The global economy has picked up and prospects for the next few months are the best in a long time.

But the recovery is maturing and faces risks from populist rejection of free trade and from high debt that could burden consumers and companies as interest rates rise.

Those were key takeaways from a review of the global economy released Sunday by the Bank for International Settlements, an international organization for central banks based in Basel, Switzerland.

The report said that “the global economy’s performance has improved considerably and that its near-term prospects appear the best in a long time.” Global growth should reach 3.5 percent this year, according to a summary of forecasts, not quite what it was before the Great Recession but in line with long-term averages. Meanwhile, financial markets for stocks and bonds have been unusually buoyant and steady.

On top of that, forecasts by governments and international organizations as well as by private analysts point to “further gradual improvement” in coming months.

Key risks include a possible weakening of consumer spending across different economies. So far, the recovery has been largely fueled by people being willing and able to spend more. But that trend could fall victim to higher levels of debt as interest rates rise in some countries and as the amount people need to spend to service their debts takes a bigger chunk of income.

Countries that were slammed by collapsing real estate markets during the Great Recession seem less vulnerable now, such as the United States, the U.K., and Spain. But debt burdens are more worrisome in a range of other countries mentioned in the report, including China, Australia and Norway.

Another risk comes from weak business investment, typically the second stage of recovery after consumers start spending more; yet that kind of spending has lagged its pre-recession levels for reasons that aren’t always clear to economists.

The BIS urged governments around the world to take advantage of the economic recovery as an opportunity to make growth more resistant to trouble by implementing pro-business and pro-growth measures.

In particular, the report warned against a backlash against globalization, saying that trade and interconnected financial markets had led to higher standards of living and lifted large parts of the world’s population out of poverty. It called for domestic policies to address inequality and lost jobs, saying that changing technology was often to blame, not free trade. “Attempts to roll back globalization would be the wrong response to these challenges,” it said.

 
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From: MeNeedIt

Chief lieutenants in the Koch brothers’ political network lashed out at the Senate Republican health care bill on Saturday, becoming a powerful outside critic as GOP leaders try to rally support for their plan among rank-and-file Republicans.

“This Senate bill needs to get better,” said Tim Phillips, who leads Americans for Prosperity, the Koch network’s political arm. “It has to get better.”

Phillips called the Senate’s plans for Medicaid “a slight nip and tuck” over President Barack Obama’s health care law, a modest change he described as “immoral.”

The comments came on the first day of a three-day private donor retreat at a luxury resort in the Rocky Mountains. Invitations were extended only to donors who promise to give at least $100,000 each year to the various groups backed by the Koch brothers’ Freedom Partners — a network of education, policy and political entities that aim to promote small government.

No outside group has been move aggressive over the yearslong push to repeal Obama’s health care law than that of the Kochs, who vowed on Saturday to spend another 10 years fighting to change the health care system if necessary. The Koch network has often displayed a willingness to take on Republicans — including President Donald Trump — when their policies aren’t deemed conservative enough.

Big-budget push

Network spokesman James Davis said the organization would continue to push for changes to the Senate health care bill over the coming week.

“At the end of the day, this bill is not going to fix health care,” Davis declared.

The network’s wishes are backed by a massive political budget that will be used to take on Republican lawmakers, if necessary, Phillips said.

He described the organization’s budget for policy and politics heading into the 2018 midterm elections as between $300 million and $400 million. “We believe we’re headed to the high end of that range,” he said.

On Friday, Nevada Republican Dean Heller became the fifth GOP senator to declare his opposition to the Senate health care proposal. Echoing the other four, Heller said he opposed the measure “in this form” but did not rule out backing a version that was changed to his liking.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, has said he’s willing to alter the measure to attract support, and promised plenty of backroom bargaining as he tries pushing a final package through his chamber next week.

Republican leaders have scant margin for error. Facing unanimous Democratic opposition, McConnell can afford to lose just two of the 52 GOP senators and still prevail.

At least two of the current opponents, Utah Senator Mike Lee and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, were among 18 elected officials scheduled to attend the Koch donor conference.

The Senate measure resembles legislation the House approved last month that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said would mean 23 million additional uninsured people within a decade and that recent polling shows is viewed favorably by only around 1 in 4 Americans.

Meeting with Pence

Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch and his chief lieutenants met privately with Vice President Mike Pence for nearly an hour Friday. Pence, a longtime Koch ally, was in Colorado Springs to address a gathering of religious conservatives.

Phillips said it was “a cordial discussion” about policy.

Also Saturday, retired football star Deion Sanders announced plans to partner with the Kochs to help fight poverty in Dallas.

The unlikely partnership aims to raise $21 million over the next three years to fund anti-poverty programs in the city where Sanders once played football. The outspoken athlete also defended Koch, who is often demonized by Democrats, as someone simply “trying to make the world a better place.”

“I’m happy where I am and who I’m with because we share a lot of the same values and goals,” Sanders said when asked if he’d be willing to partner with organizations on the left.
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From: MeNeedIt

A North Korean Taekwondo demonstration team visiting South Korea could present a way forward to reduce tensions by using sports to reestablish a channel of dialogue and cooperation.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was on hand for the opening of the World Taekwondo Championship being held in Muju, South Korea where he welcomed the first inter-Korean taekwondo exchange in a decade.

“I believe in power of sports which has been creating peace. I am pleased that the first sports exchange cooperation between two Koreas of this new government has been accomplished through this event,” said President Moon.

The recently elected progressive South Korean leader advocates balancing international economic sanctions imposed on the Kim Jong Un government in the North for its continued nuclear and missile provocations, with non-political outreach, including sports diplomacy, to build trust and facilitate communication.

Taekwondo divide

The World Taekwondo championship being held over the next several days is the largest competition of the sport to be held, with 973 athletes participating from 183 different countries.

Taekwondo is a relatively modern sport based on ancient Korean martial arts that gained prominence in the decades after the division of the Korean Peninsula at the end of World War II. Its development has been complicated by the bitter rivalry between the communist North and capitalist South.

The two Koreas support competing federations that teach different martial arts techniques and developed different competition rules.

The event in Muju is being organized by the South Korean dominated World Taekwondo (recently rebranded from the World Taekwondo Federation — WTF) that emphasizes fast kicks. The federation was recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the official governing body for taekwondo after the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games and became an official medal sport in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

The 32 North Korean athletes attending the competition in South Korea this week are affiliated with the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) that is combat training focused and allows more direct contact including punches to the head and face.  ITF athletes generally have not competed in the World Taekwondo Championship or the Olympics because their fighting styles are incompatible.

“It is quite different sports-wise because in ITF sparring lots of punching are allowed, including punches to the face, whereas in the World Taekwondo sparring punches to the face are not allowed and that is a very different strategy,” said Sanku Lewis one of the few ITF martial arts instructors living in Seoul.

At this time there are no plans for the two federations to merge according to World Taekwondo officials.

The 32 members of the North Korean team performed a taekwondo exhibition at the opening ceremony of the championship on Saturday, but the ITF canceled a press conference with North Korean officials.  

Choue Chung-won, director of the World Taekwondo, said the North Koreans will stay for the duration of the games.

“They are going to perform again in the closing ceremony so we are going to have a lot of time and chance to have a chat with them to learn more details about the future exchange programs,” he said.

Sports diplomacy

Pyongyang has so far rejected offers of humanitarian aid and request for a reunion of families separated by the division of Korea.

This inter-Korean sports exchange is a small breakthrough that analysts say could open the door to further cooperation.

“While North Korea is not (completely) ready, I think (the North Korean team) is coming to send a message that it is at least willing to try to improve inter-Korean relations,” said Ahn Chan-il, the head of World Institute for North Korean studies.

Chang Ung, a North Korean member of the IOC and Do Jong-hwan, the new South Korean Sports Minister both came to Muju for the opening of the taekwondo championships. They are expected to discuss North Korea’s possible participation in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The South Korean sports minister has proposed forming a joint women’s ice hockey team as a show of Korean unity.  

President Moon says he hopes North Korea will not only come to the Olympics next year but he also suggested the two Koreas jointly bid to host the 2030 World Cup.

“If the North Korean team participates in PyeongChang Winter Olympics, I think it will greatly contribute to realize the harmony of mankind and improvement of peace in the world which are the value of Olympics,” Moon said at the taekwondo championship.

In the United States, public anger at the repressive Kim Jong Un state has increased following the recent tragic death of Otto Warmbier, an American student who was arrested in North Korea and remained in custody for over a year, despite suffering a serious injury that sent him into a coma.

But in South Korea public support for engagement with North Korea is increasing.  

Over 70 percent of South Koreans support reestablishing dialogue channels with North Korea according to a recent survey by the National Unification Advisory Council.

Youmi Kim contributed to this report.
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From: MeNeedIt

A deadly heat wave that has claimed at least six lives in parts of the American Southwest continues.

While temperatures cooled off Friday in Los Angeles, residents are bracing for a long, hot summer.

Planes were grounded for a time in Phoenix earlier this week, as temperatures in parts of the U.S. Southwest soared to 45 degrees Celsius and higher, from Tucson, Arizona, to Palm Springs, California.

Cooling stations, community centers

People have tried their best to stay cool, using community cooling stations in parks and community centers throughout the region.

An air-conditioned senior center in the Los Angeles suburb of Canoga Park offered companionship and relief from the heat.

Four women relaxed over a game of dominoes, while in another part of the center, a dozen women kept active in a tap-dancing class.

They are fine indoors, center director Karin Haseltine said, but she warned too much activity outside on hot days could be hazardous for both seniors and young children.

Haseltine said many seniors also worry about the cost of air-conditioning. 

“They can’t turn it on because the bill is so expensive,” she said.

Inside the center, where it is cool, seniors were staying active, taking tap dancing classes and doing yoga.

Deaths blamed on heat

Scattered fires have burned throughout the West, and several deaths in Nevada, Arizona and California have been blamed on intense heat.

Animals are in danger, too.

Zoo workers have been hosing down the elephants at the Phoenix Zoo. Authorities also warn parents and pet owners not to leave animals or children in cars, where temperatures can quickly soar to deadly levels.

At an air-conditioned center in Los Angeles, senior volunteer Rosalie said people are making the best of being indoors.

“The don’t have to worry about being uncomfortable, getting ill,” she said, and can have lunch and activities with friends.

Others are doing what they can to stay cool outdoors, from lounging in the shade to splashing in public fountains.

Makeshift hydration stations are offering bottled water. Near-record-high temperatures are expected through early next week, and people say they are prepared for more heat this summer.
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From: MeNeedIt

A deadly heat wave continues in parts of the American Southwest. In Los Angeles, temperatures cooled off Friday, but residents are bracing for a long, hot summer.VOA’s Mike O’Sullivan reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

The Zika virus made headlines last year because it caused microcephaly in many babies whose mothers were pregnant while they had the virus. Microcephaly keeps the brain from developing normally in children but is relatively harmless to adults. That got cancer researchers thinking about the possibility the virus could be used to attack cancer cells in the brain. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

A new study by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says that safe burial practices may have helped prevent the transmission of thousands of cases of Ebola during the epidemic in West Africa between 2013 and 2016.

More than 11,300 people died from Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea before the epidemic was stopped in those countries in 2016.

Ebola is highly contagious and spread by direct contact with blood or other bodily fluids. Symptoms include a sudden fever, aching muscles, diarrhea and vomiting. 

Red Cross study

A co-author of the Red Cross Federation study, Amanda McClelland, says the traditional burial practice of washing and touching the dead was a major mode of transmission of Ebola during the outbreak in all three countries.

While isolating patients is key to preventing the spread of the disease, she says early burial is crucial to keeping Ebola in check.

“They can really produce super-spreading events where we get very large chains of transmission well beyond what a live case would cause in the community,” she said. “So, the infectiousness of the bodies increases. The virus is at its peak when a person dies. So, we see a much higher transmission from a body than we do from a live person.”

McClelland says the Red Cross had to change its approach in dealing with communities that adhered to traditional burial practices. Aid workers stopped talking about management of the remains and instead spoke about safe and dignified burials, she said.

Local volunteers

Burial teams made up entirely of local volunteers, gained the trust of the communities, which was critical to success, she said. In all, the teams provided more than 47,000 safe burials, accounting for more than 50 percent of all burials in the three countries during the outbreak.

This action, McClelland said, may have prevented more than 10,000 people from becoming infected with the virus, which is named for the Congolese river near where it was first identified in 1976.
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From: MeNeedIt

On a recent summer night, the sun was still shining as people prepared to run a 5K race for charity. But they hadn’t had a drop to drink or eat since before dawn. Ariadne Budianto reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

One of the challenges to designing prosthetics, or exoskeletons for the disabled, is that everyone is different. Technology designed to help a person walk or get around doesn’t work very well when it is built to be one-size-fits-all. But scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have figured out a quick, easy way to make each prosthetic different. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports.
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From: MeNeedIt

There’s good news for pesto lovers.

The airport in Genoa, Italy, home of the famous sauce, is allowing passengers to take pesto with them on flights, providing they make a small donation of less than a dollar to the Flying Angels charity, which helps provide money for sick children to be flown overseas for treatment. Travelers giving donations will get a special sticker to put on their jar of pesto.

Since June 1, when the program started, some 500 jars of the basil, cheese, pine nut and olive oil sauce have already been allowed to pass through security, airport officials said.

“We consider it an amazing result”, airport press officer Nur El Gawohary told The Independent.

There are a few rules. Passengers can only take a 500-gram jar or two 250-gram jars, they must be flying directly from Genoa, and the pesto must be from Genoa.

Jars are scanned by a special x-ray machine before being allowed on board.

Airport officials say the idea came to them after having seized hundred of jars of pesto from travelers trying to take a little taste of Genoa back with them.

“Every year we were confiscating hundreds of pesto jars at security control, and throwing them away,” El Gawohary says. “It was a waste of food and an annoyance for our passengers. So we started to think about how we could allow people traveling with hand baggage only to take pesto with them.”
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From: MeNeedIt

The benefits of a Mediterranean diet are widely chronicled, but new research shows extra-virgin olive oil, a key part of the diet, may protect “against cognitive decline.”

Specifically, researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia say extra-virgin olive oil “protects memory and learning ability and reduces the formation of amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain – classic markers of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Researcher say olive oil reduced inflammation and triggers a process called autophagy, which helps broken down cells to flush intracellular debris and toxins. This includes amyloid plaques and tau tangles, the latter of which is associated with memory loss in Alzheimer’s.

“Brain cells from mice fed diets enriched with extra-virgin olive oil had higher levels of autophagy and reduced levels of amyloid plaques and phosphorylated tau,” said senior investigator Domenico Praticò.

For their study, the researchers looked at mice with three traits of Alzheimer’s: memory impairment, amyloid plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles. The mice were put into two groups, one group got a diet enriched with extra-virgin olive oil, while the other group received a normal diet.

The olive oil was given to the mice when they were only six months old and before any symptoms of Alzheimer’s set in. While there was no difference in the appearance of the mice, at age 9 months and 12 months, the mice in the olive oil group “performed significantly better on tests designed to evaluate working memory, spatial memory, and learning abilities.”

An analysis of the brain tissue of the mice revealed more differences.

“One thing that stood out immediately was synaptic integrity,” Praticò said. The integrity of the connections between neurons, known as synapses, were preserved in animals on the extra-virgin olive oil diet. In addition, compared to mice on a regular diet, brain cells from animals in the olive oil group showed a dramatic increase in nerve-cell autophagy activation, which ultimately was responsible for the reduction in levels of amyloid plaques and phosphorylated tau.”

Next, researchers plan to see what happens to mice who are given olive oil at 12 months, when they are already showing symptoms.

“Usually when a patient sees a doctor for suspected symptoms of dementia, the disease is already present,” Praticò added. “We want to know whether olive oil added at a later time point in the diet can stop or reverse the disease.”

The study was published online June 21 in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.
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From: MeNeedIt

Federal officials say Russian cyber-operatives targeted voting systems in 21 U.S. states last year and had varying degrees of success in penetrating them. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, that testimony before House and Senate panels Wednesday revealed significant tensions between state election officials and federal agencies whose cooperation is deemed essential to safeguard future elections.
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From: MeNeedIt