has taken off yet,” a butcher’s assistant told Bavarian news website Merkur amid a display of schnitzel and minced meat. “At least not here by the meat, but maybe in another department.”

Mountain heartbreak: Italy has deep snow, closed ski resorts (AP) The granite peaks that majestically encircle the northern Italian town of Cortina d’Ampezzo glimmer with one of the most prolific snowfalls in years, while the COVID-19 pandemic silences Italy’s winter resorts. Italy’s 2019-2020 ski season closed unexpectedly early last March, when the country became the first Western country pummeled by the pandemic. A new season has yet to launch, unlike in neighboring Switzerland, which in December allowed lifts to open with restrictions, or in Austria, where residents still can ski. France’s ski lifts remain closed at least through February. In Italy, the pandemic-related closures are a hit to an industry that generates 1.2 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in annual revenues and employs 5,000 permanent and 10,000 seasonal workers, according to the association of ski lift operators, ANEF. The association said last year’s early end to the season led to a 20% revenue decline and called the current season a total loss. Factoring in hotels, restaurants and other services, the ski industry generates 11 billion euros ( $13.2 billion) in annual revenues, but travel restrictions have kept activity near zero on top of the stilled lifts.

Twitter Unblocked Accounts That Criticized India’s Government. Now, Its Employees Are Being Threatened With Jail Time Unless It Blocks Them Again. (BuzzFeed News) India’s government has threatened to punish employees at Twitter with fines and jail terms of up to seven years for restoring hundreds of accounts it has ordered the company to block. Most accounts were critical of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. On Monday, Twitter complied with the government’s order and prevented people in India from viewing more than 250 accounts belonging to activists, political commentators, a movie star, and the Caravan, an investigative news magazine. Most accounts had criticized Modi, India’s Hindu nationalist prime minister, and his government. But the company restored the accounts approximately six hours later after a Twitter lawyer met with IT ministry officials, and argued that the tweets and accounts constituted free speech and were newsworthy. India’s government disagreed. On Tuesday, the IT ministry sent a notice to Twitter, ordering it to block the accounts once again. It also threatened people who work at Twitter’s Indian arm with legal consequences, which could include a fine or a jail term of up to seven years. “This is really problematic,” said Nikhil Pahwa, editor of MediaNama, a technology policy website, and an internet activist. “I don’t see why the government of India should wade into this territory of trying to censor tweets when they have much bigger problems to deal with.”

Myanmar charges Suu Kyi, giving legal basis to detain her (AP) Police leveled their first formal charge against Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, her allies said Wednesday, accusing the ousted leader of possessing illegally imported walkie-talkies and giving the military authorities who staged a coup a legal reason to detain her for two weeks. The charge came to light two days after Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest and appeared to be an effort to lend a legal veneer to her detention, though the generals have previously kept her and others locked up for years. The military announced Monday that it would take power for one year—accusing Suu Kyi’s government of not investigating allegations of voter fraud in recent elections. Suu Kyi’s party swept that vote, and the military-backed party did poorly.

Myanmar blocks Facebook as resistance grows to coup (AP) Myanmar’s new military government has blocked access to Facebook as resistance to Monday’s coup surged amid calls for civil disobedience to protest the ousting of the elected civilian government and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Facebook is especially popular in Myanmar and the ousted government had commonly made public announcements on the social media site. Internet users said the disruption began late Wednesday night, and mobile service provider Telenor Myanmar confirmed in a statement that mobile operators and internet service providers in Myanmar had received a directive from the communications ministry to temporarily block Facebook. The political party ousted in Monday’s coup and other activists in Myanmar have called for a campaign of civil disobedience to oppose the takeover. In the vanguard are medical personnel, who have declared they won’t work for the military government and who are highly respected for their work during the coronavirus pandemic that is taxing the country’s dangerously inadequate health system. For a second night Wednesday, residents in Yangon engaged in “noise protests,” with people banging pots and pans and honking car horns under cover of darkness.

Japan’s population decline (Nikkei Asian Review) Japan’s population shrank by a record 420,000 people last year, government estimates show, as the coronavirus pandemic dealt a heavy blow to an influx of foreign workers that had helped offset the country’s ongoing natural population decline. The total fell for a 12th straight year, shattering the previous record of 329,000 set just a year earlier. The health ministry estimates Japan’s population at 125.57 million as of Jan. 1, based on confirmed data through July and estimates based on births, deaths and foreign arrival and departure data. The drop owes in large part to a 60% plunge in foreign arrivals that has kept the labor market tight even though the pandemic has slowed the economy and eliminated many jobs.

In Iraq’s ‘Dire’ Economy, Poverty Is Rising—And So Are Fears Of Instability (NPR) With the gold domes of the famed Kadhimiya shrine as a backdrop, nearby streets full of shops, markets and tea-sellers in Baghdad look bustling and vibrant, even at night. Tempting windows display sparkly clothes and cascades of candy in rainbow colors. But shopkeepers say no one has been buying much since Iraq devalued its dinar against the dollar last year. Around the world, economies have been crushed by the pandemic. The International Monetary Fund reported in October that most Mideast economies plunged into recession. But some places are especially vulnerable, among them Iraq. Its economy depends overwhelmingly on oil exports, and as travel halted and demand for fuel dwindled, government revenues tumbled along with oil prices. Government revenues plummeted by 47.5% in the first eight months of last year, the World Bank reports. With drastically less oil revenue, the government has been paying its salaries and pensions intermittently or not at all. Economists say Iraq’s poverty rate may have shot up from 20% in 2018 to 30% or more last year. To try to make it easier to pay those salaries, as well to encourage people to buy domestically instead of relying on imports, the government devalued the dinar against the dollar by about 20% in December. But as Iraq produces very little, people have little choice but to buy imported goods—which are only more expensive now. “Iraq’s economic situation can probably best be described as being dire,” says Ali al-Saffar of the International Energy Agency.

Beirut blast victims want the truth (AP) Days after a massive explosion ripped through Beirut’s port and disfigured the Lebanese capital, family members of some of the 211 people killed in the blast demanded an international probe. It was a swift vote of no confidence in the authorities’ ability to investigate one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history and one of the nation’s most traumatic experiences. The skepticism was justified. Lebanon, a country wrought by political violence and assassinations, has a history of unfinished prosecutions and buried secrets. Six months after the Aug. 4 blast, the domestic investigation has been brought to a virtual halt by the same political and confessional rivalries that thwarted past attempts to uncover the truth in major crimes. Lebanon’s sectarian-based political factions have had a lock on power in the country for decades and have divvied up posts across the state among themselves. Though rivals, they have a common interest in preventing accountability. Aya Majzoub of Human Rights Watch said a U.N. fact-finding mission is needed. “We can’t rest our hope and faith on a broken system that has proven incredibly resilient. We can’t expect the very people who are implicated in these crimes and other big crimes in Lebanon to lead reform.”

In thrice-demolished village, a Mideast battle of wills (AP) It looks like the aftermath of a tornado. There are dirt plots where there used to be makeshift homes; tent poles stacked like firewood; fencing and scrap metal scattered across a desert valley greened by winter rain; a cold firepit and a pile of kitchen essentials where a cooking tent once stood. This is what remains of the herding community of Khirbet Humsu in the occupied West Bank, after Israeli forces demolished it for the third time in as many months. On Wednesday, just minutes after the army left, Palestinian residents were at work repairing their fences—hoping to gather their sheep before dark, knowing the army might return the next day. “We build it up and they tear it down,” said Waleed Abu al-Kbash as he stretched fencing between two posts. “Where am I supposed to go? I have a thousand head of sheep.” Khirbet Humsu, perched on the rolling highlands above the Jordan Valley, is part of the 60% of the West Bank known as Area C, which is under full Israeli military control as part of interim peace agreements from the 1990s. Israel planned to annex the Jordan Valley and other parts of the occupied West Bank last year after getting a green light from the Trump administration, but it put annexation on hold as part of a U.S.-brokered normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates. It still maintains complete control over the territory, leaving Bedouin communities like the one at Khirbet Humsu at constant risk of displacement. Shepherds who rely on seasonal rains and scattered springs are also at the mercy of an arbitrary cycle of demolition and rebuilding.

Innovation (Bloomberg) South Korea returned to first place in the latest Bloomberg Innovation Index, while the U.S. dropped out of a top 10 that features a cluster of European countries. Korea regained the crown from Germany, which dropped to fourth place. The Asian nation has now topped the index for seven of the nine years that it’s been published. Singapore and Switzerland each moved up one spot to rank second and third.

[musicvsms-blog]

This week has been MS awareness week, so I have decided to bite to the bullet, and open up about my experience of living with MS – which, for a number of reasons, is something I have never really spoken about. However, having had some time to reflect while in lockdown, I believe that living with MS for the past 10 years has stood me in good stead for staying positive in more difficult times.

I was originally diagnosed in 2010 after a year of tests. I was 25, had just moved to London in a time of recession, and finally got a dream job working as a concert promoter. Just a few months into the new job, I started suffering from headaches, and then numbness in my arms and legs. I knew something wasn’t right but didn’t want to let it get in the way of my new career. While I waited to be put through the NHS system, I looked at alternative ways of managing the uncomfortable sensations, and would go for acupuncture in my lunch break, which alleviated the symptoms. I think the first time that I felt scared was when I went to see a neuro-physio who knew my Dad. She asked me to close my eyes, and put a set of keys in my hand. She then asked me what it was but I couldn’t tell her. I had lost all fine sensations in my hands.

After numerous appointments at Moorfields, and Queens Square – eye tests, scans and a lumbar puncture – I was told I had Multiple Sclerosis. It was incredibly hard to get my head around as no one in my family had ever had it: so why me? The causes are still unknown. The consultant at the time suggested I started treatment, which would be a daily injection, but I decided that I would try to manage it without. I was young, had caught it early, and didn’t want to be on medication for the rest of my life.

I told a few people at work and my close friends at the time, because they knew I was going for tests, but I kept it pretty quiet. I needed to get my head around it, and, in hindsight, I was probably in shock for a long while. The only thing I knew of MS was that some good friends had lost their mum to the disease when they were teenagers so was worried about how best to tell them. Perhaps I didn’t want to be a burden. I definitely didn't want the disease to define me or get in the way of my dreams, or for people to think I wasn't capable. Something I felt I needed to especially prove, being a (young) woman in a very male dominated industry!

For years I lived symptom free (or maybe I had just become so accustomed to certain strange sensations that I could ignore them) and wondered whether I had been misdiagnosed. I went on to achieve more than I could have ever dreamed of in my career, working with some amazing artists, and seeing them go from playing their first shows in the back room of a pub to selling out arenas. The day after my 30th birthday I had an interview with AEG Live, one of the world’s leading companies in live entertainment, and was offered a job and the title of Vice President of Live Music. Having spent years working all hours for no money, and almost giving up on numerous occasions along the way, I was finally appreciated. I launched Goldenvoice in the UK and promoted tours for artists including Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, The xx and alt J amongst others. An incredible job but since my diagnosis I always knew it wasn’t sustainable. Fatigue is a common symptom but I would just put being tired down to the late nights and busy lifestyle!

Then, two years ago, I suffered a relapse that could only be as a result of the MS. I couldn’t feel my feet which also affected my concentration at work. It was a particularly busy time, as we had just launched a new festival – All Points East – which I was booking, alongside promoting tours, being out at shows most nights and dealing with personal issues. I went for more scans and was told that they were showing more lesions in my brain and spine than the last scans eight years prior. I didn’t take any time off at the time though; it’s hard to explain that ‘I can’t come to work because I’ve got numb legs!’. Booking a festival had been my ultimate dream and I had booked a lot of my favourite artists to play, so I wanted to see it through, but knew things needed to change after that.

Although I may have been living in denial for all those years, I do believe that the diagnosis spurred me on to achieve more in my career. However, at this point, I felt ready for the first time, to put my career on hold and look after my health. I finally accepted that I was living with a disease and that I needed to take control of it or it would take control of me.

Having worked in the music industry since the age of 18, working my way up from putting on mate’s bands in pubs in Brighton, I left my job not knowing what was going to be next. Some people thought that was a brave decision (maybe stupid) but I am used to taking risks, not knowing what’s next, and going with my gut had gotten me this far. Although I loved parts of the job, I knew I couldn’t keep working at the same pace and my workplace wasn't able to offer me the flexibility I felt I needed at that time. I had been working in a basement office with no windows, and when reminded by the consultant how important it is to take a high dose of Vitamin D, I thought: why not get the real thing, so headed for sunnier climes.

I had never travelled, as I had started working straight from school. I had an A-level in Spanish and always loved the language and culture, but not spent much time in Spain since. I decided to use the time to improve my Spanish, and headed to Barcelona where I had friends, and where the skies are always blue.

I had only recently passed my driving test, and had heard that you need to drive 10,000 miles before you’re a competent driver, so I picked up my car from London and then drove around Spain and Portugal. My oldest friend was working on a retreat in Portugal, so drove to her via Barcelona, Valencia and Andalusia, and then back up to northern Spain. I met my mum in Santiago De Compostela and walked a bit of the Camino – something I’ve always wanted to do and I plan to do the whole thing one day. I caught the ferry back, just in time for All Points East at the end of May, with 9,988 miles on the clock and only a few bumps and scratches!

During my time off, I realised that music is still my passion but I need to do things differently. I am back working for AEG, but on my own terms, working across the festivals. My old boss was hugely supportive and offered to bring me back in as a consultant so I can work from anywhere. I am back in London for now, but try to get away for some sunshine during the winter months. I hope to one day be living in the hills in Spain but for now London is my home, and I am feeling hugely grateful for this amazing weather we’ve had recently. I am back doing Spanish lessons with my teacher from Barcelona which wouldn’t be possible had Zoom not become the ‘new normal’.

I am not currently on treatment, despite being advised to by the consultant. It’s hard to seriously consider taking drugs when you feel perfectly healthy. I am always learning about diet and alternative therapies, and feel lucky enough to have a support network of amazing people, and the funds to do it my own way. Who knows what the future holds, but all I know is what I can do on a daily basis to stay healthy and keep my body and immune system strong for now.

I have learned so much from living with MS. It has taught me how to cope in times of uncertainty, as we all are now, and I feel grateful for that. It’s not easy, and there are challenging days, but all you can do is focus on what is within your control and take each day as it comes. I feel positive that I will get through this and beat MS. We will all get through these difficult times and I believe it will only make us stronger.

#livingwithms #multiplesclerosis #msawarenessweek

[skruffie]

When my parents and I moved to Washington 15 years ago, I kind of went through this long phase of treating it like a fresh start. There was so much pain that we were all trying to leave behind in California that, instead of mourning, I instead celebrated finally leaving. As if nothing would hurt me again. 

Obviously THAT’S NOT HOW LIFE WORKS 

Then I started getting older and found that the older I get, the more homesick for California I am, but I’m not yet at a point where I’d want to permanently move back. Washington is like slipping into a nice cool pool of water and California heat is like that kind of thrill of excitement at a concert before the lights go low and you know the band will come to the stage at any moment. 

I guess as a kid I had to separate myself from the pain first to try to heal, and while the healing began to proceed and as I began to examine my relationship to that land--particularly Northern California, where my ancestors are from--I feel this really deep pull. It’s like a chain. It doesn’t leave me trapped, but it just reminds me that I cannot be fully separated from where I come from. 

A lot of it also was in particular my hometown is full of rich, conservative, evangelical yuppies. I draw the best comparison to where I used to live versus where I live now with this: down in my hometown, people owned horses as a status symbol and would ride them on the horse trails around the residential neighborhoods. People around here own horses as part of their entire livelihood.

I got a similar vibe about being part of the land when Zack and I were travelling from New Hampshire to Washington to get them fully moved out west. As we approached North Dakota, literally driving over the Red River, stopping overnight (and hearing what sounded like tornado sirens around the hotel) and then travelling more through the whole of Montana, I just kind of thought “we’re safe here”. 

By comparison, a few years ago Zack and I traveled to Hampton, NH because I had recently discovered then that some of my settler ancestors had been part of the founding families for that location. We walked around the local museum a bit, walked around the Founder’s square and I contemplated how people I’m descended from walked on this same land, but it doesn’t feel the same when I think about being in California. For New Hampshire, being in the same place hundreds of years later from the ancestors is neat, but in California, in Montana, it runs so much deeper than that. In Montana I thought about how that land was the new home for my family when they were essentially refugees, having fled south before Canada turned their oppression up to 11. In California, whew... the thing with the Yurok is that they were not displaced to different land. The reservation is precisely where the Yurok have lived and died for the entirety of existence. 

A lil while back on discord I was talking with some people about this idea of like, the “call of the blood” regarding displaced or disconnected people trying to find their ancestors and go to their homelands, and I pointed out that the only ancestors I’ve ever dreamt about after casually doing genealogy for several years now are my Métis and Yurok ancestors. I haven’t had deep, emotional dreams about my Scottish ancestors, who saw their fair share of tragedy, and of course there’s always the Irish. I never dreamt of my French/German/Alsacian immigrant ancestor (of which my surname comes from) despite heavily contemplating how he, a young man of barely 20, managed to leave the land his family had been on for generations and generations and go to the center of a brand new continent to farm. That’s not a small thing to do, to uproot your entire life. Most of my genealogy has been focused on these groups because European settlers are the majority of my family tree. Sometimes I feel a pull to Scotland, but in my head it’s similar to like...

the rocky coasts of Scotland by comparison of the coasts of Trinidad, CA. The ocean. Water. Standing on the edge of discovery. 

[considermygenderminecrafted]

Via: @incompletebutconsistent

(this one may not be that accessible to folks outside the UK. Another reminder I am white, middle class, disabled and northern. Those things impact this discussion Heavily.)

Firstly thank you for addin on n chattin bout your experiences. I was- fuckin pissing my self bout postin this ngl cause it's a lot of shit that we don't talk about, n there was part of me that was worryin I was somehow wayyyy off the mark in my experiences. So everyone who's added shit in the tags or commented thank ya for that

I Cannae comment on most of this, tho I'm always kinda causious of putting race n class agaisnt each other, in part cause how they're dead intertwined here ya know? But I don't know enough about that in this specific context here to chat bout that, I just wanted to put that on the table

I did wanna to add to the stuff bout bein northern in relation to Oxbridge, cause my experience vistin my partner in Oxford was one of the things that like forcably made me aware of the fact I was noticably northern

Cause I'm middle class, I went to a school that did push folks into university pretty hard. N (at the expense off he students) they had pretty high levels of people gettingl into "good unis"

I never interacted w/ Oxbridge directly but both my partners did, one was thinkin bout tryna get in n the other ended up goin. Like the first thing I remember my girlfriend saying when she came back from a presentation on it for northern secondaries bout Oxbridge was there was just a distinct feelin they didn't fuckin want us. Which, at the time I didn't super know what meant cause I've lived up north my whole life, in the same city, n only travelled south for like- holidays n tha so I wasn't super aware of like- what being northern meant to people who weren't Northern. But when I look back on it now in the context of everythin I'm like- oh. They fuckin didn't.

My other partner got in- but has now dropped out (rusticated???), In part cause of the steady and n ever present feeling people just thought they were fuckin stupid. Ya know? N the fuckin Wild thing is they have a dead weak accent compared to others. Vistin them in Oxford was such a slap in face of like- oh this is a fuckin different universe. It was such a definin moment to me of realising like- when politicians said "where gonna fund the NHS", it wasn't just n empty promise like I thought it was, they did fund aprts of the NHS, n infrastructure, n hounsin n fixing roads- they just didn't fund us. They funded here.

Ive gone down a lil bit to midlands for uni which first year meant living with folks from down south for the first time, n it was a such a culture shock. Just lil things like relationship to money n how we thought bout reciprocation n what counted as gifts n tha, attitudes to medical services and food ectectect. Shit I had no idea was like- rootin in growing up in the North.

It's kinda fuckin wild, and watching people interact with tommy n Phil n Jack had been another insight in what it means to be percieved as Northern.

The people that run our country live in different worlds from us. When they say a different fuckin species I cannae help but feel the same way about them.

This is like, weird to talk about. But I think they're conversations worth havin

Hello ! I am only familiar with classism in the UK on a surface level and I wouldn't be able to understand all the layers with the little I know but I would love to hear what you think of Lovejoy's relationship with classism and why you say it's not that genuinely ragin ! So, would you be ok with elaborating on that ? Thank you so much !

Ah!! When i said genuinely I meant I am 'genuinely ragin', just meanin I'm mad! But i appreciate the ask, I am happy to elaborate. disclaimer, I'm not a English politics scholar i just live in north england. I am also middle class. I will also be using Britain n England v specifically through out this. I can also only talk about the white experience in England

I'm gonna talking about The Fall the specifically because its a great vehicle to talk about it, and is one of the best dissections of the modern white upper/middle class attitudes in England I've seen.

So the genius https://genius.com/Lovejoy-the-fall-lyrics breakdown of this song does a pretty fuckin' good job at a majority of the lyrics. So instead I'm gonna talk about some stuff that is harder to capture n summaries in a genius annotations and the things that impact the rest of Loevjoys works and also a lot of wilburs work in YCGMA

CW: Discussions of racism, classism, and colonialism

BACKGROUND

Classism

First point. Britian is Rooted in classism. It runs deep, it is older than America, it is so rooted into every single aspect of our lives. When we started inventing racism, we built it on the back of our thoroughly developed classism. Classism is so strongly rooted that is the basis of the North/South divide that has since grown legs and developed a life of its own as a deeply intertwined axis of operation. Our grocery stores are class markers. There is not a part of English culture that is not bathed in classism.

Cullture

Second, England sold it's soul for white supremacy. Britain is colonial, it has been for a long time and it continues to be so- England especially so. We colonised Scotland n Wales and Britain still occupies parts of Ireland today. When we did that there was/is an active effort to suppress their culture and attempt to homogenize Britain into one thing. This also require us to first start to kill our own connection to our historical culture. When we start colonising outside of other white people, we invented racism to justify our actions against people of colour - in doing that we basically entirely wiped out our own culture and replaced it with colonial white supremacy so we could stomach what we did.

This is not to say that England does not have culture(s). There are Loads of thriving cultures within England, London alone has sooo many cultures in it because of it's wide class gaps and multi-racial composition. Basically any group that faces oppression is going to find ways to resist and in that create culture (This is over simplified but i don't got time).

Even groups that face no oppression still have a culture, but because of the background of- all that mentioned above, it is a culture based on defining yourself in what you are not (not working class, not a person of colour) and on apathy to harm caused by the structures they participate in to maintain it.

This is the beginning of our discussion of the fall.

This song is a dissection of how those 2 things intersect. The POV of this song is a white, middle/upper-class southerner, we know this because of how the singer talks about lower class people with a sense of distance. There is a consistent through line of this song of an general, active and maintained incuriosity about what allows this person to do the things he does.

There is this aching, deeply empty boredom that comes with being at the top and not allowing yourself to see the bodies you're standing on. It is a sense of being unrooted. In England for white people, there is a feeling that you have no home, no roots, there is nothing for you - you live in a dead and dying culture built in blood.

There must be more to this

So leave those sink estates, and let's book a holiday

We're painting all the counties in blue

'Cause we're already boring, and we're already hoarding

What else have we got left to accrue?

If you are not upper-class and southern there is also a deep understanding that the people who run your country do not care about you. Sometimes they actively want you dead, sometimes they're just happy to let you die. And they do.

If you are middle class, like the singer is here, there is a requirement to be both indifferent and ignorant to the people who built the world around you,

and numb to the shit you go through.

And the ramblers will say

"It's got a marvelous view!"

But they don't know how many lives it took, no

Thеy'll never know what you knew

There is also a necessity to separate yourself from the working class.

And wе're so calm, but we're— (Fucking scared, fucking scared!)

And we're so calm, but we're— (Fucking scared, fucking scared!)

And we're so calm, but we're— (Fucking scared, fucking scared!)

And we're so calm, but we're fucking scared of people like you!

The end bit

The fall rest of the song up unto the end bit is about the empty symbols (Custom license plate to show wealth on the most standard yet expensive care you can get AudiR8, the grocery store you shop at), how to numb out (which also discusses the access to mental health services in the South which the North does not have.) and desperate attempts at connection falling through (" We've got a country house now, old dog has been put down now

It's nice to be around trees")

And finally, we get to the most explicit and clear break down of the entire song. This is favourite part of the entire album that made my Northern ass cry when hearing it because it was one of the frist times I'd heard a southern musician acknowledge the North/South divide

I look to all of you and see a different fucking species! Aspiration for a different destination to me

English classism is rooted in a concept of "bad blood" and "bad breeding". There is a reason we have maintained the monarchy and it is in part because we have not left behind the idea that people who are working class or proximate to working class are different species. People enjoy the proximity to the good blood of the royals. This is what we based racism off of.

The “aspirations for a different destination to me” is literal and figurative.

To start literally, England is geographically segregated by class. We have the largest form of the north south divide, wherein the North is a historically (and still now) a working class area. In that, we have just- worse,,,things. We have more food desserts, more crime, worse health care, less access to university, less access to education as a whole, less access to lucrative jobs ect ect ect- This is so deeply rooted that because England has regional dialects and accents, having a Northern accent will Wildly influence how you are treated by other people. The North/South divide is classism that grew legs and started its own deeply intertwined axis. The divisions are then broken further into city, then area of city, then road, the section road. It’s class all the way down. There is less opportunity for working class people to literally move out of their hometown.

Figuratively, middle class people are funneled into university and up to typically business in the south or public sector in the north, working class people are pushed out of university through school, social and monetary pressure and expected to usually having lower paying jobs such in things such as manual labour. Finally Upper class people go to oxford and private (here called public) school and then rule the country

I would Highly recommend reading the genius annotation for the first part.

Across the Pennines, there's a thin blue line, a knife and a mall

I would do something if it wasn't all so effortful

For the second we have the most biting part of this entire song. An admittance that they know there are problems and they don't fuckin care about us. They will let the working class and North die before they put the effort in, because they have numbed out. There are fixes, and they will not take them.

Ultimately, the only real class mobility is down.

'Cause I'm so high, my brain can't even look at the fall

And when you've reached the top, there's nowhere else to go but...

So! Uh- this was really long, and i did not even get to all the things i wanted to say, but I hope it was at least a brief look at the sociapolitcal/cultural aspects discussed in some of lovejoys songs that are harder to access if you don't live here.

Full disclaimer again. I am white, English, middle class, disabled, northern and queer. My POV will be shaped by all of that. I have Barely mentioned the london nor immigration in this

Also! if you are English, especially if you are working class, northern, not white and/or an immigrant PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD ON

[pparn]

Video: Winter Storm Warning, Blizzard Warning Issued for parts of NH ahead of Saturday's storm

สล็อตเครดิตฟรีแค่สมัคร A Nor'easter moves in to start the weekend, heavy snow and wind on Saturday.

Mostly cloudy with some flurries or light snow showers are possible today out ahead of the coastal storm. Highs will be in the 20s to lower 30s by mid afternoon with a light breeze.

Advertisement Clouds will increase/thicken tonight with lows in the single digits and teens overnight.

Now to the storm potential: A strong nor'easter will begin to develop well to our south on today. It will make its "closest" pass at NH Saturday afternoon and evening. We are still tracking this storm, but based on the current thinking (and this could easily change) light snow should develop early Saturday AM in southern NH and then spread northward during Saturday. Snow looks to pick up in intensity as the day wears on with the heaviest snow from the Lakes Region and points south and east. 12 to 20 inches of fluffy snow looks possible in a line from just north of Rochester to Mason, NH and points south and east, with 6-12 inches for many others, and 3-6 inches in far northern and northwestern NH. A track change of JUST 40-50 miles would mean more snow for many, or lower totals...so stay tuned to important updates later today.

Winds will increase as the day wears on too, with some gusts likely topping 35-40 mph during the afternoon and at night (strongest winds near the coast). Blowing and drifting of the very fluffy snow is expected for many with lower visibilities at times. Near Blizzard conditions are not out of the question near the coast Saturday PM and evening. Travel will likely become very difficult during the afternoon and evening especially Lakes Region south and east. Wind gusts over 35 mph may result in a few scattered power outages too.

Minor (to possibly moderate coastal flooding is possible during times of high astronomical tides early Saturday & Sunday mornings and Saturday Evening.

Clearing, windy, and cold on Sunday then bright and cold with less wind on Monday and a bit milder with some sun on Tuesday.

Again, Stay updated as we continue to track this storm potential over the next 24 hours before its arrival! สล็อตเครดิตฟรีแค่สมัคร

[idyoma]

What to Know About Travel in Europe After Brexit

Travel in Europe After Brexit

As of January 2020, the UK began the lengthy process of leaving the EU. As the majority of Brits voted to leave the EU in the ongoing Brexit debate, there will be some definite changes to travel in Europe after Brexit. At 11PM on December 31st 2020, Brexit was officially put in place and Britain is no longer an EU member, so what does this mean for your future travel plans?

We know for certain that travel guidelines have changed since January 2021, so here are some of the key points to remember when booking your next big Europe trip. Before you leave for your chosen EU destination, don’t forget to brush up on your language skills with Idyoma.

Travel in Europe After Brexit

• EHIC 200

• Mobile Roaming 200

• Passport 200

• Driving License and Insurance 200

• Visas 200

• Vaccinations 200

• Easiest Destinations for Brits 200

Why You Need EHIC to Travel in Europe After Brexit

An EHIC is a European Health Insurance Card. Previously this card offered all EU citizens entitlement to the relevant state healthcare services of the country you were visiting. This would give you access the local healthcare system at a reduced cost or for free. For example, if you broke an arm in Germany, you could present your EHIC card at the hospital to show that you were able to use the healthcare services as an EU resident. However, this no longer applies if you’re a UK resident.

Previous EHIC cards are valid until their shown expiry dates, but you cannot apply for a new EHIC card under the new UK government Brexit legislation. Instead, a replacement scheme was rolled out in January 2021 called the Global Health Insurance Card or GHIC. The GHIC is similar to the old EHIC, as it gives the holder free or reduced cost use of state healthcare In reciprocal countries like Australia and New Zealand. Unlike its name suggests, the GHIC doesn’t currently cover EEA states such as Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, or Iceland. Also, if you have an existing or long-term illness you should probably seek out independent health and travel insurance to ensure you’re covered.

You can apply for the new GHIC card for free on the NHS website.

Mobile Roaming

One thing yuo might have considered when thinking about travel in Europe after Brexit is your mobile! Mobile roaming can be a tricky one to figure out when entering a new country. Previously, free mobile roaming was guaranteed in the European and Schengen areas, but this ended on December 31st 2020. While mobile roaming isn’t guaranteed, many phone operators aren’t actually planning to introduce fees for roaming. You need to check with your individual phone operator to find out if there are any particular charges you could incur if you use roaming data while on holiday in an EU country.

Thankfully, there is a new law that adds a little bit of protection for you. While you browse the internet in another country, you won’t rack up enormous roaming data charges. If there are charges for mobile roaming in your destination country, then you will receive a notification when charges reach £45. No further charges for using internet can be incurred unless you clearly opt-in to continue using roaming internet data at a cost. If you check with your provider well before leaving the UK, though, you’ll be made fully aware of any possible fees for mobile roaming.

To Travel in Europe After Brexit You’ll Need a Passport

As a lover of travel, you probably know that until 2021, UK citizens with a valid passport were able to travel freely within Europe. From January 2021 UK citizens must renew their passports earlier than they may have previously expected, to ensure it’s still valid. Your passport must have at least six months left before its expiry date, on the day that you travel. If your passport is even a week or a day short of six months remaining validity, you may not be allowed to travel to EU countries or EEA states.

As before, travel rules for travel to Ireland apply. Travel in Europe after Brexit is undoubtedly going to be a litle trickier. But you must also still be aware of the COVID guidelines and quarantine rules of your destination country, so you’re prepared to enter safely and know that your passport won’t expire while you’re away.

If you want to check whether or not you need to renew your UK passport before your travel date, the British government have provided a useful online tool. You can also apply for a new passport from the government website. Remember that it can take up to a few months for passport applications to be fully processed and for you to receive your valid passport, so it’s a good idea to sort out your passport well in advance of booking any trips to EU destinations.

Driving License and Insurance

Feel like braving the winding Italian countryside roads on your next travel adventure? Previously as a UK citizen, you will have enjoyed a lot of freedom with your EU driver’s license but driving in the EU as a UK citizen has changed just a little.

There were some concerns that Brits would be required to apply for an international driving permit in order to drive throughout the European Union countries. The final Brexit deal terms instead dictated that all UK driving licenses, providing they’re valid and the driver also has insurance, are still valid for use in the EU. This means you can still rent cars on your holidays to the EU and drive with your usual license. The complication comes when you want to bring in your own vehicle to drive. In this case you’ll also need to apply for a Green Card which proves you have a car insurance policy in place, as well as a GB sticker to be displayed on your vehicle. Funnily enough, these rules also apply if you are driving from Northern Ireland to the Republic, where a Green Card is required.

Visas

When it comes to travel in Europe after Brexit, there is speculation that you will need to apply in advance to visit the EU from 2022, as a British citizen. The new ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorisation Scheme) you’ll be required to pay 7 Euro for a three-year pass (not unlike a visa). Before you can leave for your destination, you will also need to specify which country you will arrive in and the exact address of where you’ll be staying for the first night in that destination country.

That may sound a bit complicated, but for now as a tourist, you don’t need to apply for a visa for short trips to EU and EAA countries. You’ll be allowed to stay in that country for up to 90 days within any one 180-day period. If you want to stay longer than those 90 days in an EU country, you’ll need to get a visa or a travel permit specific to your circumstances.

Bear in mind that travel to Ireland is still the same as it has been regarding visas. Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania and Croatia have different rules, however, so time spent in those countries does not count towards your 90-day total visiting allowance.

Because of the confusing changes and specificity of rules depending on your destination, the EU created a ‘short term stay visa calculator’ so you can figure out how many more days you are allowed to stay in a European country. In short – check the visa rules around your specific destination country and stay aware of how long you’re allowed to remain there on your trip.

Vaccinations and Border Restrictions During Travel in Europe After Brexit

As of writing this article, there is still some debate on whether ‘vaccine passports’ will be required from British travellers to cross into European borders. What’s certain for now is that the UK is not exempt from border restrictions that may prevent travel into the EU borders. The UK is currently under third-party travel restrictions when it comes to the EU, and many Brits trying to holiday in the EU have reportedly been turned away as their trips were not deemed essential in the current global climate.

Japan, South Korea, and Australia are enjoying special allowance to enter EU borders due to their unique negotiations and lower COVID rates. EU officials have commented that there are no current plans to introduce the UK into this special border allowance. The global pandemic situation is likely to change, though, as will UK travel guidelines within the EU, so it’s best to check with your destination country before booking and taking your trip.

Easiest Destinations for Brits to Travel in Europe After Brexit

With Brexit completed and Britain entering new negotiations regarding travel within the EU, it’s looking like EU travel will still be just as possible and equally enjoyable. But which European states are going to be the easiest destinations for Brits to Travel in Europe in Europe After Brexit, even with new restrictions? Currently the countries below are some of the best EU destinations to British citizens. By offering easy and high quality healthcare accessibility, easy immigration policies, and having a high percentage of English-speakers, these are the top countries to visit after Brexit as a UK citizen:

• Spain and France

• Mainland Portugal

• Germany

• The Netherlands

[aimeeleighgillphotography]

Structure - Architectural Photographers

Mark McColl

McColl is a photographer based in Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland. He balances out his love for photography with working as a medical doctor within the NHS. McColl start to be interest within photography when he bought an old Zenith SLR this was back in the early 1980's. Over the past 10 years McColl has won awards in international photography salons and exhibition. McColl has travelled to many parts of the world, he has toured Iceland and arctic Norway quite a lot, but he has also travelled a lot of other countries such as Morocco, Cuba and various part of Europe.

This image really caught my eye, when I was first looking at Architectural photographer. This image is a wide angle shoot but also been taking from a low angle. I found this really interesting as there is a lot of detail within the building and the sky. I also like how the black and white make the image look a little bit more dramatic than it would be in colour.

Nick Hufton & Allan Crow

Hufton and Crow, grew up together in Macclesfield, Northern England and this was before they move to London. They are both very dedicated to creating inspirational and striking photographs of interior and exterior architecture around the world. Hufton and Crow are very experienced photographer with a complementary skills and competitive characters, they offer a unique service, because they work as a team.

I like this image, as there is a lot of detail within the building, the angle they have capture this image, really make you look into the image a little bit more as there is a little bit of leading line within it. What also make me like this image was the highlight that, they have capture on the building, as you can see it look like the start of a sunset and this give the building a nice orange colour. This image is a detail shot as you can see, a lot of the detail within the building is really nice and you can see the red clouds from behind the gaps within the building.

[warninggraphiccontent]

30 April 2021

Open season

Do you think the UK government should be more transparent, accountable and participatory?

Are you interested in health, the environment, justice, data ethics and algorithmic accountability, open contracting, misinformation, freedom of information, democracy building and standards in public life?

Would you like to help shape policy pledges on those issues (and maybe others) that government will commit to?

Then sign up to take part in the development of the latest Open Government National Action Plan - the process kicks off next week. With perfect timing, really. (Full disclosure: I'm on the civil society steering group. Some more info on the whole thing here.)

Please do express your interest, and share as widely as possible - it would be great to have as much of UK civil society and the public involved as possible.

Other bits and pieces:

One of those thematic groups will be on freedom of information. Plenty of links on that this week below, including mySociety's (excellent) new report on the topic. (And something something government making an exhibition of itself.)

Remember we have another great Data Bites for you next week - sign up here, catch up on the previous events here.

And IfG have an event today with the new senior digital figures in the UK government - hopefully we'll hear more than we have so far about the new Central Digital and Data Office, and its relationship with the Government Digital Service.

Trying to find basic information is more complicated than you might think, part whatever we're on now.

My list of data series - newsletters, podcasts, events - is so very nearly at 100 entries, so do add any that we've missed. And thanks to all who've contributed so far. One of those listed is Politico's Digital Bridge, which has a good run down of the G7 digital and technology track this week.

The Alan Turing Institute and the Royal Statistical Society have been working with the Joint Biosecurity Centre on various statistics and machine learning projects during the pandemic. You can hear about some of them at an event this afternoon.

RIP astronaut Michael Collins. This extract from his autobiography is quite a piece of writing.

Have a great weekend

Gavin

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Today's links:

Graphic content

Viral content

India’s catastrophic second covid wave shows no sign of slowing* (The Economist)

COVID-19: The crisis in one of India's worst-hit cities, where someone dies every five minutes (Sky News)

NHS app will be used as Covid ‘vaccine passport’ for foreign travel (The Guardian)

Vax populi

See How the Vaccine Rollout Is Going in Your County and State* (New York Times)

Vaccine diplomacy boosts Russia’s and China’s global standing* (The Economist)

40m Pfizer jabs bought as Covid booster shots* (The Sunday Times)

After a blistering start, Biden’s vaccine rollout faces new hurdles* (FT)

Vaccine uptake rises among England’s ethnic minorities* (FT)

What the ONS can tell you about the COVID-19 Vaccine programme (ONS)

Side effects

How has lockdown changed our relationship with nature? (ONS)

In need of support? Lessons from the Covid-19 crisis for our social security system (Resolution Foundation)

After shocks: Financial resilience before and during the Covid-19 crisis (Resolution Foundation)

‘We are drowning in insecurity’: young people and life after the pandemic* (FT)

More Americans Are Leaving Cities, But Don’t Call It an Urban Exodus* (Bloomberg)

Joe 90 (+10)

Joe Biden’s first 100 days: by the numbers* (FT)

What America thinks* (The Economist)

After 100 days, Joe Biden is polling better than Donald Trump did* (The Economist)

At the 100-day mark, has Biden kept his campaign promises?* (Washington Post)

Prolific yet quiet: Joe Biden’s first 100 days in numbers* (New Statesman)

17 Metrics to Watch in the Biden Era* (Bloomberg)

Taking leave of their...

2020 Census shows U.S. population grew at slowest pace since the 1930s* (Washington Post)

Which States Will Gain or Lose Seats in the Next Congress* (New York Times)

Once-A-Decade Census Numbers to Redraw U.S. Political Landscape* (Bloomberg)

Which States Won — And Lost — Seats In The 2020 Census? (FiveThirtyEight)

US politics

Biden’s $4 Trillion Economic Plan, in One Chart* (The Upshot)

By the numbers: States weighing voting changes (Axios)

Advantage, GOP (FiveThirtyEight)

Americans From Both Parties Want Weed To Be Legal. Why Doesn’t The Federal Government Agree? (FiveThirtyEight)

Derek Chauvin was found guilty – how typical is that of US police who kill? (The Guardian)

Science and nature

Visualised: glaciers then and now (The Guardian)

Siberian fires not an isolated event, EU earth observatory shows* (FT)

The U.S. Will Need a Lot of Land for a Zero-Carbon Economy* (Bloomberg)

The Hidden Science Making Batteries Better, Cheaper and Everywhere* (Bloomberg)

Our Earth in context with other worlds (Axios)

The intricate life of the International Space Station (via Chris Hadfield)

UK politics and government

Will Greensill be a Barnard Castle-sized issue for the Tories? (UK in a Changing Europe)

Boris Johnson’s £200k refurbishment of 11 Downing Street could buy you a whole house in much of the UK* (New Statesman)

Labour’s lost heartlands. Can it win them back?* (FT)

Green gains in red-brick England* (New Statesman - though I'd have put Labour at the base of the bars)

Procuring inequality: Understanding the gender pay gap in government contracting (Spend Network - and summary)

Devolved public services: The NHS, schools, and social care in the four nations (IfG)

Let's get fiscal, fiscal

The fiscal position of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (IfG)

The national balance sheet and capital stocks, preliminary estimates, UK: 2021 (ONS)

Putting a value on the UK – faster than ever before (ONS)

Nominal spending figures understate China’s military might* (The Economist)

Everything else

Inheritances and inequality over the life cycle: what will they mean for younger generations? (IFS)

Exploring the State Papers with Word Embeddings (Networking Archives)

Nomadland, Disney and the drive for Oscars dominance in 2021* (FT)

Survival curves (Max Roser)

Meta data

Open for the best

Registration: Open Government Thematic Groups (UK Open Government Network)

Civil society urged to join groups on government transparency. (UK Open Government Network)

Statement on the UK’s New Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions (UK Anti-Corruption Coalition)

Relight my FOIA

New policy paper: Reforming Freedom of Information (mySociety)

Reforming Freedom of Information: mySociety policy paper launch event (mySociety)

Public information request monitor (mySociety)

Freedom of Information in danger of ‘sliding into obsolescence’, new report finds (openDemocracy)

We are going to court to force the government to release full details about its controversial FOI ‘Clearing House’ – a secretive unit inside the Cabinet Office (openDemocracy)

Press freedom: how governments are using COVID as an excuse to crack down on the public’s right to know (Media@LSE)

A transparent FOI system is vital for good government* (The Times)

Thread (George Greenwood)

Government obfuscation has become 'art form' - MPs and journalists say Freedom of Information not working (Press Gazette)

Viral content

NHS app set to feature vaccine passport (Public Technology)

COVID-19 Update (UK Government)

AI got 'rithm

Ensuring trustworthy algorithmic decision-making (CDEI for OECD.AI)

Error-riddled data sets are warping our sense of how good AI really is* (MIT Technology Review)

Artificial Intelligence in Local Government (Oxford Commission on AI & Good Governance)

Now is the time for a transatlantic dialog on the risk of AI (VentureBeat)

AI at work isn’t always intelligent* (FT)

Artificial Intelligence Is Misreading Human Emotion* (Kate Crawford, The Atlantic)

The Challenges of Animal Translation* (The New Yorker)

We need more bias in artificial intelligence (Bruegel)

Stop talking about AI ethics. It’s time to talk about power.* (MIT Technology Review)

Working for an Algorithm: Shadow Bans, Dopamine Hits, and Viral Videos, All in the Life of TikTok Creators (The Markup)

Home Office algorithm to detect sham marriages may contain built-in discrimination (TBIJ)

Missing data

What's missing? Evaluating social sector data gaps (Commission on Civil Society)

ONS to publish suicide data by ethnicity from June as charities say ‘no excuse’ for gaps in data (The Independent)

///so.very.predictable

App used by emergency services under scrutiny (BBC News)

Why What3Words is not suitable for safety critical applications (Cybergibbons)

*All* English ambulance services use #What3Words, according to health minister (Owen Boswarva)

Government

Proud to be the Government Analysis Function (Government Analysis Function)

ADR UK three years in: Harnessing the power of administrative data three years in (ADR UK)

Supercomputing leap in weather and climate forecasting (Met Office)

Transforming Government: Six key recommendations (Foundry4)

Help us set a new data standard for vulnerable people services (Data in government)

Government gives Verify a stay of execution (UKAuthority)

Texting times

Boris Johnson’s tax texts show perils of government by WhatsApp (Politico)

Lobbying row: Why ministers have two mobile phones (BBC News)

Big tech, trade and competition

UK digital competition - it’s about your data, stupid (diginomica)

UK lobbying questions raised by Big Tech cash for MP interest groups (Politico)

Facebook v Apple: The ad tracking row heats up (BBC News)

The Counterbalance – The European System of Monopoly (Brave New Europe)

Twitter censored tweets critical of India’s handling of the pandemic at its government’s request (The Verge)

Technology wars are becoming the new trade wars* (FT)

Data

techUK on the Future of Data Governance for the UK (techUK)

Ireland stress-tests Europe’s data protection law* (FT)

Data Brokers Are a Threat to Democracy* (Wired)

An airline glitch reveals the dangers of discriminatory data (Tech Monitor)

For public review: The GDB research handbook (Global Data Barometer)

Fact and fiction

The Anti-Vaccine Influencers Who Are Merely Asking Questions* (The Atlantic)

Facts are Pieces of a Puzzle, not the Puzzle Itself (Zeynep)

Everything else

Justice Lost In The Post: How the Post Office wrecked the lives of its own workers (Private Eye)

Unified UK measures of rurality and deprivation (mySociety)

What is going on here? (Hilary Cottam)

Shaping the future of digital technology in health and social care (King's Fund)

Should Tech Make Us Optimistic About Climate Change? (Tony Blair Institute for Global Change)

Scottish Elections 2021: WE’RE TRACKING WHERE THE PARTIES STAND (Open Rights Group Scotland)

Opportunities

EVENT: Turing-RSS Lab webinar #3: using algorithms and AI in the response to COVID-19 (The Alan Turing Institute, Royal Statistical Society)

EVENT: What is the Future of Free Speech on the Internet? Jillian C York (Bristol Festival of Ideas)

EVENT: Rethinking how we regulate Big Tech (Bennett Institute)

JOB: Editor in Chief (openDemocracy - more)

JOBS (Full Fact)

JOB: Data Investigations Advisor (Global Witness)

JOB: Director, Technology and Human Rights (Human Rights Watch)

JOB: Data Scientist - NHS Test & Trace (Grade-G7) (DHSC)

JOB: Head of Digital ID (Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, via Jukesie)

JOB: Lead Data Scientist - Datalab (BBC, via Jukesie)

JOB: Service Manager, WhatDoTheyKnow (mySociety)

JOB: We're hiring - could you be our new Data Analyst? (Data Orchard)

JOBS (Information Commissioner's Office)

TENDER: Evaluating the data assurance market (ODI)

And finally...

When you label a plot the wrong way and suddenly discover a new graph type (João Martins)

How High Airplanes have been Able to Go from INTERNATIONAL PICTURE LANGUAGE by Otto Neurath, 1936 (RJ Andrews)

For the last six years I’ve kept a spreadsheet listing every parking spot I’ve used at the local supermarket in a bid to park in them all (Gareth Wild, via Alice)

[mhsn033]

Thunderstorms bring flooding and travel disruption

Media playback is unsupported to your machine

Media captionPhotos posted on social media showed flooded streets following torrential downpours

A foremost incident has been declared in Fife after torrential rain and thunderstorms battered many aspects of central and jap Scotland.

Emergency companies and products acknowledged 28 of us had been rescued after a landslide at Pettycur Bay Vacation Park.

That also resulted in caravans being evacuated and 218 of us spending the night in emergency accommodation.

A different of properties like also been flooded and many colleges within the gap are closed.

Characterize caption Bigger than 200 of us needed to be evacuated from caravans at Pettycur Bay Vacation Park

It comes as emergency companies and products had been called to a educate derailment shut to Stonehaven. The terror became as soon as raised at about 09: 40.

At First Minister’s Questions, Nicola Sturgeon immediate the Scottish Parliament there were “early reviews of excessive injuries”.

Characterize caption Smoke is billowing at the scene of the educate derailment

Following heavy rain and thunderstorms in a single day, there are also reviews of properties in North Lanarkshire and Perthshire being flooded.

ScotRail acknowledged lightning strikes had also triggered vitality outages and disruption across the network.

Fife’s Native Resilience Partnership (LRP) became as soon as activated following a different of incidents across the gap.

Avenue closures

Apart from the incident at Pettycur Bay Vacation Park, police, fire and council companies and products are currently coping with flooding disorders in Freuchie, Cairneyhill, Cardenden, Kinglassie, Culross and Lochgelly. Which capacity, a different of boulevard closures are in negate and native diversions are in operation.

A different of of us were evacuated from their properties, and many of faculties and roads are closed. The principle East Flit rail line can be closed resulting from the landslide.

Characterize copyright Stuart D

Characterize caption Flooding at Victoria Neatly being middle in Kirkcaldy saw cars piled on top of every other

Characterize copyright Rachel Finlayson

Characterize caption The water became as soon as at its deepest at Victoria Neatly being middle in Kirkcaldy in a single day

Supt Sandy Brodie from Fife’s LRP acknowledged: “I are looking to reassure residents that we are working to acquire companies and products support up and working as hasty as doable and must nonetheless proceed to computer screen the grief. In the mean time, I would inquire of of us no longer to swagger back and forth unless absolutely considerable.”

In a single day flooding at Victoria Neatly being middle automobile park became as soon as an unwelcome surprise for NHS workers coming off night shift.

‘Recovery effort’

An NHS Fife spokesman acknowledged: “Our workers like worked tirelessly in a single day to administer the phenomenal flooding at our Victoria Neatly being middle space.

“A restoration effort is now below method to determine on away the damaged cars.”

Characterize copyright Arnie Mackay

Characterize caption Streets had been flooded in Perth as heavy rain swept across the gap

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Provider acknowledged it became as soon as called to just a few reviews of flooding within the Perthshire space, with many domestic properties affected.

Perth and Kinross Council acknowledged quite a bit of roads within the gap had been nonetheless impassable resulting from flooding.

Characterize copyright Phil976

Characterize caption Lightning lit up the skies over Edinburgh

Thunderstorms and torrential rain triggered swagger back and forth chaos for folks within the north-east. Many colleges, which had been resulting from originate for the first time in five months, like remained closed.

The depth of the rainfall left the drainage arrangement on many roads in Aberdeenshire unable to cope, leading to basic swimming pools of standing water.

Characterize caption Stonehaven city centre became as soon as gash off by the flood water

Streets in Stonehaven city centre had been below better than a foot of water, with the householders of a local fish and chip ship asserting they had been “devastated” at being flooded for the fourth time in 9 years.

A different of residents in Aberdeen became trapped by the rising water and needed to be rescued by dinghy.

Several colleges, including three academies in Aberdeenshire are shut.

A Met workplace yellow weather warning for thunderstorms is in negate from 15: 00 to 21: 00.

It warned that some areas had been seemingly to transfer attempting “extra excessive thunderstorms”, nonetheless with “foremost uncertainty in space and timing”.

The warning covers southern, central and northern Scotland.

In the intervening time, Sepa issued flood warnings for Aberdeenshire, Dundee and Angus and Tayside.

Characterize copyright Met Arrangement of enterprise

Characterize caption The up up to now Met Arrangement of enterprise warning for Wednesday

The fire carrier acknowledged a different of properties had been flooded in Airdrie, while to boot they attended flooding on the M8 after the twin carriageway became as soon as inundated with water between junctions five and 7.

Police had been advising of us to steer clear of the gap exclusively as diversion routes had been also turning into flooded and impassable.

A Police Scotland spokesman acknowledged no injuries hade been reported.

Characterize caption A residence in Reddingmuirhead had its roof damaged when lighting struck at about 04: 00

A household residence in Reddingmuirhead shut to Falkirk became as soon as badly damaged after being struck by lightning.

The residence misplaced its roof after catching fire rapidly earlier than 04: 00. Residents speak the household escaped unhurt nonetheless “like misplaced every thing.”

It’s a long way conception a butcher’s enterprise within the nearby village of Brightons became as soon as also hit by lightning spherical the same time.

A processing unit beside the butcher’s store became as soon as destroyed.

Characterize copyright @BBCWthrWatchers/ JaneyMac

Characterize caption Roads had been flooded spherical Duthie Park in Aberdeen

The thunderstorms also saw:

The fire carrier retain a watch on room in Edinburgh obtain better than 500 calls by the night amid in style reveal and lightning and torrential rain.

All flights resulting from land at Edinburgh Airport are being diverted or delayed.

BT’s incident administration workforce acknowledged a serious outage at an commerce in Edinburgh, triggered by the weather, became as soon as affecting about 100,000 customers’ broadband on BT, EE and Plusnet within town and surrounding space. It became as soon as reported at 06: 30 and engineers had been on space engaged on the difficulty.

And Highland Council acknowledged it became as soon as having “foremost disorders” with internet and network disorders following the thunderstorms. It acknowledged the considerations affecting its sites and residential working access had been resulting from the flooding of the commerce in Edinburgh.

Characterize copyright Cazzalad1801

Characterize caption Torrential rain brought flooding to jap aspects of Scotland

Apart from, Sumburgh Airport became as soon as closed to all arriving and departing plane on Wednesday morning resulting from the harmful weather prerequisites nonetheless remained originate for emergency flights.

In Perth, heavy rain triggered flooding which affected town’s railway position.

ScotRail posted photos of the water overlaying the tracks on social media.

At 09: 25, ScotRail acknowledged there were no trains working on the following routes:

Edinburgh – Fife

Edinburgh – Glasgow Queen Avenue via Falkirk High & Grahamston

Edinburgh/Glasgow – Dunblane

Edinburgh – West Calder

Aberdeen – Edinburgh/Glasgow

Aberdeen – Dyce

Inverness – Perth

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[endenogatai]

How will Europe’s coronavirus contact-tracing apps work across borders?

A major question mark attached to national coronavirus contact-tracing apps is whether they will function when citizens of one country travel to another. Or will people be asked to download and use multiple apps if they’re traveling across borders?

Having to use multiple apps when travelling would further complicate an unproven technology which seeks to repurpose standard smartphone components for estimating viral exposure — a task for which our mobile devices were never intended.

In Europe, where a number of countries are working on smartphone apps that use Bluetooth radios to try to automate some contact tracing by detecting device proximity, the interoperability challenge is particularly pressing, given the region is criss-crossed with borders. Although, in normal times, European Union citizens can all but forget they exist thanks to agreements intended to facilitate the free movement of EU people in the Schengen Area.

Currently, with many EU countries still in degrees of lockdown, there’s relatively little cross-border travel going on. But the European Commission has been focusing attention on supporting the tourism sector during the coronavirus crisis — proposing a tourism and transport package this week which sets out recommendations for a gradual and phased lifting of restrictions.

Once Europeans start traveling again, the effectiveness of any national contact-tracing apps could be undermined if systems aren’t able to talk to each other. In the EU, this could mean, for example, a French citizen who travels to Germany for a business trip — where they spend time with a person who subsequently tests positive for COVID — may not be warned of the exposure risk. Or indeed, vice versa.

In the U.K., which remains an EU member until the end of this year (during the Brexit transition period), the issue is even more pressing — given Ireland’s decision to opt for a decentralized app architecture for its national app. Over the land border in Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., the national app would presumably be the centralized system that’s being devised by the U.K.’s NHSX. And the NHSX’s CEO has admitted this technical division presents a specific challenge for the NHS COVID-19 app.

There are much broader questions over how useful (or useless) digital contact tracing will prove to be in the fight against the coronavirus. But it’s clear that if such apps don’t interoperate smoothly in a multi-country region such as Europe, there will be additional, unhelpful gaps opening up in the data.

Any lack of cross-border interoperability will, inexorably, undermine functionality — unless people give up travelling outside their own countries for good.

EU interoperability as agreed goal

EU Member States recognize this, and this week agreed to a set of interoperability guidelines for national apps — writing that: “Users should be able to rely on a single app independently of the region or Member State they are in at a certain moment.”

The full technical detail of interoperability is yet to be figured out — “to ensure the operationalisation of interoperability as soon as possible,” as they put it.

But the intent is to work together so that different apps can share a minimum of data to enable exposure notifications to keep flowing as Europeans travel around the region, as (or once) restrictions are lifted. 

“Whatever the approach taken with approved apps, all Member States and the Commission consider that interoperability between these apps and between backend systems is essential for these tools to enable the tracing of cross-border infection chains,” they write. “This is particularly important for cross-border workers and neighbouring countries. Ultimately, this effort will support the gradual lifting of border controls within the EU and the restoration of freedom of movement. These tools should be integrated with other tools contemplated in the COVID-19 contact-tracing strategy of each Member State.”

European users should be able to expect interoperability. But whether smooth cross-border working will happen in practice remains a major question mark. Getting multiple different health systems and apps that might be calculating risk exposure in slightly different ways to interface and share the relevant bits of data in a secure way is itself a major operational and technical challenge.

However, this is made even more of a headache given ongoing differences between countries over the core choice of app architecture for their national coronavirus contact tracing.

This boils down to a choice of either a decentralized or centralized approach — with decentralized protocols storing and processing data locally on smartphones (i.e. the matching is done on-device); and centralized protocols that upload exposure data and perform matching on a central server which is controlled by a national authority, such as a health service.

While there looks to be clear paths for interoperability between different decentralized protocols — here, for example, is a detailed discussion document written by backers of different decentralized protocols on how proximity tracing systems might interoperate across regions — interoperability between decentralized and centralized protocols, which are really polar opposite approaches, looks difficult and messy to say the least.

And that’s a big problem if we want digital contact tracing to smoothly take place across borders.

(Additionally, some might say that if Europe can’t agree on a common way forward vis-à-vis a threat that affects all the region’s citizens, it does not reflect well on the wider “European project”; aka the Union to which many of the region’s countries belong. But health is a Member State competence, meaning the Commission has limited powers in this area.)

In the eHealth Network “Interoperability guidelines” document, Member States agree that interoperability should happen regardless of which app architecture a European country has chosen.

But a section on cross-border transmission chains can’t see a way forward on how exactly to do that yet [emphasis ours] — i.e. beyond general talk of the need for “trusted and secure” mechanisms:

Solutions should allow Member States’ servers to communicate and receive relevant keys between themselves using a trusted and secure mechanism.

Roaming users should upload their relevant proximity encounter information to the home country backend. The other Member State(s) should be informed about possible infected or exposed users*.

*For roaming users, the question of to which servers the relevant proximity contacts details should be sent will be further explored during technical discussions. Interoperability questions will also be explored in relation to how a users’ app should behave after confirmed as COVID-19 positive and the possible need for a confirmation of infection free.

Conversely, the 19 academics behind the proposal for interoperability of different decentralized contact-tracing protocols do include a section at the end of the document discussing how, in theory, such systems could plug into “alternatives”: aka centralized systems.

But it’s thick with privacy caveats.

Privacy risks of crossing system streams

The academics warn that while interoperability between decentralized and centralized systems “is possible in principle, it introduces substantial privacy concerns” — writing that, on the one hand, decentralized systems have been designed specifically to avoid the ability of an central authority being able to recover the identity of users; and “consequently, centralized risk calculation cannot be used without severely weakening the privacy of users of the decentralized system.”

While, on the other, if decentralized risk calculation is used as the “bridge” to achieve interoperability between the two philosophically opposed approaches — by having centralized systems “publish a list of all decentralized ephemeral identifiers it believes to be at risk of infection due to close proximity with positive-tested users of the centralized system” — then it would make it easier for attackers to target centralized systems with reidentification attacks of any positive-tested users. So, again, you get additional privacy risks.

“In particular, each user of the decentralized system would be able to recover the exact time and place they were exposed to the positive-tested individual by comparing their list of recorded ephemeral identifiers which they emitted with the list of ephemeral identifiers published by the server,” they write, specifying that the attack would reveal in which “15-minute” period an app user was exposed to a COVID-positive person.

And while they concede there’s a similar risk of reidentification attacks against all forms of decentralized systems, they contend this is more limited — given that decentralized protocol design is being used to mitigate this risk “by only recording coarse timing information,” such as six-hour intervals.

So, basically, the argument is there’s a greater chance that you might only encounter one other person in a 15-minute interval (and therefore could easily guess who might have given you COVID) versus a six-hour window. Albeit, with populations likely to continue to be encouraged to stay at home as much as possible for the foreseeable future, there is still a chance a user of a decentralized system might only pass one other person over a larger time interval too.

As trade-offs go, the argument made by backers of decentralized systems is they’re inherently focused on the risks of reidentification — and actively working on ways to mitigate and limit those risks by system design — whereas centralized systems gloss over that risk entirely by assuming trust in a central authority to properly handle and process device-linked personal data. Which is of course a very big assumption.

While such fine-grained details may seem incredibly technical for the average user to need to digest, the core associated concern for coronavirus apps generally — and interoperability specifically — is that users need to be able to trust apps to use them.

So even if a person trusts their own government to handle their sensitive health data, they may be less inclined to trust another country’s government. Which means there could be some risk that centralized systems operating within a multi-country region such as Europe might end up polluting the “trust well” for these apps more generally — depending on exactly how they’re made to interoperate with decentralized systems.

The latter are designed so users don’t have to trust an authority to oversee their personal data. The former are absolutely not. So it’s really chalk and cheese.

Ce n’est pas un problème?

At this point, momentum among EU nations has largely shifted behind decentralized protocols for coronavirus contact-tracing apps. As previously reported, there has been a major battle between different EU groups supporting opposing approaches. And — in a key shift — privacy concerns over centralized systems being associated with governmental “mission creep” and/or a lack of citizen trust appear to have encouraged Germany to flip to a decentralized model.

Apple and Google’s decision to support decentralized systems for the contact-tracing API they’re jointly developing, and due to release later this month (sample code is out already), has also undoubtedly weighted the debate in favor of decentralized protocols. 

Not all EU countries are aligned at this stage, though. Most notably France remains determined to pursue a centralized system for coronavirus contact tracing.

As noted above, the U.K. has also been building an app that’s designed to upload data to a central server. Although it’s reportedly investigating switching to a decentralized model in order to be able to plug into the Apple and Google API — given technical challenges on iOS associated with background Bluetooth access.

Another outlier is Norway — which has already launched a centralized app (which also collects GPS data — against Commission and Member States’ own recommendations that tracing apps should not harvest location data).

High-level pressure is clearly being applied, behind the scenes and in public, for EU Member States to agree on a common approach for coronavirus contact-tracing apps. The Commission has been urging this for weeks. Even as French government ministers have preferred to talk in public about the issue as a matter of technological sovereignty — arguing national governments should not have their health policy decisions dictated to them by U.S. tech giants.

“It is for States to chose their architecture and requests were made to Apple to enable both [centralized and decentralized systems],” a French government spokesperson told us late last month.

While there may well be considerable sympathy with that point of view in Europe, there’s also plenty of pragmatism on display. And, sure, some irony — given the region markets itself regionally and globally as a champion of privacy standards. (No shortage of op-eds have been penned in recent weeks on the strange sight of tech giants seemingly schooling EU governments over privacy; while veteran EU privacy advocates have laughed nervously to find themselves fighting in the same camp as data-mining giant Google.)

Commission EVP Margrethe Vestager could also be heard on BBC radio this week suggesting she wouldn’t personally use a coronavirus contact-tracing app that wasn’t built atop a decentralized app architecture. Though the Brexit-focused U.K. government is unlikely to have an open ear for the views of Commission officials, even piped through establishment radio news channels.

The U.K. may be forced to listen to technological reality though, if its workaround for iOS Bluetooth background access proves as flakey as analysis suggests. And it’s telling that the NHSX is funding parallel work on an app that could plug into the Apple-Google API, per reports in the FT, which would mean abandoning the centralized architecture.

Which leaves France as the highest-profile hold-out.

In recent weeks a team at Inria, the government research agency that’s been working on its centralized ROBERT coronavirus contacts-tracing protocol, proposed a third way for exposure notifications — called DESIRE — which was billed as an evolution of the approach “leveraging the best of centralized and decentralized systems.”

The new idea is to add a new secret cryptographically generated key to the protocol, called Private Encounter Tokens (PETs), which would encode encounters between users — as a way to provide users with more control over which identifiers they disclose to a central server, and thereby avoid the system harvesting social graph data.

“The role of the server is merely to match PETs generated by diagnosed users with the PETs provided by requesting users. It stores minimal pseudonymous data. Finally, all data that are stored on the server are encrypted using keys that are stored on the mobile devices, protecting against data breach on the server. All these modifications improve the privacy of the scheme against malicious users and authority. However, as in the first version of ROBERT, risk scores and notifications are still managed and controlled by the server of the health authority, which provides high robustness, flexibility, and efficacy,” the Inria team wrote in the proposal. 

The DP-3T consortium, backers of an eponymous decentralized protocol that’s gained widespread backing from governments in Europe — including Germany’s, followed up with a “practical assessment” of Inria’s proposal — in which they suggest the concept makes for “a very interesting academic proposal, but not a practical solution”; given limitations in current mobile phone Bluetooth radios and, more generally, questions around scalability and feasibility. (tl;dr this sort of idea could take years to properly implement and the coronavirus crisis hardly involves the luxury of time.)

The DP-3T analysis is also heavily skeptical that DESIRE could be made to interoperate with either existing centralized or decentralized proposals — suggesting a sort of “worst of both worlds” scenario on the cross-border functionality front. So, er…

One person familiar with EU Member States’ discussions about coronavirus-tracing apps and interoperability, who briefed TechCrunch on condition of anonymity, also suggested the DESIRE proposal would not fly given its relative complexity (versus the pressing need to get apps launched soon if they are to be of any use in the current pandemic). This person also pointed to question marks over required bandwidth and impact on device battery life. For DESIRE to work they suggested it would need universal uptake by all Europe’s governments — and every EU nation agreeing to adopt a French proposal would hardly carry the torch for nation state sovereignty.

What France does with its tracing app remains a key unanswered question. (An earlier planned debate on the issue in its parliament was shelved.) It is a major EU economy and, where interoperability is concerned, simple geography makes it a vital piece of the Western European digital puzzle, given it has land borders (and train links into) a large number of other countries.

We reached out to the French government with questions about how it proposes to make its national coronavirus contact-tracing app interoperable with decentralized apps that are being developed elsewhere across the EU — but at the time of writing it had not responded to our email.

This week in a video interview with BFM Business, the president of Inria, Bruno Sportisse, was reported to have expressed hope that the app will be able to interoperate by June — but also said in an interview that if the project is unsuccessful “we will stop it.”

“We’re working on making those protocols interoperable. So it’s not something that is going to be done in a week or two,” Sportisse also told BFM (translated from French by TechCrunch’s Romain Dillet). “First, every country has to develop its own application. That’s what every country is doing with its own set of challenges to solve. But at the same time we’re working on it, and in particular as part of an initiative coordinated by the European Commission to make those protocols interoperable or to define new ones.”

One thing looks clear: Adding more complexity further raises the bar for interoperability. And development time frames are necessarily tight.

The pressing imperatives of a pandemic crisis also makes talk of technological sovereignty sound a bit of, well, a bourgeois indulgence. So France’s ambition to single-handedly define a whole new protocol for every nation in Europe comes across as simultaneously tone-deaf and flat-footed — perhaps especially in light if Germany’s swift U-turn the other way.

In a pinch and a poke, European governments agreeing to coalesce around a common approach — and accepting a quick, universal API fix which is being made available at the smartphone platform level — would also offer a far clearer message to citizens. Which would likely help engender citizen trust in and adoption of national apps — that would, in turn, give the apps a greater chance of utility. A pan-EU common approach might also feed tracing apps’ utility by yielding fewer gaps in the data. The benefits could be big.

However, for now, Europe’s digital response to the coronavirus crisis looks messier than that — with ongoing wrinkles and questions over how smoothly different nationals apps will be able to work together as countries opt to go their own way.

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[economicplus]

CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus: The month everything changed

CORONAVIRUS

Image copyright Getty Images/Alamy In the space of a month, the United Kingdom has transformed beyond recognition. And most of us haven't had time to stop and take stock. One Friday afternoon, when the UK was another country, a chalkboard leaned against the outside wall of a country pub. A message had been written in neat, thin capital letters. "Unfortunately a customer who visited us has tested positive for the coronavirus," it read. "So as a precautionary measure we are closing for a full deep clean." It was signed by the landlord and landlady, who apologised for the inconvenience. The pub was located along a quiet, narrow road just outside Haslemere in Surrey. The patient who had gone there lived somewhere in the county. Unlike previous British cases detected up to that point - he was the 20th - he hadn't been abroad recently. As far as anyone knew, he was the first to catch the virus inside the UK. On the same day, 28 February 2020, came another news update. A grimmer milestone. A British man who'd been infected on the Diamond Princess cruise ship became the first UK citizen to die, in Japan, from Covid-19. That afternoon, children were still in classrooms and adults were still at work. People shook hands and hugged and kissed. In the evening, they went to pubs and restaurants. Some went on dates and others visited elderly relatives. They assembled in groups and mingled with residents of other households. As the weekend went on, football fans crammed into stadiums. Worshippers gathered in churches, mosques, temples and synagogues. You could go outside for as long as you liked, if you didn't mind the rain. On supermarket shelves, toilet paper and paracetamol were plentiful. Recent storms had left large swathes of the country flooded, but for most British people, life went on as it always had and seemingly always would. Insofar as any of this describes a British way of life, though, it was one that ceased to exist entirely within just a few weeks.

Image copyright Getty Images The changes didn't happen smoothly, in steady, barely noticeable steps. Instead, the UK's sense of what was normal shifted in sudden movements, as though a ratchet was being yanked. On 28 February 2020 people in the UK were already taking notice of the outbreak. It would have been difficult to ignore entirely the headlines about what was happening in China, South Korea, Iran and Italy. The first confirmed cases among travellers returning to the UK had come as early as January, but it still seemed possible to regard this as something happening, for the most part, a long way away. Not every newspaper front page that Friday morning led with Covid-19 - the Daily Mail splashed on the saga of Harry and Meghan, the Daily Express with Brexit talks - but most did. In the final week of the month 442,675 phone calls were made to the non-emergency NHS line 111. People weren't yet panicking, but a generalised sense of low-level anxiety was everywhere. By 1 March, the virus had reached the four corners of the United Kingdom - cases had been detected in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Two days later, with the total number at 51, Prime Minister Boris Johnson stood behind a lectern and launched the government's Coronavirus Action Plan. The outbreak was declared a "level four incident". Up to a fifth of the workforce might be off sick at its peak, the prime minister warned. Schools might have to close and large-scale gatherings be reduced. However seriously anyone took the warning, it was still difficult to visualise. The following day, a woman in her 70s with an underlying condition - those last four words soon became grimly familiar to anyone who followed news bulletins - became the first person to die inside the UK after testing positive for the virus. The first reports of hand sanitiser selling out in supermarkets were published. Each day the number of confirmed cases crept up - 115 by 5 March, 206 by 7 March, 273 by 8 March. On 11 March, the day that the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, Liverpool FC hosted Atletico Madrid - who were already playing their home games behind closed doors.

Image copyright Getty Images There were anxieties about whether it was a great idea to allow the 3,000 Spanish supporters to fly into a major British city where they would eat, drink, mingle and sleep. Anyone with plans to fly out of the UK was beginning to reconsider. Another twist of the ratchet was imminent. The following day, the government's Sage committee of scientific experts was shown revised modelling of the likely death toll. The figures, according to the Sunday Times, were "shattering". If nothing was done, there would be 510,000 deaths. Under the existing "mitigation" strategy - to shield the most vulnerable while letting everyone go about their business mostly as normal - there would be a quarter of a million. In a press conference, the prime minister told anyone with a continuous cough or a fever to self-isolate. His instruction came with a warning that "many more families are going to lose loved ones before their time". The bluntness was shocking. Some asked why, in that case, more wasn't being done. On Friday 13, the London Marathon, the Premier League and English Football League and May's local elections were all postponed. Scotland had its first coronavirus-related death. Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 March was the last relatively normal weekend. You couldn't watch league football but you could go to the pub. Hand sanitiser now wasn't to be found on any supermarket shelves, but you could tell your friends about your plans to practise "social distancing" if you met them on the street.

Around the country, people looked at Italy, France and Spain, which had already gone into lockdown, and wondered if the UK was next. Volunteers began forming mutual aid groups to deliver food and medicine to vulnerable people who were self-isolating. In person and on WhatsApp, families and groups of friends argued about what it all meant. The more anxious wondered why the British government was moving more cautiously than its counterparts on the continent. The more blasé complained about why they were going to all this bother. Wasn't it just a bit of flu? The latter sentiment was exactly the kind of thing the government's advisers were most worried about. On Monday 16, the prime minister advised against "non-essential" travel, urged people to avoid pubs and clubs and work from home. Across the country, kitchen tables were cleared to make way for laptops. Thanks to Skype and the virtual meetings app, Zoom, white-collar workers started getting a glimpse of their colleagues' interior decor. Those who couldn't do their jobs like this wondered how on Earth they were supposed to earn money and stay safe. On 17 March, the government began holding daily press conferences - events that would soon become regular viewing for nervous families. Just six days after presenting his budget, the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced £300bn in loan guarantees - a huge expansion of state intervention in the economy by a Conservative government. There were still calls for more to be done to stop Britons infecting each other. The following day, most school pupils - those whose parents weren't designated key workers - were told they wouldn't go back to their classes until further notice. Exams, proms, farewells to classmates and teachers would now never happen. But although the UK had been told not to go to restaurants, cafes and pubs, many restaurants, cafes and pubs stayed open. They were quieter than usual but some customers still came. On the evening of Friday 20, the prime minister - who in a long career as a newspaper columnist had steadfastly demonstrated libertarian instincts - ordered restaurants, cafes and pubs to close, a measure that even in the darkest moments of World War Two would have been unthinkable. For much of the weekend that followed, there was bright sunshine, and people poured outside to take advantage of the last leisure option open to them. But when they crowded into parks and on to the summit of Snowdon they were seen - and widely condemned. This was not how "social distancing" - now regarded as everyone's social duty - was meant to operate.

The lockdown was coming. On Monday 23 at 20:30, the television screens showed the prime minister sitting behind a desk. He was about to announce some of the most draconian restrictions on individual liberty the UK had ever seen. You could only leave home to exercise once a day, travel to and from work when absolutely necessary and only go shopping for essential items. You had to stand two metres apart from people you didn't live with. You weren't to gather in public in groups bigger than two. The British people were being told to avoid human contact when they needed it most. All through the following week, people would look forward to their one state-sanctioned form of outdoor exercise a day. Or they would stand in front of their laptops, following the instructions set by the fitness coach, Joe Wicks.

Image copyright Getty Images By the time the weekend arrived, there were more than 537,000 confirmed cases in 175 countries. More than a quarter of all the people on the planet were living under some kind of restrictions in their social contact and movements. British life had been transformed so dramatically, and so fast, that you hadn't had time to dwell on it. On 28 February, London's Excel Centre had been hosting The Baby Show, "the UK's largest parenting event". A month later, the venue was a giant field hospital. This wasn't normal. Everything was described as "unprecedented" now, because it was. Speaking to the BBC's The World At One, historian Lord Peter Hennessy predicted that, in future, post-war Britain will be demarcated "BC and AC - before corona and after corona". Before 28 February, the UK was still widely portrayed as a place divided by Brexit, with younger, metropolitan Britons on one side, and their older counterparts in towns and the countryside on the other. That soon came to seem an anachronism. Elderly people were most at risk and those of working age, in the NHS and other key professions, were there to try and save them. Everyone was in this together.

The framing of political debate since 2016 seemed inadequate to the new reality. Coronavirus would not be defeated by a populist attack on the elites. More than ever, the UK needed experts to lead the way. But the experts needed the masses, too - if the vast majority of the population didn't act, then Covid-19 couldn't be stopped. Initially, the lockdown was supposed to last three weeks. But a month on from 28 February, the UK is settling in for the long haul, with the prime minister, the health secretary and the first in line to the throne all having tested positive for the virus. You remember your last trip to the gym, the last drink you had in a cafe or a pub, the last time you hugged your mum or your grandad. You think about the life you once took for granted. You wonder if it will ever return. Follow @mrjonkelly on Twitter Picture editor Emma Lynch Read the full article

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GANGTOK Situated in EAST SIKKIM is capital of Sikkim

  GANGTOK

Situated in EAST SIKKIM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AEEty1PV74 Sikkim’s capital is generally a practical sprawl of multi-story concrete containers. However true to its identify these are steeply layered alongside a pointy mountain ridge. When clouds clear sometimes at daybreak), views are inspiring, with Kanchenjunga – often called Khangchendzonga in Sikkimese’s, poking its pointy white nostrils above the western horizon. Gangtok’s artificial points of interest are minor, but it surely’s not a nasty place to attend out a day or two whereas organizing trekking permits or journeys to the north. Gangtok’s crooked backbone is none aside from the Rangpo - Mangan street, Nationwide Freeway 31A, although generally it’s written cryptically as 31A National High Way. The vacationer workplace, banks and plenty of retailers line central Mahatma Gandhi Marg (MG Marg). Close by Tibet Road is the closest Gangtok will get to a traveler’s enclave.  

Sights Seeing in Gangtok

  NAMGYAL INSTITUTE OF TIBETOLOGY Housed in historically styled Tibetan Institute, this distinctive institute was established in 1958 to advertise analysis into Mahayana Buddhism and Tibetan tradition. It comprises one of many world’s largest collections of Buddhist books and manuscripts, plus statuettes, thangkas (Tibetan material work) and sacred objects, reminiscent of a kapali (sacred bowl constituted of a human cranium). Additional alongside the identical street, the Do-Drul Chorten is a big white Tibetan pagoda surrounded by dormitories for younger monks. The institute sits in an Orchid Sanctuary and is conveniently near the decrease station of Damodar Ropeway (Per particular person Rs 120; h 10.00 am-4.30 pm), a brand new cable automotive operating from slightly below the Tashi Ling workplaces on the ridge. Views are stupendous. Alternatively, pay Rs 30 by share taxi from central Gangtok alongside 31A NH Way.   THE RIDGE With views east and west, it’s very nice to walk by shady parks and gardens on the town’s central ridgetop. Sadly, its focal factors, the Royal Palace and Raj Bhawan are out of bounds for guests. When the orchids bloom (March) it’s value peeping contained in the Flower Exhibition Centre (Admission Rs 25; h9.00am-5.00 pm), a modestly sized tropical greenhouse filled with bonsai and unique crops. The once-grand 1932 White Memorial Corridor (Nehru Marg) reverse is now a dilapidated children's’ sports activities corridor.  

ENCHEY GOMPA & VIEWPOINTS

Approached by gently rustling conifers excessive above Gangtok, this monastery, courting again to 1909, is Gangtok’s most engaging, with some respectable murals and statues of Tantric deities. It comes alive for the colorful Detor Chaam (December to January) masked dances. From the gompa, observe the entry street northeast across the base of an unmissable telecommunications tower. An initially apparent path scrambles up in round 15 minutes to Ganesh Tok's viewpoint. Festooned in vibrant prayer flags, Ganesh Tok affords very good metropolis views and its mini café serves scorching teas. Throughout the street, a lane leads into the   Himalayan Zoological Park: Purple pandas, Himalayan bears, and snow leopards roam round in in-depth wooded enclosures so giant that you are simply actually worth an automotive to shuttle between them.   Hanuman Tok, one other spectacular viewpoint sits on a hilltop around 4km drive past Ganesh Tok, although there are quick cuts for walkers. Maybe Gangtok’s finest view of Khangchendzonga is from the Tashi viewpoint on the northwest fringe of the city beside the principle path to Phodong.  

Gangtok Action Tours

SCENIC FLIGHTS For eagle-eye mountain views, Sikkim Tourism arranges scenic helicopter flights. E-booking a minimum of three days forward. Costs are for as much as 5 passengers (4 for Khangchendzonga ridge): Temporary (roughly 20 minutes) buzz over Gangtok (Rs 9900) Circuit of West Sikkim (Rs 59,750, one hour ) Yumthang Valley (Rs 65,250, 70 minutes) Khangchendzonga ridge (Rs 75,750, 1½ hours) Excursions Traditional ‘three-point excursions’ present you Ganesh Tok, Hanuman Tok and Tashi viewpoints (Rs 950). Nearly any journey agent, resort or taxi driver affords variants, together with a ‘five-point tour’ including Enchey Gompa and Namgyal Institute (Rs 700), or ‘seven-point excursions’ tacking on both old- and-new Rumtek (Rs 950) or Rumtek plus Lindum (Rs 900). All costs are per automobile holding three or 4 passengers.   GANGTOK TOUR OPERATORS For prime-altitude treks, visits to Tsomgo Lake or excursions to Northern Sikkim you’ll want a journey company. Altitude Excursions & Travels  Location: Tourism Bldg, MG Marg Trendy Treks & Excursions Location: Trendy Central Lodge, MG Marg There are over 200 businesses accessible, the very best thought is to examine with fellow travelers for the most recent suggestions. Different well-known if much less just lately examined businesses embrace:   Blue Sky Treks & Travels Location: Tourism Bldg, MG Marg, Gangtok.   Potala Excursions & Treks  Location: PS Road, Gangtok.   Sikkim Excursions & Travels Location: Church Highway  

LODGING IN GANGTOK

Lodging charges sometimes drop 25% to 50% off-season, way more if demand may be very low and also you’re good at bargaining.   BUDGET STAY IN GANGTOK Many cheaper motels quote walk-in charges of around Rs 1900. Some value it. Others are simply ready so that you can cut price them to Rs 300. Examine rooms fastidiously as requirements can fluctuate broadly even inside a similar resort. Foreigners usually flock around central Tibet Highway, the one space the place a Rs 900 room is prone to be roughly inhabitable.   New Trendy Central Lodge Location: Tibet Highway, Gangtok Budget: Rs 900 It’s been the traveler favorite for therefore lengthy that folks nonetheless come right here regardless of considerably ill-kept rooms and the complacent albeit pleasant new administration. With loads of low-cost rooms and a helpful meeting-point café, it would most likely stay the backpacker standby.   Trendy Central Lodge Location: Tibet Highway, Gangtok. Budget: Rs 900 Email: data@modernhospitality.com Former managers of what's now the New Trendy Central Lodge have taken their dependable companies to this helpful however noisy new location. All rooms have personal restroom. Though requirements aren’t luxurious, the value is true. Nice homecooked meals on the roof backyard.   Resort Lhakpa Location: Tibet Highway, Gangtok. Budget: Rs 600 Very gloomy, low-cost field rooms with not often functioning geysers lurk above an unrepentantly native Tibetan café.   Journey Lodge Location: Tibet Highway, Gangtok. Budget: Rs 600 Unusually good-value rooms have BBC World TV and well-heated showers with towels and cleaning soap offered, although the ground-floor cheapies have skinny partitions and upstairs a couple of undergo from damp. Worth relies closely on season and bargaining.   Resort Mig-Tin Location: Tibet Highway, Gangtok. Budget: Rs 900 Above a foyer with naïve Tibetan-style murals and a terrific little meet-up café, the very best rooms are barely worn however wonderful worth out of season, assuming you cut price a bit of. Keep away from the most cost-effective rooms which might be damp and airless.   Tenzing Lodge Location: Growth Space, Gangtok. Budget: Rs 600 Of over 50 comparable motels   Banks in Gangtok State Financial institution of India IDBI Financial institution ICICI Financial institution HDFC Financial institution Punjab Nationwide Financial institution HDFC BANK Axis Bank   Sikkim Tourist Information Centre, Gangtok Sikkim Tourism Centre helps Tourist www.sikkimtourism.com MG Marg, Gangtok. Sikkim. Reach here for: For Data, For Helicopter Tour For Permits   https://destination.live/drinking-alcohol-in-sikkim/ Read the full article