Pecans are known to be the healthiest of all tree nuts, packing more antioxidants than any other. What isn’t so certain is how the heck do you correctly pronounce it? Is it “pee-can” or “pu-cahn”?“I run into both” ways of saying it, said Lenny Wells, pecan specialist with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, who is writing a book on the history of North America’s only commercially grown native nut.In this episode of “In the Field,” Wells and Brad Haire, news director with UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, try to figure it out … kinda, sorta.Watch What is the right way to say ‘pecan’?.
The mission of the Georgia National Guard Agribusiness Development Teams has always been to help Afghans build a more secure society by improving food security. However over the teams’ past two deployments the methods for completing that mission have changed. While the first two Georgia Agribusiness Development Teams focused on working directly with Afghan farmers, ADT III —which will deploy in January — will focus more on training extension specialists with the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock. “Right now, we’re hearing that a lot of things have changed,” said Sgt. First Class Allen Cooper, from Resaca, Ga., who deployed with ADT I in 2011. “We’re actually not going to be so much hands on this time. We’re going to be mentoring and turning everything over to the Afghans. So I’m hoping to see that they’re taking charge and holding their own classes.” Cooper’s team, which was training in Tifton last week, is the third group of Georgia National Guardsmen who has trained with University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences faculty for an Agribusiness Development Team mission. “Small changes that you can make have a profound impact in what they do in that part of the world,” Dean J. Scott Angle of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences told the ADT training class last week. “It doesn’t take a lot of resources, it just takes a little bit of good information, and you are armed with that.” ADT III is made up of 48 citizen soldiers from across the state, but they are deploying as part of the Augusta-based 201st Regional Support Group.ADT II, which trained last fall, is currently deployed to Afghanistan. ADT I returned home from their tour in Afghanistan this spring. “There will have been four years of ADT teams (two from Nevada and two from Georgia) there by the time we show up, and I’m hoping to see that a lot of progress has been made,” Cooper said. During the weeklong agricultural crash course, university faculty hit the high points of small-scale wheat, poultry, fruit, dairy and ruminant livestock production, but they also focused a lot on market building — an area where Afghan farmers need the most help. The first Georgia ADT team that deployed to Afghanistan found that farmers there knew how to make their arid land produce. Afghanis were raising livestock, like goats and cows, but also wheat fields and some of the sweetest grapes and watermelons some of the guardsmen had ever tasted. That being said, their farming practices could be more productive, said Col. Barry Beach, commander of ADT III. “It’s more of the marketing part, building the (marketing associations among farmers) and expanding on the subsistence farming they are doing now,” Beach said. “If they can market their crops, they can make more money, and if they can do that, they can take care of their families.” Making sure Afghan’s have what they need to better care for their families is a humanitarian mission, but it’s also a key part to the United State’s counter insurgency effort in the country, Beach said.
The Atlantic region of Nicaragua is a strategic area for organized crime groups, which transport drug shipments through the area. The shipments eventually are transported to Mexico, the United States, Canada, Africa, or Europe. In Nicaragua there are strategic and logistic areas for international drug trafficking networks, and each country in the region has them, Nicaragua does not have to be the exception. The region seems complicated because these areas are constantly in dispute and in most cases we see criminal groups operating through semi organized groups with young members, said World Bank security analyst Enrique Betancourt,. “What we see in Nicaragua is a struggle between groups with greater international power and local groups,” Betancourt said. “This creates alliances or interventions and the possibility that these (smaller) gangs become a transnational threat.” Honduran drug trafficking operatives are entering Nicaragua through the border the two countries share, which is about 600 kilometers long. The number of drug trafficking operatives who have left Honduras to cross into Nicaragua has increased in recent months, Rodriguez said. Many of these operatives are entering Nicaragua to avoid operations by the Honduran Armed Forces, according to Rodriguez. Operations by the Ecological Battalion and North Military Detachment in the Sixth Military Region Command have forced organized crime groups to move their operations into Nicaragua, authorities said. Among the organized crime operatives who have left Honduras to enter Nicaragua are enforcers who were wounded during clashes with the Honduran Armed Forces, authorities said. They fled to Nicaragua to avoid being captured. The region that these drug trafficking operatives are moving into features large areas of uninhabited jungle terrain. Much of the drug trafficking in Nicaragua is concentrated along the Caribbean coast. A growing threat Honduran drug trafficking groups are responsible for the surge in violence in the Atlantic region of Nicaragua. Drug gangs are seizing drug shipments, a sign that these gangs are becoming a transnational threat. Organized crime groups are crossing from Honduras into Nicaragua to avoid Honduran military operations, authorities said. Nicaraguan gang enforcers who operate in the Atlantic region – which is known as the “Mosquito Coast” — have formed alliances with Honduran drug traffickers, Brig. Gen. Bayardo Rodriguez, the chief of military operations for the Nicaraguan Army, told La Prensa. These enforcers – who are known as “tumbadores” – are stealing drug shipments on behalf of Honduran organized crime groups. “There are tumbadores, and these tumbadores have connections with drug trafficking structures in Honduras. When they come to Nicaragua, these criminal groups forge ties with logistics structures in the Caribbean since they aim to eliminate these people who steal drugs,” Rodríguez said. “We have major problems with armed groups of drug traffickers in the border region.” The gangs of tumbadores are stealing drug shipments on behalf of Honduran gangs, including Los Cachiros, Los Valles, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18, authorities said. These organized crime groups have traditionally operated on a local and regional level, selling drugs and committing extortion and engaging in other criminal enterprises in areas they control. Many of these tumbadores have worked as drug mules for organized crime groups, according to the United Nations. The gangs of tumbadores use high-powered rifles to ambush operatives who are transporting drugs for large transnational criminal organizations. These transnational criminal organizations include the Sinaloa Cartel, Los Zetas, Los Urabenos and Los Rastrojos, authorities said. A strategic region Nicaragua, the largest country in Central America, has nearly 500 kilometers of coastline and several islands. Organized crime groups use the coastline and islands as drug trafficking routes and transshipment points. Transnational criminal organizations use the Atlantic region of the country to temporarily store drugs and to refuel SUVs and trucks which they use to transport cocaine. From the perspective of international organized crime, the area does not represent an attractive market per se, its value is purely logistical, however the connection with local groups is characterized by very flexible models of affiliation and loyalty over time, Betancourt said. In particular, the Sinaloa Cartel, Los Zetas and the Colombian organized crime group Norte del Valle operate in the coastal region. Nicaragua registered 11 killings per 100,000 residents in 2013. The rate of killing is about 33 per 100,000 residents in the Atlantic coast region. The Nicaraguan Army has increased patrols in the Mosquito Coast region, and police forces are paying close attention to the area, to try to prevent violence, authorities said. In 2013, the Armed Forces of Nicaragua launched a counter-narcotics operation, “RetainingWall,” to “contain, capture, and divert as many drugs as possible at the borders and at sea, in the Caribbean and the Pacific.” Cooperation between the security forces of Nicaragua and Honduras is important in the battle against organized crime, Betancourt said. In October 2013, the governments of Nicaragua and Honduras agreed to cooperate in the fight against organized crime on the border shared by the two countries. Officials with the two countries signed an agreement to ratify the cooperation. Nicaraguan security forces must sophisticate their approach and intelligence to identify the dynamics and alliances between global organizations and local, security analyst concluded, the security analyst said.
Coastal drug trafficking routes Vigilance by Nicaraguan security forces The fact that Honduran organized crime groups are using enforcers to ambush drug shipments in Nicaragua’s Atlantic region indicates that the Honduran groups are becoming more sophisticated and more dangerous, Betancourt said. Transnational criminal organizations, like the Sinaloa Cartel, are increasing their activities in the Atlantic region, transporting and storing larger amounts of drugs, according to the study “Security in Nicaragua: Central America’s Exception,” which was published recently by the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, D.C. Drug trafficking groups operate in the so-called Mosquito Coast in a variety of ways, authorities said. Groups like the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas have built illegal airstrips, which they use for clandestine narco-flights. These and other drug trafficking groups also use SUVs and trucks to transport cocaine through the region. By Dialogo March 04, 2014
Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York Federal authorities are asking for the public’s help in finding a murder suspect who is believed to have fled North Carolina, where he is facing charges, and may have Long Island ties.Luis Alberto Ordonez-Vega was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 22-year-old Noel Navarro Hernandez, who was found dead in southwest Charlotte, North Carolina on June 6. Ordonez-Vega was then charged federally last month with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.“It’s possible that Ordonez-Vega has fled the Charlotte area to avoid arrest,” an FBI spokesman said in a statement. “He may have ties to Long Island.”The 35-year-old construction worker, who was born in Guatemala, is described as 5-feet, 11-inches-to-6-feet tall, 220-to-260 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has a scar on his nose, a scar on both of his cheeks, tattoos on both of his arms and a tattoo on his left handHe has been living in North Carolina. Aside from Long Island, he also has ties to Florida and Utah. He should be considered armed and dangerous, authorities warned.FBI agents ask anyone with information on this case to call them at 704-672-6100.
Jamie Vardy scored one penalty and missed another as Leicester went top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Wolves at the King Power Stadium.Vardy converted from the spot following a contentious call that Max Kilman had handled Dennis Praet’s cross, which referee Anthony Taylor only awarded after checking the VAR review monitor.- Advertisement – How Leicester kept up fine form to go topEyebrows may have been raised when Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo claimed Wolves were not in ‘great form’ despite a run of 10 points from four games – but his side did not look like a team with the wind in their sails at the King Power Stadium.They remained resolute defensively up until Kilman was harshly ruled to have handled Praet’s cross when Taylor checked the VAR monitor, allowing Vardy to smash the ball beyond Patricio from 12 yards. But the visitors did struggle to hold onto possession and saw barely five per cent of the ball in the Leicester third before the break. Player ratingsLeicester: Schmeichel (7), Fofana (8), Evans (7), Fuchs (7), Justin (7), Mendy (6), Tielemans (7), Thomas (5), Praet (7), Maddison (7), Vardy (7).- Advertisement – Subs: Albrighton (6), Barnes (6), Morgan (n/a).Wolves: Patricio (7), Kilman (6), Coady (6), Boly (6), Semedo (6), Dendoncker (5), Neves (6), Ait-Nouri (5), Podence (6), Jimenez (6), Neto (6).Subs: Traore (6), Marcal (6), Silva (6).- Advertisement – Man of the match: Wesley Fofana. 3:35 
A more clear-cut decision gave Vardy the chance to double Leicester’s lead before half-time against an out-of-sorts Wolves when Rayan Ait-Nouri wiped out James Justin, but Rui Patricio guessed right to keep out his poor spot kick and keep the visitors in contention before half-time.Their second-half performance showed more attacking threat with Pedro Neto and Ruben Neves testing Kasper Schmeichel, but the Foxes, who could have secured victory late on through Harvey Barnes, saw out the game to go top of the Premier League, at least until Liverpool took on Manchester City on Super Sunday. Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers says he’s very proud of his team after their 1-0 win over Wolves saw the Foxes reach the top of the Premier League table. The visitors’ habit of second-half revivals was again realised following a Santo team talk, but not before Youri Tielemans had nodded a presentable chance wide within a minute of the restart, and Vardy had seen a dipping effort from wide palmed over.Leicester then needed a superb sliding block from Wesley Fofana to deny Daniel Podence a chance to tap home an equaliser when Nelson Semedo found space on the wing, before Neto powered an effort straight at Kasper Schmeichel, who did well to hold onto it.Wolves still struggled to create clear chances until Leander Dendoncker volleyed just wide from Marcal’s raking pass, before Neves – searching for his first league goal in more than a year – was kept out by a superb Schmeichel stop.Still Leicester carried a threat and nearly sealed three points when substitute Harvey Barnes’ goalbound effort was deflected over by Kilman’s vital block, and despite some late pressure from Wolves, the hosts’ hopes of going top were never seriously threatened.What the managers said… Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers: “I think it’s the best win of the three this week. With so many players out and such a tough schedule, it was an incredible performance. We had to show a different side to the team today. I thought first half we were very good in our football, some of the quality of combinations, how we got through Wolves and into dangerous areas was very good, and we should have been maybe more than 1-0 up.On going top: “It’s been an incredible start, I’m so happy for the players. It’s important in any season your first steps are positives, and with all players available it would’ve been really good, but for the players we’ve had out for the guys to show that quality and resilience, it’s what you want as a manager.” Wolves’ boss Nuno Espirito Santo wants VAR to be more consistent with decisions after Max Kilman’s handball gave Leicester a penalty that turned out to be the winner. Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo: “Leicester started better than us, that led to the situation of the penalties. As the game went by we improved, the second half we were much, much better. We caused situations, produced situations requiring better finishing.“I haven’t seen the images of the penalty. It’s very hard to judge the work of the referees, VAR saw it, Anthony saw it on the screen, but inside it’s difficult to coach a player and tell him he must put his arms away that will create unbalance. It’s very hard, what we want from situations is good and fair decisions.“Week in, week out we see different things. Until they get it right, we’ll be talking about it over and over again, something we don’t want. We have enough problems in football to be suspicious about anything, I don’t want to think about that.”Man of the match – Wesley FofanaBrendan Rodgers made clear he needed defensive reinforcements in the summer and in the shape of Wesley Fofana, it looks like he’s got them.It’s still early days for the 19-year-old, but he looks mature beyond his years at the heart of Leicester’s back three, and with three tackles, two interceptions – a Leicester high – and as many passes in the opposition half as wing-back James Justin across the 90 minutes, showed exactly what Rodgers wants.“Today again he showed he’s strong, aggressive, and has that class on the ball,” he told his post-match press conference. “He made one recovery challenge which was unbelievable. He’s a big talent, we’re delighted with him, he’s loved his start here. He’s been very good.”Opta factsLeicester have won 18 points in their opening eight Premier League games (W6 L2), their best ever start to a top-flight season and best start to a season since winning 19 points in their first eight games in 2008/09 in League One.Wolves have won none of their four away Premier League matches against Leicester (D2 L2), failing to score in every match.Leicester have won their last six matches in all competitions, scoring 15 goals and conceding just twice.Leicester’s Jamie Vardy has scored 23 of the 28 penalties he has taken in the Premier League (82%) and has scored more penalties than any other player since the start of the 2014/15 season.Leicester City have scored seven penalties in the Premier League this season, four more than any other side. The Foxes have been awarded eight so far in 2020/21, the earliest in a campaign a team has ever been awarded as many as eight penalties; the previous earliest was Man Utd last season (16th game).What’s next?Leicester travel to Liverpool after the international break on November 21; Kick-off at 3pm. If they win at Anfield, they will be guaranteed to end the weekend top of the Premier League.Wolves’ next game, at the same time, is at home to Southampton. 2:32 Even so, for all the Foxes’ territory, their only two shots on target before half-time both came from the spot, with Ait-Nouri’s ill-judged lunge on Justin after a poor touch from the Wolves defender giving Vardy the chance to step up from 12 yards again. This time, he went the other way, with Patricio guessing right to keep out a poor spot kick.Wolves were stung into life by that reprieve for the final six minutes of the first period, albeit without testing Kasper Schmeichel, and left Leicester – who looked likely to enjoy a two-goal cushion only minutes earlier – relieved to hear the half-time whistle. 
– Advertisement – Team newsLeicester welcomed back Jonny Evans from injury, with James Maddison also returning.Wolves were unchanged after picking up 10 points from their previous four games. 
Image:Rui Patricio saved Vardy’s second penalty
Categories: Letters to the Editor, Opinion This is in regard to the Oct. 5 article about the Hamburg Street sewer line.I quote, “A sanitary sewer line is also being installed and will be paid for by the town of Rotterdam.” It will not be paid for by the town of Rotterdam. The residents of Hamburg Street alone are paying for the sewer line, which comes to $1,200 to $1,400 per year for 30 years. This is a sewer line the residents don’t want and didn’t vote on. The members of the town board voted. We had no say in the matter.This was forced on us by the town board members who don’t live on Hamburg Street. Every petition we sent in was the wrong one — even the ones the town said we had to use.I hope this opinion gets published, but I doubt is since The Daily Gazette seems to be biased in favor of our illustrious town board.Sandra RudeshiemRotterdamMore from The Daily Gazette:EDITORIAL: Find a way to get family members into nursing homesEDITORIAL: Thruway tax unfair to working motoristsEDITORIAL: Urgent: Today is the last day to complete the censusEDITORIAL: Beware of voter intimidationFoss: Should main downtown branch of the Schenectady County Public Library reopen?
The minister said on Monday the central bank might also finance support programs for businesses and individuals, by buying bonds with a coupon rate of 1 percent below BI’s benchmark interest rate, which currently stands at 4.25 percent.According to the ministry’s official material presented to the lawmakers, the interest rate burden from government bonds caused by the pandemic will be Rp 66.5 trillion per year, with a yield assumption of 7.36 percent for the 10-year government bonds at the time. BI might bear Rp 35.9 trillion of the total burden, according to the finance minister.BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said the central bank and the government were in the final stages of the burden-sharing scheme, adding that it would maintain good-governance principles.“BI is ready to share the burden not only in the financing efforts but also those related to the debts,” Perry told lawmakers during the same hearing, adding that the scheme would ease the government’s burden from paying higher interest rates as a result of the widening deficit.The central bank has bought Rp 30.33 trillion of government bonds directly in auctions as a non-competitive bidder to help finance the budget deficit. It has also bought Rp 166.2 trillion of bonds in the secondary market to help stabilize the country’s currency.Previously, several lawmakers had called on BI to do more to share the government’s burden, urging the central bank to buy bonds with zero-coupon rates.“The burden-sharing scheme will help maintain debt stability and market confidence,” Permata Bank economist Josua Pardede said on Monday, adding that it would also lower the government’s burden amid the widening deficit and rising debt-to-GDP ratio.“This will also prevent interest payments from becoming too high, which will be a subject of evaluation by credit-rating agencies,” Josua said, warning that the agencies might downgrade the country’s rating if interest payments were higher than tax revenue.The government, he went on to say, should speed up government spending in a bid to bolster the economy, warning that slow fund disbursement might also hinder the economic recovery.Meanwhile, Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia research director Piter Abdullah described the agreement as “too extreme” given the significant difference between the market rate of around 7 percent and the zero percent rate.“Although there are no notable risks, they should also have an agreement that if the central bank’s capital declines, the government should step in and inject liquidity.”Topics : Earlier this month, she stressed that zero-coupon bonds were not among instruments being discussed by the government and the central bank to be used to step up the country’s response to the pandemic, despite urging by lawmakers.The government has been struggling to finance the widening budget deficit, which is expected to reach 6.34 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), much higher than the previous legal limit of 3 percent. An emergency law signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in April gave a legal basis for the government to widen the deficit beyond the 3 percent limit.The government has now allocated Rp 2.74 quadrillion in state spending while state revenue is expected to amount to only Rp 1.7 quadrillion, according to the latest 2020 state budget revision as stated in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No. 72/2020 signed last week.The government has allocated Rp 695.2 trillion worth of COVID-19 related expenditure to fund health care and boost the economic recovery. Sri Mulyani said on Monday the pandemic would force the government to spend around Rp 903.46 trillion, comprising Rp 505 trillion for public-welfare programs and Rp 397 trillion in support for the private sector, from the state budget. The government has opened the possibility of Bank Indonesia (BI) buying government bonds with a zero-coupon rate as part of a “burden-sharing” scheme to finance the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior minister said on Monday.Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the central bank might bear 100 percent of the coupon rate burden for bonds issued to finance programs that were considered in the public interest, including for health care, social protection and financial support for regional governments. She expected the programs to amount to Rp 397 trillion (US$28 billion).“We are currently finalizing with the central bank how many government bonds we will sell to the market and how many we’ll sell through private placement to BI,” Sri Mulyani told lawmakers during a hearing on Monday.
Governor Wolf Announces Extension of Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program Application Deadline June 07, 2017 Press Release, PSA, Seniors Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf today announced the Property Tax/Rent Rebate program deadline for older adults and residents with disabilities to apply for rebates of rent and property taxes paid in 2016 has been extended from June 30 to Dec. 31, 2017.“We want to ensure that every eligible senior and resident in Pennsylvania can take advantage of this important money-saving program is able to,” Governor Wolf said. “This important program helps seniors and residents with disabilities feel more secure in the place where they live. I urge families to talk to their loved ones about whether they qualify, and if so, assist them in filling out the free application.”“The department has extended the program deadline again this year to ensure that everyone who is eligible has time to apply for rebates,” said Acting Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell. “Last year nearly 600,000 seniors and people with disabilities benefitted from the program. We encourage all of those eligible to apply.”Each year the department evaluates the program as the statutory June 30 application deadline approaches to determine if funds are available to extend the deadline. To date, funding has been available to allow all who qualify to advance to this program.As of May 26, the Revenue Department had received 465,064 rebate applications. As specified by law, rebate distribution cannot begin until July 1. Because July 1 falls on a Saturday this year, payment for processed applications of direct deposit recipients will occur on July 3. Applicants requesting a paper check can expect to receive their payment by mail over the next several days. After June 30, rebates will be distributed as claims are received and processed. Applications take 4-6 weeks to process.Applicants may obtain Property Tax/Rent Rebate claim forms (PA-1000) and related information online at www.revenue.pa.gov or by calling, toll-free, 1-888-222-9190.It costs nothing to apply for a rebate, and the department reminds residents that free application assistance is available at hundreds of locations across the state, including Department of Revenue district offices, local Area Agencies on Aging, senior centers and state legislators’ offices.Claimants who already applied for rebates may check the status of claims online at www.revenue.pa.gov or by calling, toll-free, 1-888-PATAXES.About the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program:The rebate program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians age 65 and older; widows and widowers age 50 and older; and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income limit is $35,000 a year for homeowners and $15,000 annually for renters, and half of Social Security income is excluded.The maximum standard rebate is $650, but supplemental rebates for certain qualifying homeowners can boost rebates to $975. The Revenue Department automatically calculates supplemental rebates for qualifying homeowners.Since the Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program’s 1971 inception, older and disabled adults have received more than $6.5 billion in property tax and rent relief. The program is funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery and revenue from slots gaming.
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Image Courtesy: MPA/Facebook “We hope the Maritime Perspectives series will be a useful platform to gather insights on these issues, exchange ideas and pave the way for collaborative solutions.” MPA’s Chairman, Niam Chiang Meng and the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Secretary-General, Kitack Lim, witnessed the signing on 28 July. Areas of cooperation As explained, the MoU to drive interoperability is timely as port authorities have developed or are developing maritime single windows to implement IMO’s Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic to facilitate the electronic exchange of information for port clearance. This collaboration will also support MPA’s digitalOCEANS initiative, where individual data platforms of port authorities, port operators, shipping lines, logistics companies and platform providers can exchange data and interoperate through a common set of APIs. “MPA and our partners have taken the first step with this MoU. We hope that more will join us in linking up ships, port authorities and platform providers into a seamless digitalOCEANS to facilitate port-to-ship connectivity and efficient trade transactions across the globe.” MPA and its partners will also hold a series of technical workshops to design, test and publish the API specifications. “The maritime sector is a global business. Different players in the maritime ecosystem are pursuing digitalisation at varying paces. To truly reap the benefits of effective information exchange, we need to move beyond digitising single nodes in the maritime supply chain,” Niam said. 
The six maritime players that signed the Mou agreed to cooperate in the following areas: “COVID-19 has exposed vulnerabilities in global supply chains on a scale never seen before. As the backbone of global trade, the maritime sector has to evolve to meet the challenges of a new normal economy. Digitalisation, decarbonisation and adaptation to new global trade order are issues that have to be addressed by the industry,” Niam pointed out. These partners are CargoSmart — a solution provider for the Global Shipping Business Network, GTD Solutions — representing TradeLens, GeTS and PSA International — jointly representing CALISTA, and the Port of Rotterdam Authority. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with five international partners to develop and adopt common data standards and application programming interface (API) specifications, which will facilitate data exchange for port and maritime services transactions. Generate awareness in the maritime industry about the importance of common data standards and common API specifications across international maritime jurisdictions and platforms; Sharing of information and best practices in the maritime industry pertaining to the harmonisation of data standards across international maritime jurisdictions and platforms; Development of common data standards and common API specifications to facilitate data exchange for business activities and transactions; Adoption of common data standards and API specifications to facilitate data exchange for business activities and transactions; Adoption of open data sharing by Parties with existing and/or future relevant platforms and databases for efficient flow of information across global maritime transport chains; Provision of resources, support, capabilities, expertise and setting up of jointentities, whenever applicable, to encourage research and development, test-bedding and adoption of solutions and technologies to facilitate wider adoption of the common API specifications in the maritime industry. The MoU was signed at the Maritime Perspectives Series Prologue: Digital Connectivity & Data Standards, the first webinar organised by MPA under the Maritime Perspectives series. The series, comprising four webinars to be conducted from 28 July to 8 October 2020, will bring together experts and industry leaders to share insights on digitalisation, decarbonisation and trade in the new normal post COVID-19. 
The St. Louis 7th grade boys basketball team lost to Jac Cen Del Thursday night by a final score of 26 to 10.Evan Vogelsang, Adam Cox, Johnathan Deal, & Jacob Deutsch all made it into the scoring column. Zach Harmeyer & Joey Gutzwiller had solid performances.The 8th Grade SLS Cardinals basketball team opened the season at Jac Cen Del Thursday, November 6 with a 38-13 victory.A total team effort both defensively and offensively was responsible for the one-sided win.Alex Geers led the Cardinals in scoring and the team received a spark from Gus Cooper coming off the bench. Kevin Salatin and Nathan Eckstein controlled the backboards. Robert Raver did not play due to injury.Courtesy of STL Coaches Mike Burkhart and Dale Amrhein.