Goverment

Goverment

House overwhelmingly passes bipartisan spending deal to avert government shutdown

By Angelena Iglesia 11 hours ago

The deal was negotiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a chaotic series of events over the past several days. Talks abruptly collapsed late Friday just as a deal appeared within reach, and Pelosi released a partisan bill on Monday that was swiftly rejected by Republicans. But on Tuesday morning, Pelosi and Mnuchin resumed negotiations, and Pelosi announced late Tuesday that they had reached a deal.

The sticking point was demands from the Trump administration and Republicans — along with a handful of largely farm-state House Democrats — for an infusion of money into a farm bailout program that Trump has used to repay farmers hurt by his trade policies. In exchange for agreeing to the bailout money, Pelosi secured about $8 billion for a variety of nutrition programs, including for schoolchildren affected by the coronavirus pandemic — a significantly larger sum than had

Goverment

Software vendor Tyler Technologies tells U.S. local government clients it was hacked

By Angelena Iglesia 1 day ago

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tyler Technologies TYL.N, whose products are used by U.S. states and counties to share election data, said on Wednesday that an unknown party had hacked its internal systems.

Instructions are posted inside a voting booth at an early voting site in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Al Drago

Tyler, whose platforms are used by elections officials to display voting results, among other tasks, confirmed the breach in an email to Reuters after warning clients in an email earlier in the day.

Tyler Technologies said in both emails it did not believe clients’ software had been breached.

The company, a major provider of emergency management and other programs to U.S. counties and municipalities, told Reuters in its email that it was working to restore its systems and had notified law enforcement. The company did not say whether there had been a ransomware demand or how

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Victorian government aims for crowds at Australian Open and Boxing Day Test | Sport

By Angelena Iglesia 3 days ago

The Victorian government is aiming to not only host the Boxing Day Test and Australian Open, but for crowds to attend both sporting events. Victoria has been devoid of live sport during a winter of Covid-19 discontent, but as case numbers continue to drop there is growing hope for the two jewels in the city’s summer sporting calendar.

Cricket Australia is in the final stages of finalising tweaks to its 2020-21 schedule and the growing expectation is the MCG will remain host of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India, with Adelaide Oval to serve as CA’s back-up plan.

Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley indicated last week he is hopeful that Melbourne Park would have crowds of some description during its grand slam, and on Monday premier Daniel Andrews suggested his government was aiming for crowds to attend the Boxing Day Test and Australian Open.

“We are having

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Officials say east Libya government resigns amid protests

By Angelena Iglesia 4 days ago

Libyan officials say the interim government of eastern Libya has resigned amid street protests that erupted across the divided country over dire living conditions

BY SAMY MAGDY Associated Press

September 13, 2020, 9:14 PM

3 min read

CAIRO — An interim government in eastern Libya resigned on Sunday amid street protests that erupted across the divided country over dire living conditions, officials said.

Prime Minister Abdallah al-Thani submitted the resignation of his government to Aguila Saleh, speaker of the eastern-based House of Representatives, said the government’s spokesman, Ezzel-Deen al-Falih.

Abdallah Abaihig, a spokesman for the parliament, confirmed the government’s resignation, saying lawmakers would review it in their next meeting. No date set for the session.

The parliament on Friday accused the Central Bank and government in the capital of Tripoli of “plundering” the country and neglecting the east, in

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UK government plans to remove key human rights protections

By Angelena Iglesia 5 days ago

Robert Buckland wearing a suit and tie: Photograph: Simon Dawson/Reuters

The government is planning to “opt out” of parts of the European convention on human rights in order to speed up deportations of asylum seekers and protect British troops serving overseas from legal action.

The proposals are being coordinated by Downing Street aides. They are intended to rule out claims in areas where judges have supposedly “overreached” their powers.

The restrictions, according to the Sunday Telegraph, could prevent migrants and asylum seekers from using the legislation to avoid being removed from the UK and to shield British soldiers against claims following overseas operations.

Downing Street’s determination to restrict human rights powers has become entangled with the EU withdrawal negotiations. The government is resisting giving Brussels a formal undertaking to adhere to the convention.

A government spokesperson said: “The UK is committed to the European convention on human rights and to protecting human

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FAQ: What you need to know about Afghan Taliban peace talks

By Angelena Iglesia 6 days ago

The first-ever talks between the sides follow months of delays and U.S. pressure on both. They’re a key condition of the U.S.-Taliban peace deal, which calls for the full withdrawal of U.S. troops. President Trump, who campaigned on ending the war in Afghanistan, is eager to see progress ahead of elections in November.

Who is participating in the talks?

One of the most discussed concerns going into the negotiations is the relative lack of unity within the team representing the government, civil society and religious institutions outside of Taliban control.

The team, led by former intelligence chief Masoom Stanikzai, is made up of a diverse group of people who have only recently begun working together. Some are government officials; others are members of rival political parties and religious representatives, and most are civil society members. The team includes four women, among them Fawzia Koofi, who survived an assassination attempt last

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Afghan-Taliban talks: Government calls for ceasefire

By Angelena Iglesia 1 week ago

Taliban delegates speak during talks between the Afghan government and Taliban insurgents in Doha, Qatar September 12, 2020 — Image caption

The Taliban has sent several delegates to the talks

The Afghan government has called for a humanitarian ceasefire with the Taliban, as the first-ever peace talks between the two sides began in Qatar.

Abdullah Abdullah, who led the government’s delegation, stressed that there was “no winner through war”.

The Taliban did not mention a truce, reiterating instead that Afghanistan should be under Islamic law.

The US encouraged both sides to reach an agreement, telling them: “The entire world wants you to succeed”.

Afghanistan has seen four decades of conflict, with tens of thousands of civilians killed.

The historic talks began on Saturday, one day after the 19th anniversary of the deadly 9/11 al-Qaeda attacks in New York, that led to the US beginning military operations in Afghanistan.

The conflict in Afghanistan has been the longest in US history.

Why are these talks so important?

These

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Israeli government to impose second Covid-19 national lockdown

By Angelena Iglesia 1 week ago

a group of people standing in front of a crowd: Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images

Israel’s government has decided to impose a lockdown lasting three weeks, local media have reported, a move that would make it the first country to reimpose such severe restrictions on a national scale.

Fearing mass gatherings during a string of national holidays over the next month, the cabinet decided to shut down the country as of Friday, the Jewish new year, until 9 October, according to the Ynet news website and Channel 12 television.

Ministers had been debating on Sunday a proposal that would see a return to full lockdown, with people banned from moving more than 500 metres from their homes, schools and places of worship closed, the private sector at minimum capacity, and all but essential shops shuttered. Under that plan, a gradual loosening of the rules would only be implemented if the rate of infection drops.

While the

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Our right to spend time with loved ones is being cruelly violated by the government | Dementia

By Angelena Iglesia 1 week ago

Just as I sat down to write this piece, my phone rang. The woman’s voice was thick with distress. She didn’t want her name to be public, didn’t want practical help; she just wanted to tell her story to someone and she didn’t know who would listen and who would care.

Her husband, to whom she has been married for 57 years, has dementia and is in a home. Before lockdown, she visited twice a day, spending hours with him, kissing him, hugging and holding him. He is at a stage of his dementia where it can be hard to have a conversation, but, she says, “he understands affective language” – the language of touch, of physical presence and affection. People with dementia lose so much, but they usually do not lose their deep feelings, their love and need.

In March, the doors shut. When at last she was

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Coronavirus: Gateshead testing plan ‘held up by government’

By Angelena Iglesia 1 week ago

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