text:
Prevalence and determinants of smoking in three regions of Saudi Arabia
Jamal S Jarallaha,
Khalid A Al-Rubeaanb,
Abdul Rahman A Al-Nuaimb,
Atallah A Al-Ruhailyb,
Khalid A Kalantana
aDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, bEndocrinology Division, Department of Medicine
Dr JS Jarallah, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, PO Box 2925, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia;jamal{at}ksu.edu.sa
OBJECTIVES To study the prevalence and determinants of cigarette smoking among Saudi nationals in three regions of Saudi Arabia.
PARTICIPANTS A sample of 8310 individuals aged 15 years and above from both sexes, randomly selected from the three regions, using a stratified cluster sampling technique.
DESIGN A cross-sectional, household, community-based survey. Using a predesigned and tested questionnaire, the participants were interviewed by primary care physicians. The interview covered personal, social, and educational characteristics of the respondents, and also included questions about their smoking status, duration of smoking, and daily cigarette consumption.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Association between current smoking and sociodemographic variables, in univariate and multivariate analysis. Degree of interaction between the different determinants of cigarette smoking.
RESULTS The overall prevalence of current smoking was 21.1% for males and 0.9% for females. Most smokers (78%) were young to middle-aged (21–50 years old). Smoking prevalence was higher among married people, among uneducated people, and among those in certain occupations: manual workers, businessmen, army officers, and office workers.
CONCLUSIONS Cigarette smoking is an important public health problem in Saudi Arabia. A more intense and comprehensive tobacco control effort is needed.
smoking predictors
smoking prevalence
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/tc.8.1.53
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described tobacco smoking as an epidemic.1 The global smoking epidemic is expected to remain as one of the greatest causes of premature death, disease, and suffering for decades to come. The WHO has estimated that the number of deaths each year from smoking-attributable disease will increase to 10 million within the next 30 years or so, of which 70% will occur in developing countries.2 Although Saudi Arabia does not grow tobacco or manufacture cigarettes, smoking has existed in this country for more than 50 years. Tobacco imports in the form of manufactured cigarettes have increased dramatically over the years, and an average of 600 million Saudi Riyals (about $150 million) are spent annually on tobacco.3
No nationwide studies on the prevalence of tobacco smoking have been performed in Saudi Arabia. Small-scale studies have shown a prevalence of between 8% and 57%4-13; few of these, however, were community-based.12 We conducted a household survey to study the prevalence and determinants of cigarette smoking in three regions in Saudi Arabia, using the data from the national survey of chronic metabolic disorders.
The data for this study were obtained during a national cross-sectional survey of chronic metabolic disorders in Saudi Arabia, which was conducted between 1990 and 1993.
Saudi nationals, aged 15 years and older, were the target study population. After dividing the country into five provinces (west, east, central, north, and south), each province was further subdivided into a number of regions.
The sample size was determined based on the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia. As previous small-scale studies suggested that the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is in the range of 5–15%, it was necessary to select a simple random sample of between 1825 and 4892 individuals. This would allow the calculation of an estimate which would be within one percentage point of the actual prevalence at a 95% level of probability.
A larger sample was selected for the study to ensure that the population under study was fully represented and that the sample was distributed among the regions proportionate to the size of the populations in each region. The sample was selected in a multistage, stratified cluster sampling procedure. The total sample size was divided among the five administrative provinces with a probability proportionate to the size of the population of each province. The sample was divided over the number of regions in each province with a probability proportionate to the size of each region. The sample was further subdivided over the number of localities with a probability proportionate to size, taking into consideration the urban-to-rural ratios in each region within each locality. Catchment areas of randomly selected health centres were used for recruiting the study population. A household survey was then conducted through random selection of every third house within the assigned catchment area.
All Saudi subjects aged 15 years or more were interviewed by primary care physicians. To the extent possible, the interview was personal and private; however, sometimes it was difficult to achieve total privacy. The overall survey response rate was 87.8%. The interview covered personal, social, and educational characteristics of respondents, and also asked questions about their smoking status, duration of smoking, and daily cigarette consumption. Current smoking was defined as smoking one or more cigarettes daily for six months or more before the survey.
The data were entered into a personal computer using the SPSS (version 6) statistical package.14 The χ2 test was used to compare smokers and non-smokers for the categorical variables and the t test was used to compare the means of quantitative data. The χ2 test for trend was used to assess the change in the probability of smoking across the categories of the determinant variables. The data were weighted to calculate the frequencies in all of the five regions and to assess if there was a significant difference after weighting, according to the method described by Robins et al.15
For the multivariate analysis, a stepwise logistic regression was used. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each variable were calculated as an estimate of the likelihood of smoking, and probability values were determined. Interactions among the determinant variables were assessed, and are presented as relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI), attributable proportion due to interaction (AP), and synergy index (S). Synergism was reported when the synergy index was more than unity.16
Because of incomplete data obtained from two regions—namely, the northern region (in which smoking was recorded for 27 people) and the central region (in which there was no recording for smoking)—they were excluded from the analysis.
Table 1 presents the weighted prevalence of current smoking in the study population according to various sociodemographic categories. The age of the study population ranged from 15 to 68 years, with a mean (SD) age of 33.1 (12.5) years for smokers and 32.9 (15.1) for non-smokers (p>0.05). The overall prevalence of smoking was 11.6%, with most smokers (78%) being in the age group between 21 and 50 years. The odds of smoking among males was 30 times that among females (p<0.001).
Weighted prevalence of current smokers and non-smokers in the study population, according to various sociodemographic characteristics (n = 8310)
Most smokers (59%) smoked 20 or more cigarettes per day (59%), and 25% smoked 10–19 cigarettes per day; mean (SD) cigarette consumption was 16.8 (13.0) per day. Most smokers (66%) had smoked for 14 years or less, and 21% had smoked for 20 years or more; mean (SD) duration of smoking was 12.2 (9.7) years. The mean monthly income in Saudi Riyals (SR) was 3100 (SD 1400) for smokers, and SR 3260 (SD 1200) for non-smokers (p>0.05).
Smoking prevalence was higher among the married population than among those in other marital-status categories (OR = 5.31, 95% CI = 2.18 to 12.96, p<0.001), but this was only for the unweighted data (data stratified by marital status could not be weighted owing to lack of this information for the study population as a whole).
Current smoking was significantly associated with level of education, and smoking prevalence was higher among those who had lower and technical education (ORs = 2.43, and 1.94, respectively; p<0.05). However, smoking was not associated with locality when urban and rural populations were compared (OR = 1.0).
Smoking prevalence was higher among businessmen, manual labourers, and army officers when compared with other occupations (ORs = 48.74, 45.54, and 37.85, respectively; p<0.0001).
Smoking was more common among people living in the eastern and western regions compared with those living in the south (OR = 1.63, 1.53, and 1.0 respectively; p<0.001) but this was only true for the unweighted data.
The stepwise logistic regression analysis showed a strong association of smoking with gender (OR = 27.3). The odds of smoking among males were 27 times those among females (table 2). Also, there was a 10% increase in the odds of smoking with a higher income or higher body mass index (BMI).
Results of the logistic regression analysis of the most significant determinants of smoking among the Saudi population
Education was an important predictor of smoking, with a 20% increase in the odds for individuals in the lower educational category of the population.
When age was used as a quantitative continuous variable in the logistic model, there was a 10% decrease in odds of smoking with increasing age (table 2).
Regarding marital status, there was a twofold increase in the likelihood of smoking among married individuals compared with those in other marital-status categories.
There was a positive interaction between gender on the one hand and education, marital status, and income on the other, in determining smoking status. The interaction was multiplicative between marital status, income, and gender, but was only additive between education and gender.
The overall prevalence of cigarette smoking in this study was 12%. This is far below the prevalence figures reported from previous small-scale studies as well as community-based studies in some regions in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.11 ,12 ,17
Smoking prevalence may have been underestimated in this study. Because smoking is not socially accepted in Saudi Arabia, some people will hide their smoking, particularly during an interview or in the presence of other family members if they are young or female. Earlier studies have shown that young Saudi students smoke more in the presence of friends than family members.5 ,12 Studies in other countries have also shown an underestimation of smoking prevalence.18
As in other studies,4 ,11 males smoked significantly more than females in our study. In the Saudi community there is a social stigma against smoking by women, which is seen as shameful. Other studies in the Kingdom and in other Arab countries have reported similar findings.17 ,18 This differs from Western societies were female smoking is more common.19 ,20
Also in concordance with previous studies, smoking increased with age. A previous study has shown that smoking increased by 25% for each one-year increase in age.13
The higher smoking prevalence among married people may increase the risk of smoking initiation among children. Children who are raised in a family where parents or other family members smoke are at greater risk of initiating smoking.12 ,19-21 The higher smoking prevalence among married people also raises a concern about the health effects of passive smoking among those in the same household.22
Despite the recent increase in tobacco taxes, cigarettes are still very inexpensive in the Kingdom compared with other countries. Even people on low income and young children can obtain cigarettes at low cost. Previous studies in Saudi Arabia have shown that cost was not an important consideration in the decision to start smoking.5 ,8
Data on smoking patterns in Saudi Arabia are sparse. With the scarcity of national studies on smoking prevalence in the Kingdom, and in the absence of follow up and monitoring of the problem, it is difficult to anticipate the future. The long-term health consequences of smoking are not well documented in the Kingdom; however, lung cancer is now the fourth most common type of malignant disease among men.23The growing consumption of cigarettes over the years (averaging over 2100 per capita in the early 1990s)24 might be considered as an indirect indicator of increasing smoking prevalence, in which case one would anticipate a rise in lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases in the coming decades. Nevertheless, prevalence is more likely to be a better indicator of the population's exposure to the hazards of tobacco.19 In fact, consumption and prevalence data are necessary for a full understanding of that exposure.
Because of the lag of three to four decades between the rise in smoking prevalence and the rise in the smoking-attributable mortality,19 there is lack of understanding about the risks associated with smoking in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, even in Saudi studies that have shown a high level of knowledge about the hazards of smoking, that knowledge did not affect smoking behaviour.5 ,8
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently provided countries with guidelines for comprehensive national tobacco control programmes.25 These guidelines include health promotion activities, media advocacy, encouragement of smoking cessation, legislative measures, fiscal measures such as tobacco taxation, and effective protective measures against involuntary exposure to secondhand smoke.2 Other strategies for the control of smoking—including pharmacological and non-pharmacological—should be adopted.26-31
In the Kingdom, there is no clear policy for tobacco control at the national level. Current control efforts are sporadic, fragmented, and not well coordinated. Although tobacco advertising and promotion are prohibited in the local media, and smoking is not allowed in government buildings or on domestic flights, there is no close monitoring for non-compliance. One highly visible and well-enforced policy has been an increase in tobacco import duties to 50%.24
The Saudi Smoking Control Charitable Society, during the past 14 years, has established 33 anti-smoking clinics across the country. The use of these clinics is still limited, and their smoking cessation rate is reported to be 13%32; however, that quit rate should be interpreted with caution, because data are not available on the duration of follow up or the relapse rate.
In a recent study, Saleh and colleagues33 reported the results of a smoking cessation programme in one city in the Kingdom. They obtained a quit rate of 38.3% at six months of follow up, and they explored psychological and behavioural factors affecting the success in quitting. That study lays the foundation for a possible large-scale intervention programme for tobacco control in the Kingdom. Such a programme should be well coordinated, comprehensive, national in scope, and consistent with the WHO's recent recommendations. Full political and technical support should be provided to facilitate implementation of those recommendations.
The authors thank Dr Fayek Al-Khwaiski for his advice on statistics and Professor Ali Mustafa for reviewing the manuscript.
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(1996) Predictors of smoking among male junior secondary school students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Tobacco Control 5:26–29.
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(1994) Smoking habits of medical students in Bahrain. J Smoking Related Dis 5:189–195.
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When it comes to scale, there are clear parallels between evolution and business.
I was (literally) browsing your blog for the first time yesterday during my nightly "read until my brain shuts down" ritual.
Great to see you here on Copyblogger. Thank you for the great thoughts, and congratulations on the book!
This post couldn't be more timely.
I work in the real estate industry and have bucked the "growth" tenets preached to build my brokerage business.
Having operated since 2004, I've seen a good number of my competitors disappear from the landscape.
And they all have one thing in common; they chose growth by size and scale over revenue.
Looking forward to picking up your book.
I love the idea of staying small if it's what suits me. So many of these business gurus advocate that solopreneurs should start hiring teams and delegating and so on, until they get to the point where they're no longer doing the thing they enjoy, and they're just managing other people. I don't want that for myself! So this post definitely resonated with me and I'm looking forward to reading the book!


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Cover your tracks online
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Volunteer for IDAS
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Supporting Victims in North Yorkshire
Home > Our Services > Other Help Available > Supporting Victims in North Yorkshire
The Supporting Victims service will provide support for anyone affected by crime, whether reported or not, of any age, including children and young people (wherever possible with consent), bereaved relatives, parents or guardians of victims under 18, and those affected by business crime.
The newly commissioned Supporting Victims team is based within Athena House, York but will provide a service accessible for all North Yorkshire victims. The service is funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire.
As part of new local arrangements, and in line with the Victims Code of Practice improved and expanded services are available. Particularly to victims of the most serious crimes, those who are vulnerable, repeat victims; and victims of a greater range of crimes will receive support than was previously supported.
How will Supporting Victims help?
Supporting Victims in North Yorkshire will be delivered by trained and experienced staff in partnership with the organisation Victim Support.
The service will assess victim need by asking individuals questions to determine the impact of the crime. The service will offer:
Immediate practical and emotional support over the telephone
Referral to support staff based in their community to provide ongoing face to face support through a personalised plan
Onward referrals to other local agencies can also be made as appropriate
If a specific need is identified Supporting Victims can refer individuals to one of our specialist commissioned support services (described below).
Supporting Victims Website
As part of the Supporting Victims service the Commissioner has also developed a bespoke website, designed to meet the needs of North Yorkshire victims of crime.
The website can inform victims how to access support services in North Yorkshire via the Supporting Victims team based at Athena House as well as providing victims who want to support themselves with practical information, advice and guidance.
The website can be found at: http://www.supportingvictims.org/
What about victims who do not want to report to the police?
Self-referrals: In addition to referrals from the police, victims will be able to refer themselves to Supporting Victims in North Yorkshire without having to first report a crime.
The new telephone number, email address and website will provide direct routes for victims to refer themselves to the service.
This is important as some victims may not wish to report a crime, but are still entitled to support.
How do I refer a victim for support?
Proactively inform clients with whom you are working, with that if they require support to cope and recover from the impact of crime, they can contact Supporting Victims directly
You may also refer clients/victims you are working with to the team
Victims may also self-refer to the service via the telephone number, email address or website at any time whether they have reported a crime or not
A leaflet that may be sent or handed out to victims can be found here
Victims may also be in possession of a Supporting Victims business card which police officers and PCSOs are encouraged to hand out to victims when they are dealing with a crime.
You can and should bring victims with identified support needs to the direct attention of the Supporting Victims team where you deem it appropriate to do so, as soon as possible.
The more information the Supporting Victims have on client/victim circumstances the better informed they are to assess the victim and make appropriate referrals and support available.
Do keep in touch with Supporting Victims to ensure they are aware of any new developments that may affect their support.
About the Supporting Victims Unit
8am - 7pm Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays
Website: www.supportingvictims.org
Email for Victims: help@supportingvictims.org
Email for Agencies: supportingvictims@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk
Quotes from people who have used our service
Mrs J : harassment; "Thank you, you have been brilliant, you kept getting back to me when others didn't". (2214187)
Mr W : theft; "it's nice to know that someone out there cares". (2193358)
Mr H : racially aggravated harassment, "Thank you so much for your call and the support, it has made a difference to me". (2291586)
Mrs C : 88 year old lady ; burglary, "I don't need any support, but thank you for your letter, it was nice of you to offer and to know there was someone who can help if I needed". (2265265)
Other Local Services
Aegis Counselling Service CIC
Community Counselling (North Yorkshire) Limited
Kyra Women's Project
Sexual Assault Referral Centre (York and North Yorkshire)
The Women's Community Project
BSARCS
About IDAS
IDAS is the largest specialist charity in Yorkshire supporting people affected by domestic abuse and sexual violence.
More about IDAS
03000 110 110 (North Yorkshire and Barnsley)
0808 808 2241 (Sheffield)
0808 2000 247 (National 24 hours helpline)
info@idas.org.uk
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IDAS Copyright © 2019. Charity Number 1102337 and Company Number 4984337 limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales

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Posts Tagged "women peace and security"
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en français | en español I was honored to attend the CSW65 from March 15-26, 2021 as part of the KAIROS' delegation and through the generous accommodation of ACT Alliance. The pandemic may have hindered women from gathering physically but, through technology, participants including here in the Philippines were able to experience New York for two weeks. Indeed, not…
Héritiers de la Justice in DR Congo overcame language challenges to engage virtually in #CSW65
en français | en español KAIROS partner in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Héritiers de la Justice (HJ) participated in workshops during the virtual United Nation's Commission on the Status of Women Session 65, March 15 to 26, 2021 (CSW65) based on a number of themes related to increasing capacity for programming within the framework of the Women, Peace and Security project. HJ…
I am not alone #CSW65
en français | en español Greetings from Bethlehem. I would like to thank KAIROS for providing the opportunity for me to participate in the sixty-fifth Commission on Status of Women (CSW65) for the first time. I am Minerva Q. Jarayseh, a lecturer in the social science department at the University of Bethlehem, women's advocate and family counselor. There were many interesting and relevant topics with great panelists outlined in the heavily…
The global gender inequality pandemic highlighted at the #CSW65
en français | en español In the first of the two week of meetings that I have participated in at the CSW65 on March 15-26, 2021, similar issues have been raised by women from around the world and these have been numerous – the impacts of COVID-19 on women and the ensuing vaccine…
Being a part of history #CSW65
en français | en español I am Lucy Talgieh, the Women Coordinator at Wi'am: Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center in Bethlehem, Palestine. I am currently participating in the online 65th UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW65). It was always my dream to take part in…
For such a time as this… SHE DARES! #CSW65
en français | en español When women who know themselves begin to speak, there is no doubt that their presence fills the room.  Even over the internet, a "breath of life" connects the body gathered, as these rooted women ignite passion. Their…
KAIROS and partners at the UN Commission on Status of Women, March 15-26
CSW65 blog series A delegation of 20, comprised of KAIROS Women of Courage partners from Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Israel/Palestine, the Philippines and South Sudan and KAIROS partnership staff, is currently participating in the online UN Commission on Status of Women (UNCSW65). The annual…
Stories of Courage, Stories of Change: Women peacebuilders as frontline workers
The first blog coming from KAIROS delegates to the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65).
People before patents, open letter to PM on vaccine equity
KAIROS joined 40 civil society organizations in Canada including churches, unions, human rights groups and health organizations in signing an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for greater action from the Canadian government on vaccine equity. The letter calls on Canada to endorse a proposal at the World Trade…
Call to the Canadian government to take action on vaccine equity
A year into the global COVID-19 pandemic, it's time to "use every tool" to ensure that people world-wide have access to vaccines, argues the head of the World Health Organization (WTO). KAIROS has written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to encourage greater efforts toward fair global access to COVID vaccines. The…
KAIROS Women of Courage partners at the CSW65
March 8 is the annual International Women's Day (IWD), observed throughout the world as a day of action for women, a time to reflect on and celebrate advances in gender equality, as well as raising awareness of the work left to be done. This year's campaign…
An urgent call for peace and justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo
In response to growing impunity, unrest, and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and concerns raised by our partner, Héritiers de la Justice and other members of Congolese civil society, KAIROS wrote a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs urging the Canadian government to reinforce the international community and civil…
"We have courage because of your support."
Agnes Wasuk Petia (below), the Coordinator of the South Sudan Council of Churches' National Women's Programme (SSCC-NWP) told us this in 2018 when she was here to talk with people across Canada about the anti-violence and peace-building initiatives spearheaded by the SSCC-NWP. Throughout this difficult, unique year, KAIROS has continued to…
Second South-South gathering of KAIROS Women, Peace & Security partners, November 24-27
From November 24-27 KAIROS Women of Courage: Women, Peace and Security partners gathered virtually for the second South-South gathering of the program. During this virtual gathering, partners had the opportunity to: share and reflect on their work with grassroots women peacebuilders;…


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Q: OpenVPN & Juniper SSG-140 I asked this question over on some Juniper Forums but they seem to be pretty dead as in over a week it hasn't had that many hits and no one has had any advice.  I figure if I can find someone familiar with Juniper routers they can direct me into the right direction and perhaps I can get this working.
I have three Juniper routers in Production.  Two of them are SSG-5's one is an SSG-140.  I am running ScreenOS 6.3.0r2.0
My issue probably is pretty simple but I am a bit lost.  I set-up an OpenVPN server in Dallas and configured my juniper to pass traffic from the 10.3.21.0 subnet (my OpenVPN subnet) to the Dallas SSG-5.  With my configuration I can hop on OpenVPN and access servers in Dallas.  I did the same thing on our SSG-5 here in Meridian, Texas and those on the OpenVPN can talk to here and Dallas.
I am trying to do the same thing for our Colorado office, and apparently I am missing something.  I know the Juniper VPN between Dallas and Colorado works because I can hop on a server in Dallas and access servers in Colorado but I am unable to access anything across OpenVPN.
I have checked my OpenVPN settings and they seem correct so perhaps I have a routing issue somewhere on the Juniper.  I really don't know where to start as I had a consultant help with the Juniper install but we are a non-profit and can't afford going back to the consultant so I was hoping some of you guys could assist.
Thank You very much in advance, please let me know whatever configs I need to post here to help you guys better.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Have you ever shared your site or a new blog post to Facebook and the image that appears on the Facebook post is not the one you expected? Here's the solution.
When you're creating your blogs it's natural that you'd want to use an application that you're familiar with, so occasionally you may want to layout your blog in Word or even take it from a post that you have previously posted on Facebook but this can cause some issues in WordPress.
We all lead very busy lives and often we don't have time to sit through a video that can sometimes seem like the producer has made it long enough to justify the time it takes to make the video.
So at today's exchange rate that's £9.82 or as I like to call it Cheap as Chips and I hope you'll agree it isn't too shabby.


Shenzhen being central air-conditioning energy transformation, pushing the storage technology, effective use of power to enhance peak load shifting. Shenzhen Power terminal load management mode, the use of air-conditioned storage technology evening of excess electricity is stored and then used to get during the day, this is equivalent to establish a virtual power plant. Shenzhen in the completion of construction or transformation of central air conditioning project, construction of one million kilowatts of thermal storage air conditioning virtual power plant.
Refrigeration Express correspondent was informed, Shenzhen power grid last year, the maximum load of about 11.51 million kilowatts, the maximum load gap of about 700,000 kilowatts, electricity huge difference between peak and valley load and peak load shifting must be used to protect the balance of power. Market coverage is less than 1% of central air-conditioning use of storage facilities, with the economic development of the power peak and valley load differential widening, air solar power air conditioners accumulator is a trend. Rapid economic development is to make the difference of day and night electricity demand growing, the thermal unit commitment peaking a huge loss, a 125,000 kilowatts generating set start and stop time, the need to consume 20 tons of standard coal; a 200,000 kilowatts generating unit solar powered air conditioner peaking time, consumption of 34.8 tons of standard coal. Insiders pointed out that one million kilowatts of peak load to a low, use of power low power supply capacity to meet the power requirements of the construction of one million kilowatts of peak power stations, to less and less to build two 500,000 kilowatts of 500 kilobits voltammetry substation. Comprehensive investment of 10,000 yuan per kilowatt, a considerable saving of 10 billion yuan of investment costs.


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Number: 6
Place of birth: Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Car: Ford
NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega
Higher stakes at Daytona mean 'crazy things will happen'
By Mark Long Aug. 28, 2020 01:11 PM EDT
NASCAR Cup rookie Cole Custer wins in upset at Kentucky
By Gary B. Graves Jul. 12, 2020 06:34 PM EDT
NASCAR's guessing game: Trying to predict the Daytona 500
By Mark Long Feb. 13, 2020 04:58 PM EST
Bell, Reddick, Custer headline bumper crop of NASCAR rookies
By Dan Gelston Feb. 13, 2020 02:26 PM EST
Busch has done it all in NASCAR, except win the Daytona 500
By Dan Gelston Feb. 11, 2020 10:43 AM EST
Paul Menard retiring, Wood Brothers hires DiBenedetto
Sep. 10, 2019 10:29 AM EDT
Dillon, Wallace try and rekindle Daytona 500 magic
Former NASCAR champs Busch, Kenseth set to move on in 2019
By Dan Gelston Nov. 18, 2018 10:51 AM EST


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Q: Python unrar module throws MemoryError while reading a .rar file I have written following code to read .rar files to check if they contain MDF files.
from unrar import rarfile

def is_contain_mdf_file(filepath) -> bool:
    try:
        if rarfile.is_rarfile(filepath):
            obj = rarfile.RarFile(filepath)
            members = obj.namelist()
            for member in members:
                content = obj.read(member)
                if content.startswith(b'MDF'):
                    return True
    except Exception as ex:
        print("Error while reading archived file %s", filepath, ex)
    return False

While reading a rar file containing only one MDF file of size 627MB throws following error multiple times. But nevertheless the check (if the file starts with 'MDF') gets executed
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "_ctypes/callbacks.c", line 232, in 'calling callback function'
  File ".....\python\venv37\lib\site-packages\unrar\rarfile.py", line 110, in _callback
    self._data += chunk
MemoryError

Why I get the error and how can I prevent it? The system has enough memory to handle huge files.
OS: Windows 10
Python version 3.7

A: If you get an unexpected MemoryError and you think you should have plenty of RAM available, it might be because you are using a 32-bit python installation.
The easy solution, if you have a 64-bit operating system, is to switch to a 64-bit installation of python.
The issue is that 32-bit python only has access to ~4GB of RAM. This can shrink even further if your operating system is 32-bit, because of the operating system overhead.
You can learn more about why 32-bit operating systems are limited to ~4GB of RAM here: https://superuser.com/questions/372881/is-there-a-technical-reason-why-32-bit-windows-is-limited-to-4gb-of-ram


This will be a deeply flawed post. I invite your grace. I don't know how to say this perfectly. I have so much learning to do. A truly embarrassing amount. But have decided I am not allowed to let pride keep me from sharing this.
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Oh, dear siblings so I have some confessing to do. I live in white privilege. I benefit from white supremacy. And with at least as much (probably more) of myself as I hate it and fight it, I also cling to it in those scared, hidden parts of my soul. This is my trying to be in fellowship with Jesus, confess, and be cleansed from this despicable unrighteousness.
A few weeks ago, I was driving down an old narrow street in Seattle. There was a large police SUV parked on one side with a sizeable side view mirror. I was tired and fretting about finding parking before I walked into a funeral I was late for...and I scuffed the police mirror with mine.
The officer was talking with residents that must have called him and I couldn't find a place to safely stop, so I circled around and came back.
When I got back, the officer was sitting in his car and looked to be working on paper work. He didn't see me.
I was a tired woman with discheveled hair wearing all black with very full pockets (I have a toddler...but this officer doesn't know it's toddler paraphernalia in my pockets and not drug or gun paraphernalia). One of my hands was in a pocket. Hey, it was cold.
With confidence - if embarrassment - I walked up to the armed man who did not see me coming. "I hit your mirror," I confessed with that sideways pained look of someone who made an annoying mistake but knows everything is going to be fine - if inconvenient.
He jumped the slightest bit when he saw me. Why on earth I didn't make sure I wasn't sneaking up on him, just out of kindness, I don't know. Then he settled and asked if there was a mark. "Yep. Looks like it," I said, "I'm sorry."
He was incredibly kind and apologized that he had to call his sergeant. "If it was up to me, I'd just go on with my day, but there are strict rules about any time something happens to city property. Hang on."
That hang on turned into 30 minutes of all parties being bummed out by how much work goes into a mirror scuff. His sergeant came. Another police officer came. They filmed me while they asked me if I was ok. They measured and photographed the scuff on both cars. They gave me an incident report number and almost apologized for it. "Will I have like a record or something now?" I asked.
"No. This is a different kind of incident report. It won't even effect your driving record. It's like a step below that. We just have to file something every time there's an incident with a police car."
I apologized again and said I'd be more careful. The officer shrugged almost as if to say: "Really, don't worry about it."
And I drove off to park. Blocks away. On a street with no other cars. Feeling mortified, tired, and entirely unimpressed with myself.
There was no point in this interaction where I was concerned about my safety. I never doubted I'd be believed or trusted. I never wondered if the police officer would be afraid of me and lash out at me. I counted on my complete and utter safety every step of the way.
And my friends of color - especially the wonderful black family I was about to go grieve with - can't count on that.
Now, mind you, it's people who look like me that killed 17 folks at a high school a few weeks ago. It's people who look like me who shot up a church a few months ago and killed nine people of color at Bible study a couple years ago. It's people who look like me that sent bombs to kill prominent people of color.
Going back further, it's people who look like me that sailed across the planet to steal people and pretend they were property. It's people who look like me that committed genocide in North America. It's people who look like me that put our Japanese neighbors in America into internment camps.
My family has been in America since the Mayflower. You know what that means? Everything my family owns is essentially stolen or bought with money from stolen things.
People who look like me ought to scare people. If any color of skin could raise suspicion, people who look like me ought to raise suspicion.
I have this weird privilege of being a white woman. A white woman pastor who often wears her baby (ok, she's a toddler now but, can time just slow down for a minute please?). I'm always safe because people don't see me as a threat.
But let's be real, people who look like me have consistently been a threat. But because we're pale, because we belong to white men, we have the privilege of wearing all black with bulging pockets and our hands in them as we surprise a police officer and knowing - KNOWING - this event will end with us being entirely safe - save that scuff on the mirror and that dent in my pride.
And then I went and fellowshipped with this grieving family of color. They were some of the most amazing people I've met in my life. It was a humbling honor to spend time with them as they processed the loss of one hard working, lively, loving woman who anchored so many lives with a tenacious love.
Maybe - hopefully - each and everyone of them would have been as safe as I was that day. But I don't think they could count on it.
After the funeral reception, I took the long drive home to Everett. And. I. Wept. And. Wept. And. Wept.
My white privilege is an ill-gotten gain. And yet, as I thought about my daughter, I had to come to terms with my reality that I desperately want that privilege for her.
Really, I want no one to need that privilege. I want police officers to be peace officers. I want police shootings of unarmed people to end. Period. I want police shootings of any people to end. That's what I really want.
But if I can't get that, I'll take the privilege for my daughter.
And that reality hurts. And it is sin.
Friends who look like me: will you join me in a moment of grief. Can we mourn together that we are addicted to our privilege, that we don't fight hard enough for our siblings of color because, at the end of the day, we're pretty safe and there's always tomorrow... There is a lot of work to do. But it seems like maybe some of that work begins in honesty, pain, grief, and calling a sin a sin.
White supremacy is a sin. Maybe it's not something you're into. But maybe you benefit from that. And maybe you - even just in the deep recesses of your soul - rejoice in that benefit. When we're honest about that shadow that lives deep within us, we can invite light in.
As the good book says: "If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and Jesus his Son (that brown man killed by the state) cleanses us from all sin."
And we know that light will lead us into the streets. Maybe onto I5. And certainly away from white supremacy.
Thank you! I love learning from you!
Thank you. This is so brave and honest and powerful.
As my friend pointed out recently, those with privilege are also victims of this system, if we are willing to recognize that benefits we receive that others are denied are not benefits. They are the products of the suffering of others. They are not signs of how fortunate WE are, but how unfortunate we all are.
And yet, even writing this, my only rule for myself: do not be ashamed. Be active instead. Thanks for writing, your story really meant a lot to me.


1. A husband who is my biggest supporter and greatest help. Love that guy so much!
2. Jacey is willing to take leaps of faith. Even though she is the new girl in school, she is still running for student council.
3. New friendships, planted online and cultivated in real life!
4. Family fun days out with GREAT friends! I am so blessed to have a best friend where both our husbands and kids get along fabulously too.
Good luck to Jacey! I hope she makes Student Council!
YAY for awesome hubbys and wonderful friends. Good luck to Jacey!


text:
Disha Salian Death - startling revelation by Mumbai Police
DCP Vishal Thakur of Mumbai Police has stated that immediately after receipt of information a police team reached the scene of incident and did necessary Panchnama in presence of Disha's parents. Disha Salian happened to be an Ex-Manager of Sushant Singh Rajput.
Mumbai police has on Sunday disqualified the claim that Disha Salian's dead body was discovered without a single piece of cloth. DCP Vishal Thakur has enunciated that the news of finding Disha's nude dead body is totally fake and fabricated.
Disha Salian died from falling off the 14th floor of a Mumbai based building in the intervening night of 8 and 9 June 2020. Just after a couple of days, on 14 June Sushant Singh Rajput's dead body was found from his residence. These two incidents have caused enough sensation in not only Bollywood but also in the political wings of India.
Sanjay Raut, Member of Parliament, Shiv Sena has also stated on Sunday that before Sushant's death Disha Salian had committed suicide and these two incidents are completely disjointed. He further said that the political leaders are trying to coalesce these two incidents with an intention to bake their own bread. Raut has expressed his dissatisfaction regarding the statements made by BJP leader Narayan Rane who earlier claimed that Disha was molested, murdered and then thrown from the building. The Shiv Sena MP has termed this statement as extremely insensitive towards the family members of Disha Salian.
Disha's parents have already dismissed the molestation and murder angle pertaining to their deceased daughter. In one of their recent TV interview, Disha's parents Satish and Basanti Salian have asserted that all news about Disha's pregnancy, molestation and murder are result of imagination and completely untrue. They also have said that the Mumbai police has shown them all records concerning to the investigation of Disha's death and that they are satisfied with the way Mumbai police has investigated the case. Disha's parents have expressed their grief for the media being involved in character assassination of their demised daughter.
In the meantime, Rhea Chakraborty the prime accused in Sushant's death case has filed a fresh affidavit in the Supreme Court of India. In her affidavit, Rhea has complained about the ongoing media trial wherein she is being unlawfully projected as the main guilty for Sushant's death. She has alleged that the way media is sensationalizing the case by dragging her name, her privacy is being compromised. Rhea has made it a point that actor Ashutosh Bhakre and Sameer Sharma have also committed suicide but Indian media has completely ignored this.
A breaking news has surfaced that the domain name and ip address of the company has been changed 18 times in last 2 months. The company is in the name of Sushant and Rhea Chakraborty. The last change was made on 7 August, however exact reason and credential are yet to be verified.
On the other hand, sources from Enforcement Directorate has made some important revelations regarding Rhea's interrogation. Rhea used to control the financial matters of Sushant Singh Rajput. Some discrepancies have been found in Rhea's bank accounts and her income tax returns which means Rhea had more investments than her income, but she could not understand the discrepancy. Rebates against Rhea's home loan has not been recorded in her ITR. Besides these, sources of her investments in properties and real estates could not be traced as of yet.


text:
ArtistsExhibitionsNewsAboutContact
Andre Gisson
Featured worksThumbnailsBack
Mother and Child in the Park
H 15.75" x W 20"
Wixon Pond
Paris Street Scene
Portrait of a Girl in Landscape
H 9" x W 12"
Signed Lower Right - "Gisson"
A Stroll Through the Gardens
Girl Near the Beach
Beloosesky Gallery is interested in purchasing paintings by Andre Gisson.
Please call (917) 749-4577 or email us at info@beloosesky.com
Many sources cite Andre Gisson as a French painter, but in fact he was a struggling painter in New York City who decided to enhance his reputation by claiming he was French and born earlier (1910) to be more closely aligned with the founders of the Impressionist movement. His real name, according to his son-in-law, Anthony Winston, was Anders Gittelson.
Anders Gittelson (Ande Gisson) was a leading American Realist painter, he died on July 28, 2003, in Atlanta after a long illness. He was 81. Gittelson, whose brush name was Gisson, was born in 1921 in Brooklyn. He graduated from the Pratt Institute and was a Captain in the Army during World War II. Over four decades, his one-man shows extended from New York, Washington, Texas and California to London, Paris and Tokyo.
His work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution and the Triton Museum of Art, in North Carolina. Among his private collectors were President Lyndon B. Johnson and W. Somerset Maugham. He lived and worked in Westport, Connecticut for 25 years prior to his illness.
415 East 72nd Street, New York, NY 10021
info@Beloosesky.com
©2019 Beloosesky Gallery


After returning from an extended period of travel, in our case driving a van to South America for 18 months, one forms a desire to obtain items which would never fit in a backpack and that anchor you to a new home. For some people, it may be an impractically heavy coffee table or perhaps a canoe, but me, I wanted a skateboard ramp. Let me be clear, my skateboarding experience more or less ended at the age of 10 with a quarter-pipe of improperly set nails, and a doorway of flesh swinging open on my knee, but the desire to be a part of this fascinating sport and culture never left me. So as a brave 37-year-old husband does with any questionable home project, I waited for my wife to leave town for the weekend and built a 4ft mini-ramp in the backyard of our rental property. Initially, I convinced other non-skaters of my vintage to get together under the title of "Gentlemen's Halfpipe", where we adorned all forms of armour prior to attempting the simplest of tricks. With time the ramp moved indoors, and talented skaters joined in on what became regular Friday night sessions of boardslides, bonelesses, beer, and punk rock mixtapes recorded from YouTube with a cheap tape deck. At one of these sessions, the idea of a Cumberland skatepark was born.
The Comox Valley is fortunate enough to have three other skateboard facilities: the Lewis Centre Skatepark built in 1994, and both the Linc Youth Centre and the Lerwick Skatepark completed in 2006. Unfortunately, if you are a youth in Cumberland without transportation to these amenities, skateboarding can be impossible. With this in mind, we formed a skatepark committee and pitched the idea to a council who were instantly supportive of the project. Soon after, a partnership with the Cumberland Community Schools Society was formed. Because of their enthusiasm and drive, as well as the natural connection to Cumberland's youth through the CCSS Youth Centre and extensive after school programs, it was the perfect match.
The project developed over four and a half years, with incredible support from the CCSS and the Village of Cumberland, and with extensive community engagement and fundraising. Youth and adults were involved in the design process via open houses and participated in fundraising activities including welded donation jars created by Chris Armstrong and his talented Vanier shop students that were placed around town to collect community donations. The skatepark opened in July of this year and has been an overwhelming success, continuously packed with kids aged 2 to 45.
Skateboarding in the Comox Valley goes well beyond local skateparks. Get on Board (GOB) is a Comox Valley based registered non-profit organization that uses board sports: surf/skate/snow and SUP, to develop social skills, self-confidence, and goal-setting in youth. GOB projects (gobyouth.com) include: the construction of a skatepark in the remote First Nation of Ahousaht, half pipe construction at K'omoks First Nation and We Wai Kai First Nation, and a partnership with the John Howard Society to work with youth who've come into conflict with the law, teaching them to build skateboards.
This summer and fall, GOB skate mentors will work with youth at the Cumberland Skatepark teaching park etiquette and board skills. "GOB encourages inclusivity in its programming," says Grant Shilling, Chairman of Get on Board. Shilling is an outreach worker with the homeless and has a physical education degree. He has worked with diverse populations including the Gaza Surf Club, Maple Pool United street soccer team, and penned the Cedar Surf: An Informal History of Surfing in BC.
Shilling hopes to see more women and girls participating in skateboarding, "It's a bit of a mystery as to why there are so many women who surf on Vancouver Island but relatively few female skaters," says Shilling. To encourage this growth, GOB will employ several female skate mentors as part of the lessons in Cumberland and elsewhere.
GOB views a skatepark as a social circle where other activities can be developed. These include artistic activities such as skatepark murals, musical activities like DJ mentoring, and cultural activities including First Nations teachings and environmental awareness.
The Do-It-Yourself ethic of board sports is encouraged by GOB through board and pipe construction and through work on the former Forbidden Plateau ski lodge, where a graffiti gallery of immense beauty has emerged on the walls and cement slabs have been jigsaw puzzled into skate ramps. GOB will advocate for the preservation of this imaginative transformation and foster further development of the skatepark at Forbidden Plateau.
Shilling says, "Teaching youth skills such as board building, ramp building, and park etiquette, hands control of the activity over to the young–where it belongs," and we couldn't agree more.


text:
Electric Vehicles This Week: Govt. To Extend $1.3 Bn Fund Support To EVs Under FAME II
Sukanya Mukherjee
29 Mar'18 13 min read
Important Developments From The World Of Electric Vehicles [22-28 March]
This week, a special task force constituted by government-run think tank NITI Aayog has proposed the removal of all permit requirements for electric vehicles. Created to offer suggestions on clean transportation, the task force has argued that electric vehicles are largely environment-friendly and should, therefore, be promoted more actively by the government.
As a further step to promoting the adoption of electric vehicles in the country, the Indian government is reportedly planning to extend financial support of up to $1.3 Bn (INR 8,730 Cr) under the second phase of FAME India.
In a similar move, the central government is gearing up to offer incentives to local battery makers, with the aim of facilitating the establishment of more manufacturing units in the country.
As a testament to the growing interest in the Indian EV market, a number of global companies – including Kia Motors and China's BYD – have expressed interest in participating in the government's tender for electric vehicles.
Coming to international news, Google parent Alphabet-owned autonomous car company Waymo has joined hands with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to develop a luxury, self-driving electric car. The vehicle will be utilised for a ride-hailing service operated by Waymo, reports have claimed.
Given that so much has been happening in the country's electric vehicle sector, we bring to you the 18th edition of the weekly EV roundups.
NITI Aayog Urges Govt. To Remove All Permit Requirements On EVs
A special task force constituted by government-run think tank NITI Aayog has proposed the removal of all permit requirements for electric vehicles. Created to offer suggestions on clean transportation, the task force has argued that electric vehicles are largely environment-friendly and should, therefore, be promoted more actively by the government.
Furthermore, renewing permits on a yearly basis is not only costly but also time-consuming, stated the task force in a report jointly created by NITI Aayog and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). "It would require a change in existing permit regime, at national and state level. Safety issues will need deliberation such that they do not impede the success of such intervention," it added.
In the report, the newly-constituted task force also advocated a long-term vision for intra-city electric buses. The country's growing two-wheeler and three-wheeler market represents a huge opportunity for the adoption of EV technologies, according to the special committee. In this segment, the Indian government should encourage a large-scale integration of such solutions.
Nissan May Set Up A Digital Hub In Kerala
Japanese automotive major Nissan might set up a digital hub in Kerala. A Nissan delegation led by Corporate Vice-President and Chief Information Officer Tony Thomas recently met state officials to explore further possibilities around the deal. If realised, the facility will be set up in Kerala's IT park, TechnoPark.
As per reports, the digital hub will basically work as an R&D centre for the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, as part of the Franco-Japanese strategic partnership. The facility will be a host to a team of engineers and scientists working to create innovations in automated and electronic vehicles space.
The digital hub is further expected to create 300 to 500 high-end jobs in the first phase. Apart from Kerala, Nissan is also considering other cities such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Pune, Bhubaneswar and Warangal to start its facility.
In a related news, the automobile manufacturer has announced that it aims to sell 1 Mn electric vehicles annually, starting from 2022. The focus, as per Nissan's spokesperson, will be on low-emissions all-battery and gasoline-hybrid cars, instead of more expensive EV technologies such as plug-in hybrids.
China-Based BYD Might Bid On Indian Govt's Second EV Tender
Chinese EV maker BYD might bid on the Indian government's second tender for 10,000 electric cars, against homegrown giants like Mahindra and Mahindra and Tata Motors, sources have revealed.
The development comes less than a month after state-run Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) floated the second tender for the procurement of 10,000 electric sedans by the government.
Related Article: Electric Vehicles: Govt Plans To Invest $1.3 Bn To Roll Out FAME II
Among those that participated in the pre-bid meeting were Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Hyundai, Nissan and solar power developer ACME. BYD is yet to make the final decision, as per reports. Commenting on the development, a person in the know said, "BYD has also been looking at the EV tender, but they were missing from the pre-bid meet."
On the matter, Saurabh Kumar, MD of EESL stated, "Carmakers like Hyundai and Kia Motors have been showcasing their electric vehicles at different occasions recently. I would assume they would take part in our second tender. We hope to get responses from more players this time."
Hero MotoCorp Aggressively Pursuing EV Wave
Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp is preparing to make a strong foray into the country's burgeoning EV market. The move is backed by an in-house R&D facility in Jaipur as well as a $31.4 Mn (INR 205 Cr) investment in Ather Energy.
According to sources close to the development, the company is looking to launch both electric scooters and motorcycles. Speaking on Hero MotoCorp's plans, CMD Pawan Munjal said, " We are definitely getting into electric mobility. We have invested in Ather Energy (30% stake) which will launch its brand and products in a matter of months. Hero Motocorp will also be developing electric motorcycles and scooters on its own which will be launched under our own brand and that R&D work is currently underway."
"Hero Electric is a completely different part of the erstwhile larger Hero group and after the settlement, it is now an independent entity. Any company has the right to get into whatever business they think will work for them. So it is not an issue," he added.
Mahindra And Ford Sign MoU To Build Small Electric Car
The country's first electric vehicle manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra has forged a partnership with American automotive giant Ford to jointly develop midsize and compact SUVs as well as a small electric vehicle.
To that end, the two companies have signed five MoUs, as a part of the strategic alliance forged in September 2017 to co-innovate. "Built on the Mahindra platform, the new SUV will drive engineering and commercial efficiencies and will be sold independently by both companies as separate brands," the companies said in a statement.
On the development, Jim Farley, Ford Executive Vice President and President of Global Markets added, "Ford is committed to offering the best vehicles, technologies and services that fit the lifestyles and preferences of Indian consumers. Listening to our customers and incorporating their future needs is the core premise of this collaboration. With utility vehicles and electrification as key focus areas, we are glad to see the progress our two companies have made."
Govt. To Extend Financial Support Worth $1.3 Bn Under FAME II
Spread over the course of five years, subsidies and incentives under FAME II will be limited to new energy vehicles for public transport, commercial purposes and high-speed two-wheelers. According to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the central government has decided to adopt a "technology-agnostic" approach and will favour advanced chemistry batteries under Phase II of FAME.
Scheduled to be implemented from April 1, of the total $1.3 Bn financial support under FAME II, around $851.8 Mn (INR 5,550 Cr) will be kept as demand-side incentives over the next five years. Apart from that, it will earmark $383.6 Mn (INR 2,500 Cr) for electric buses and $153.4 Mn (INR 1,000 Cr) for four-wheelers.
Another $92 Mn (INR 600 Cr) will be used to offer incentives on high-speed two-wheelers, while high-speed three-wheeler manufacturers and owners will get $115.1 Mn (INR 750 Cr).
On the government's decision to remove subsidies for lead-acid battery-powered two-wheelers, Hemalatha Annamalai, South Chapter Chief of SMEV said, "There has to be some financing options from the banks for the lead battery EV two-wheelers. Banks need to handhold the lower and middle-income class and act as an enabler."
"Whilst subsidy may not be required for long-term, it may be required until the industry gets volume drivers, ending the subsidy under FAME will completely make it unaffordable as it will be very difficult to buy EV two-wheeler at their own, so financing through banks must be mandated quickly," Annamalai added.
Govt. To Offer Incentives To Local Battery Manufacturers
In line with FAME II, the Indian government is gearing up to offer incentives to local battery makers, with the aim of facilitating the establishment of more manufacturing units in the country.
As per reports, Renewable Energy Minister R. K. Singh recently held talks with battery manufacturers, inviting them to set up manufacturing facilities in India. According to sources close to the development, the government is also looking to forge alliances with other countries for an adequate supply of raw materials needed for lithium-ion batteries.
"(Singh) exhorted the industry to set up battery manufacturing units in India as future demand was going to be very high with the government promoting e-vehicles in a big way," the ministry stated.
Will Wait Until EV Infrastructure Is In Place In India: Mercedes-Benz
An adequate charging infrastructure is essential before German automotive giant Mercedes-Benz decides to enter the Indian EV space. As per reports, the company is currently evaluating the needs of Indian customers and is reportedly looking at multiple options, including different drivetrains or different body styles.
Commenting on the development, Daimler AG Member of Board of Management Britta Seeger said, "We are aware that India is strongly pushing into e-mobility by 2030. This is now something we have to take into consideration in order to see what could be the right product that fits the Indian market."
Mercedes-Benz is part of the Daimler Group. "We need to observe to what extent the infrastructure is getting ready especially for E-mobility. And we see in other markets, that's a key prerequisite in order to enter e-mobility," Seeger added.
Kia Motors Might Participate In Indian Govt's EV Tender
South Korea-based Kia Motors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Corp, is planning to participate in the Indian government's tender for electric vehicles, once its manufacturing unit becomes operational in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
As part of its foray into the Indian market with a compact utility vehicle, called SP Concept, the company is aiming to launch an electric powertrain in India by 2021.
Commenting on the development, a company spokesperson said, "Kia Motors has the intent of introducing EVs in India and participate in the bids to supply these vehicles to the Union government as soon as the plant starts production. It will also depend on the kind of direction the government gives regarding specifications of the vehicles and the infrastructure available. Kia has technologies required for electrified vehicles like hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles."
Developments From Around The World
Waymo Teams Up With Jaguar Land Rover
Google parent Alphabet-owned autonomous car company Waymo has joined hands with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to develop a luxury, self-driving electric car. The vehicle will be utilised for a ride-hailing service operated by Waymo, reports have claimed.
According to sources close to the development, the duo will be working on a "premium self-driving electric vehicle" based on a new I-PACE model. Equipped with Waymo's autonomous technology, the car will undergo testing, starting from late 2018.
If things go according to plan, around 20,000 I-PACE units will be manufactured within the first two years. Confirming the development, the Waymo team said, "This is just the beginning. The ultimate goal: with Waymo as the driver, products tailored for every purpose and every trip."
Electric Vehicles To Get Cheaper Than Fossil Fuel Counterparts By 2025: Report
Electric vehicles might become cheaper than fossil fuel-based cars by 2025, provided the cost of lithium-ion batteries continues to fall, predicts a new report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
As per the report, some electric models may cost the same as combustion engine counterparts by 2024, and will likely become cheaper the following year. According to the study, for that to happen, battery pack prices will have to fall.
Over the next few years, the expected increase in the mass production of lithium-ion batteries could bring down the prices to around $70 a kilowatt hour by 2030, the report claims. Elaborating further, Colin McKerracher, Transport Analyst at BNEF said, "Electric vehicle sales will continue to ramp up in the coming years but battery prices still need to decline further for real mass market adoption. If battery material costs keep rising sharply this could push back the crossover point."
BMW To Wait Until 2020 Before Mass Producing Electric Vehicles
German automotive giant BMW has announced that it will refrain from mass producing electric cars until 2020. The reason behind the move, as per the company's CEO Harald Krueger, is that the technology is not profitable enough to scale up the production volume.
"We wanted to wait for the fifth generation to be much more cost competitive. We do not want to scale up with the fourth generation. If you want to win the race, you must be the most cost competitive in the segment, otherwise you cannot scale up the volume," Harald explained.
The electric vehicles (EV) market is expected to record double-digit growth rates with rise in sales volume annually in India till 2020, according to ASSOCHAM-EY joint study.
The study titled 'Electric mobility in India: Leveraging collaboration and nascency', further said that despite electric vehicles not being mainstream, stricter emission norms, reducing battery prices and increasing consumer awareness are driving EV adoption in India.
As per the study, at present, electric vehicle industry is at a nascent stage comprising 1% of the total vehicle sales and is dominated by two-wheelers (95%). The study also suggests that EVs will be a stepping stone in designing an intelligent transport infrastructure in India.
In the light of the government's decision to extend financial support on electric vehicles under FAME II, the industry could receive a major boost and could, in turn, facilitate India's transition into an all-electric car nation.
Stay tuned for the next edition of our weekly series of Electric Vehicles Roundup!
BMW EESL Electric Cars Electric Vehicles Electric Vehicles This Week EV JLR Mahindra Mercedes Benz NITI Aayog Roundup Tender
Intrigued by the allure of entrepreneurship, Sukanya started two...
online digests back when she was still in college. Along with her partner, she spent the last three years developing content, handling hosting emergencies and monetisation, and dealing with what now seems to be legions of advertisers, guest contributors and developers. Along the way, she also earned a master's degree in English. Her love for writing, and interest in startups, have brought her to Inc42. She is also a baking and trekking fanatic.
Electric Vehicles: Govt Plans To Invest $1.3 Bn To Roll Out FAME II
By Dipen P.
Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra To Launch Electric Powertrains
Govt. To Grant Incentives To Cities For Faster Adoption Of Electric Vehicles Under FAME India Scheme
Electric Vehicles This Week: FAME-II Scheme May Get $1.3 Bn And More
Electric Vehicles This Week: Centre Set Up Nodal Agencies For EV Infra, Give Cash Subsidies To Ola And Uber, And More
Electric Vehicles This Week: Honda To Set up EV Battery Plant In India And More
28 Dec'17 12 min read
Electric Vehicles This Week: FAME India Scheme Extends Till September, Ola Announces Mission: Electric And More
19 Apr'18 8 min read
How The Government And Corporates Are Steering India Towards Being An EV Nation
https://inc42.com/buzz/cdpq-invests-20-mn-in-first-growth-fund-of-fundamentum-partnership/
https://inc42.com/features/indian-government-gears-up-to-make-ai-work-for-india/


Binance Launchpad, the ICO token launch platform used to conduct the record BitTorrent ICO has completed yet another Initial Coin Offering. According to a blog post published on its website on March 19, Binance announced that it has completed a $4 million token sale of Celer Network (CELR) tokens via its ICO launch platform.
Per the announcement the ICO began on March 19, 2019, at 2:00 PM (UTC) and lasted for 17 minutes and 35 seconds as all 597,014,925 CELR tokens were sold in a single session.
During the token sale, only Binance Coin (BNB) was accepted as earlier announced; each CELR token was sold at 0.000434 BNB (approx. $0.0067 USD) at the time. Also, participants could invest a minimum of $20 (or about 2985 CELR tokens) and as much as 223,880.597 CELR tokens, the equivalent of $1,500.
Celer describes itself as the most advanced layer-2 scaling platform. One that enables fast, easy and secure off-chain transactions for not only payment transactions, but also generalized off-chain smart contract. Through innovations in off-chain scaling techniques, the Celer network enables developers to quickly build, operate, and use highly scalable decentralized applications.
The Celer team has launched CelerX, a testnet app that showcases the quick transaction process on the Celer Network and has a blockchain agnostic that currently supports Ethereum, DFINITY and all EVM-based blockchains.
Binance Launchpad was introduced by the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange as a platform that allows blockchain and cryptocurrency projects to easily conduct token sales thereby raising funds without having to develop their separate infrastructure for it.
As Smartereum reported in January, the platform was used to raise a historic ICO for TRON-owned BitTorrent Token (BTT) followed by an ICO for a less known Fetch.AI (FET) token. The sale ended almost as soon as it started grossing around $7.2 million investment from participants. That token sale had two sessions which ran simultaneously; one for BNB users and another for Tron's TRX users.
Although the TRON token sale which involved a total of 60 billion BTT tokens sold out within 15 minutes, Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said the demand for the BTT token was out of this world and that the sale would have ended in a matter of seconds if not for a technical issue encountered on the Binance Launchpad.
Although Binance and the Celer team have not gone public with any technical glitches during the token sale, some individuals have complained on social media that they were unable to participate although they came early enough.
"Love you Binance but it was a horrible user experience…You logged out people then those who sent in less than 40 [seconds] did not get in," a user wrote on Twitter. Many others complained that they were placed on a queue and eventually couldn't participate suggesting that the ICO ended long before the 17 minutes Binance quoted.
The token sale was unavailable to users in several countries including the US, New Zealand and Venezuela due to ICO jurisdiction.
In a related Binance news, the crypto exchange is reportedly expanding its "Binance Lite" service to allow Australian residents to purchase Bitcoin (BTC). The new service will allow Australians to buy bitcoin with fiat money from more than 1,300 supported newsagents within the country.
At the time of writing, Binance Coin (BNB) is trading at $15.25 to the US dollar. Despite the news, BNB is down about 4% since yesterday and has been flipped by Stellar in the cryptocurrency rankings. With a total market cap of $2,152,668,114, BNB is currently ranked as 8th most valuable coin by market cap. The 24-hour trading volume of the BNB increased by over 60% in since the last 2 days thanks to the CELR token sale.


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Staff flu vaccine uptake down on last year, despite winter fears
Early uptake of the flu vaccine by frontline NHS staff slumped this year, with only two in five having received it by the end of October, official figures show.
Last year, uptake at that point was 51.6 per cent, according to figures submitted to Public Health England and uptake reached 76.9 per cent by the end of February this year, slightly ahead of 2019-20 when it was 74.3 per cent.
But provisional figures from the UK Health Security Agency – which is now responsible for collating the figures – show uptake to the end of October was just 39.5 per cent.
That is despite high-level concerns about winter pressures this year and a possible resurgence of non-covid infectious illnesses.
An NHS England and Improvement spokesman told HSJ: "This data set in question is incomplete, with only 80 per cent of trusts having contributed to this return. We continue to promote flu vaccination uptake across healthcare workers and have made additional flu supplies available to organisations where they need it."
However, the figures given are a percentage of staff involved in direct patient care whose vaccination data has been provided, not of staff offering direct patient care at all trusts. Although fewer organisations have returned data this year than last (when 95 per cent gave submissions), the lower response rate is very unlikely to fully explain the drop.
The government's target for this year is at least 85 per cent of such staff being vaccinated against flu. This high target reflects concern about the impact of covid and flu circulating simultaneously in the community. As well as being dangerous to individuals who are infected with both, this could have severe consequences for NHS staffing.
This year's slow start is likely to mean more NHS staff go into the main flu season at risk of catching it. There was relatively little flu around in the winter of 2020-21 because of severely limited international travel and social mixing, but this winter could see a resurgence.
NHS vaccination teams are at the same time delivering the covid booster programme, with many NHS staff having become eligible for a booster in October, six months after their second dose.
Figures from the UKHSA show that 40.4 per cent of healthcare workers involved in direct patient care had their covid booster between 1 September and 31 October this year.
Flu vaccination levels to the end of October varied significantly across England. The UKHSA figures show that London was the poorest performing region at just 31.5 per cent of staff involved in direct patient care vaccinated, while East of England, the highest, was on 47.5 per cent.
At the same point last year London was at 49 per cent and all regions were within a few percentage points.
A spokesperson for NHS England's London team said: "Current published data does not accurately reflect the full extent of staff flu vaccination uptake in the capital, and we have seen that over 8,000 more trust staff have come forward for their flu vaccine compared to this time last year, as eligibility has widened."
Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust had the lowest rate in the country at just 7.1 per cent but said the data was incorrect and would be updated. A spokeswoman said the current figures were 62 per cent for frontline staff.
Dorset Healthcare University FT had vaccinated just 9.9 per cent of patient-facing staff against flu by the end of October, according to UKHSA figures which are based on submissions from trusts. This made it the second lowest. However, the trust said it did not recognise the figures.
Director of nursing, therapies and quality Dawn Dawson said: "We know that there is a lower uptake for flu jabs more generally across NHS providers this year and our own overall uptake to date for patient facing staff is around 42 per cent. This is a slower uptake rate than last year and we are currently analysing the reasons for this."
Government seeks patient safety commissioner to 'set example of integrity and ethical leadership'
Former ambassador appointed chair of merging trust
Exclusive: Absences hit 120,000 as military sends 200 staff to help hospitals


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Policy Update Nov 16, 2021
NPCA support for Martha Williams to be Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
NPCA sent the following letter to Members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Martha Williams to be Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior.
The National Parks Conservation Association supports the nomination of Martha Williams as the next Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Our national parks are symbols of conservation, historic preservation and our shared heritage. In the last four years, as we witnessed weakened protection for cultural resources, wildlife, waterways and the list goes on, the highest level of protection was not afforded to these incredible places. We can and must do better. The Biden-Harris Administration must address climate change head-on, ensure the federal government and our public lands are welcoming to diverse communities, and reverse damaging policies that put at risk the water, air, wildlife and other resources that make our parks world renowned.
America's national parks are home to over 600 threatened and endangered species protected and recovering under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). It is critical that the next USFWS Director is an experienced leader who brings a deep understanding of the ESA and values a collaborative approach to the recovery of America's most at-risk species. We believe Williams meets these standards. Williams has served as an attorney for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Deputy Solicitor for Parks and Wildlife at the Department of the Interior, and a law professor at University of Montana. She most recently served as the Director of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, where she built a reputation as a solutions-oriented consensus builder, with an understanding of the intersection of working lands, tribal lands, and wildlands as they relate to fish and wildlife management and decision-making. Williams clearly understands the importance of and legal framework behind the recovery of threated and endangered species as well as the real-world need for a collaborative approach. In her current role as Principal Deputy Director for USFWS, Williams has continued to take a balanced approach to wildlife management decisions, including the recent update of ESA habitat regulations to reflect the important role they play in species recovery at the landscape-scale.
The full story of America cannot be contained in a textbook or housed within a museum. The over 400 national parks, preserves, historic sites, seashores and more that comprise the National Park System begin to tell the story of the United States and its people. It is America's legacy to future generations and to the world. But this story is still incomplete, and its chapters often face revision at the hands of environmental, ideological and human threats. The health and well-being of our national parks are directly tied to USFWS law, policy, and refuges, making the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service vital to the parks' success.
We look forward to working with Martha Williams to ensure the best future for our national parks, and for the wildlife that call them home.
Christina Hazard
Legislative Director, Government Affairs
evelope icon chazard@npca.org phone icon 202-419-3719


The Sportstech SX400 is the fourth out of five spin bikes in the Sportstech range. After only recently hitting the UK market the Sportstech brand are quickly gaining a reputation for high-quality home exercise machines. With some very good features and specifications the SX400 seems to be a very good model and has some good customer feedback on Amazon. In our Sportstech SX400 review we will be taking a look at the main features to see if this spinning bike is worth the price tag.
With the app compatible console and tablet holder in connection with the fitness application you are able to train on your favourite route with the Google Maps StreetView function and track your training history.
Beside the leg musculature you train nearly all main muscle groups. This allows a more effective and balanced, joint-protected training. Beside the fat burning you are also training your endurance and condition.
There is no denying that the Sportstech SX400 Professional Indoor Cycle looks the part, in fact it makes the majority of other models available look outdated. In terms of features and specifications it matches up and even betters other spin bikes of a similar price. Positives include a heavy 22 Kg flywheel, a good number of training programs and monitor functions and an overall solid and sturdy design. If you are looking for one of the best spinning bikes for home use this is definitely a contender.
Any exercise bike with a 22 Kg flywheel will certainly give the user a hard workout that will put them through their paces. Due to the step free resistance level adjustment the smoothness of transition between resistance settings and the overall quietness makes for an enjoyable yet tiresome workout. Another positive is the belt drive system that allows for optimal power transmission. All in all the flywheel and resistance system are top-notch and can't be faulted.
The LCD display and all of its functions are one of the best-selling points of the SX400. In total there are five monitor functions for keeping track of workout data these are speed, time, pulse, calories and RPM. In addition to the monitor functions there is also a wide variety of training programs. Another good feature is the heart rate based training which is pulse belt compatible. Then there is the Google Maps function which allows you to train anywhere in the world through the use of a tablet. Finally the iBiking+ app is a nice touch which overall makes the SX400 a spin bike with a lot to offer.
Anyone who has used a spinning bike before will know that the seat and handlebars are an important feature. The more comfortable the seat and handlebars are then the longer the user will tend to exercise. Luckily this model comes with a seat that can be adjusted both horizontally and vertically. this allows the user to find the most comfortable riding position. Furthermore the seat with this model is also padded for extra comfort. In addition the handlebars are also adjustable and feature padded armrests for extended training in the aero position.
The pedals are anti-slip and come with adjustable pedal baskets for a firm and secure fit. For those that like to wear cycling shoes you may want to check out the Sportstech SX500 as it comes with an SPD click system for those that prefer to wear cycling shoes.
If you want to know if you are going to get a solid, sturdy and well-built spin bike then take a look at the maximum user weight. This is a very good indicator of how well-built a spinning bike is. With a maximum user weight of 150 Kg the Sportstech SX400 is well above the average amount. That been said any potential buyer can be certain that this is a solid and very sturdy model.
Excellent bike use it all the time and have no issues..would highly recommend.
At the time of writing there isn't a bad customer review to be found.
After reviewing a good amount of the Sportstech brands spin bikes its safe to say that they have set their standards high. Almost every model has better specifications than other spin bikes of a similar price. With all the features needed in a good spin bike this model comes highly recommended and with previous buyers giving it some excellent customer feedback at the very least it is worth taking a look at if you are considering buying a spin bike.