Question marks over England trip to South Africa after government row

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England’s proposed trip to South Africa next month is in doubt after the country’s government served notice of its intention to intervene in the Proteas’ cricket administration.

South African Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa has written to the acting president of Cricket South Africa, Beresford Williams, highlighting long-running dissatisfaction at the governing body and an alleged “failure of leadership to effectively manage its affairs”

While Mthethwa says he sees “no value in any further engagement with CSA”, he has also offered it until October 27 to respond and argue against the intervention.

A statement from the department of sports, arts and culture read: “Minister Mthethwa strongly believes that there is great merit in creating an environment where sports problems are handled within the sports movement and accordingly wishes to offer them every possible opportunity to demonstrate their stated commitment to cooperate on a way forward for cricket.

“The ball is now firmly in the court of CSA.”

England are pencilled in for three one-day internationals and three Twenty20s in November and December, though talks about the tour are ongoing given the complications caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The matches could come into question for another reason if CSA does not find a way to stop the government intervention and makes a formal complaint to the International Cricket Council. The ICC requires national boards to be independently run but requires a protest to be lodged or to see
exceptional circumstances to begin investigating.

A spokesperson said: “The ICC has received a letter from the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture in South Africa giving notice of potential intervention into the matters of Cricket South Africa.

“At this stage, no complaint has been received from Cricket South Africa regarding government intervention and members are encouraged to resolve matters directly with their governments. We will continue to monitor the situation.”

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Salesforce Live – The Nottingham Building Society rethinks digital strategy in light of COVID-19

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(Image sourced via The Nottingham Building Society Facebook )

The Nottingham Building Society was founded back in 1849 by a small group of Nottingham businessmen, led by local Quaker Samuel Fox. The first ever branch used to open between 6pm and 9pm on the first Tuesday of each month and the vision for the building society was to help people own their own home, as well as offer them a safe and secure place for their savings.

Since then The Nottingham (as it’s more commonly known) has grown to serve over a quarter of a million members across the UK and now has 67 branches across 11 counties. Gone too are the days of a three hour opening window once a month, with the building society expanding its use of digital services for members rapidly.

The Nottingham has had a digital strategy in place for over three years, which served it well in the initial fallout from COVID-19. But as CEO David Marlow outlined at the Salesforce Live UK & Ireland event this week, the rapid changes in consumer expectations and the workplace are forcing the building society to go deeper with its transformation.

Part of this involves moving to the Salesforce Financial Services Cloud to completely reengineer the organisation’s process for the digital, with the aim of creating an immersive experience for members.

Marlow explained that COVID-19 has shifted thinking at The Nottingham in two fundamental ways. Firstly, regarding the move to distributed working. And secondly, the additional expectations from consumers on digital services. He said:

I think the working from home element is a major item. Here I am at home, somebody who never worked from home over the last 20 years. How we make the most of that and leverage it is really important. Accommodating the changes that we see both positive and negative for people remote working. That implication has an enormous knock on effect to our business continuity arrangements, and we’ve got some big changes to put through in how we organise ourselves in business continuity terms. Just as example, historically we had a building on the outside of Nottingham that was just left empty. When we had a crisis we would all move out to that. Well, we don’t need that sort of capability any longer, we would all just work from home.

And then finally I think the major item for us has been the enormous shift in expectations from customers and members and the public at large around digital. Not only in terms of the access that they expect, but the richness of the service that they now see as the norm, not as a bonus.

A solid foundation

As noted above, The Nottingham has been working on its digital strategy for three years now and Marlow said that this put the organisation in a good position when demand for its services increased during the height of the pandemic. However, he added, that with the enormous shift in customer expectations, he soon

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Rodgers Bar Society hearing concludes

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GUYSBOROUGH – “Anyone that knows me, I think, would be proud of how I defended myself,” Adam Rodgers told The Journal about a recent hearing of the Nova Scotia Barristers Society (NSBS). The hearing involved allegations of professional misconduct made against Rodgers related to activities at the Boudrot Rodgers Law firm in 2018.

In October of 2018, Jason Boudrot, managing partner of the Port Hawkesbury law firm Boudrot Rodgers, contacted the NSBS to report that he had “some issues with his trust accounts,” as stated in a NSBS hearing committee document in September 2019. That statement unlocked an avalanche of information and a settlement agreement between NSBS and Boudrot that saw the lawyer disbarred in 2019.

On August 18, 2020 the NSBS announced it would, “hold a hearing, at a date and time to be determined, respecting charges against Adam Rodgers, a member of the Society.” The hearing was held on October 5 and 6 in Port Hawkesbury with no witnesses called other than Rodgers; all other evidence – documents and transcripts of statements – were provided by the Society’s investigator.

Inquiries made by the Guysborough Journal to the NSBS about the hearing received the following response from Tilly Pillay QC, NSBS Executive Director, on behalf of the Society: “Adam Rodgers was aware that false time entries of his were entered to create inflated Work in Progress Reports to be filed with a lender on a quarterly basis for purposes of supporting credit extended to the firm, and failed to stop this practice. Adam Rodgers was aware of the firm’s practice of posting unsupported disbursements on client files for the purpose of supporting the extension of credit by financial institutions and failed to stop this practice.

“The evidence supporting this charge comes from interviews with employees and associates of the former law firm and from Client Ledgers generated from the firm’s accounting system that the Society reviewed as part of one or more Lawyers’ Fund for Client Compensation claims, as well as other information we received in the course of our investigation,” wrote Pillay.

When asked if it is alleged that Rodgers had knowledge that money was being moved in and out of trust funds without the client’s knowledge, Pillay responded, “Yes, it is alleged that Mr. Rodgers had knowledge of this practice.”

For his part Rodgers denies any wrongdoing. Addressing the assertion made above by the NSBS he stated, “I addressed this allegation at the hearing, and described it then as a red herring in all this. The data entries that the Society was questioning were done for a legitimate purpose, which was to estimate the total work in progress for the firm. They were not for billing clients and have no relation to the money taken by Mr. Boudrot.

“He (Boudrot) was the managing partner and everything he did was designed not to be detected. And the evidence at the hearing showed the fact that Mr. Boudrot had been stringing our accountants along for at least 10 months

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Comtech Telecommunications Corp. Receives $1.7 Million in Orders from Government Entity in Asia

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October 14, 2020– Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (NASDAQ: CMTL) announced today that its Tempe, Arizona-based subsidiary, Comtech EF Data Corp., which is part of Comtech’s Commercial Solutions segment, received an aggregate of $1.7 million in orders for Up and Down Frequency Converters and Low Noise Amplifiers (“LNAs”) from a large government entity in Asia.

After a competitive request for proposal process and vendor evaluation, the government entity selected Comtech EF Data’s Frequency Converters and LNAs to support a significant network upgrade. The Comtech equipment will replace a mix of vendors’ installed equipment. The enhanced network infrastructure will support critical voice, data, and video applications, as well as inter-branch office communications.

Comtech EF Data has developed and manufactured an extensive line-up of Frequency Conversion and Amplifier solutions for over 25 years, with L-, C-, X-, Ku- and Ka-Band offerings. The indoor and outdoor products are field-proven, cost-effective and provide the reliability and performance needed to support fixed and mobile/transportable applications for commercial and government customers. The industry-leading Frequency Converters feature high gain and low phase noise performance along with a patented Daisy Chain Redundancy system that fits within minimum rack space.

“I am pleased that Comtech was selected to supply equipment for this government network,” said Fred Kornberg, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. “This customer’s decision to exclusively utilize Comtech products is a testament to our demonstrated performance and quality.”

Comtech EF Data Corp. is a leading supplier of communications equipment with a focus on satellite bandwidth efficiency and link optimization. The high-performance satellite communications ground equipment is deployed globally to support mission-critical and demanding applications for government, mobile backhaul, premium enterprise and mobility. Service providers, satellite operators, governments and commercial users wanting to optimize communications, increase throughput and delight customers, are leveraging the performance and flexibility of the Comtech brand. The solutions are facilitating fixed and mobile networks in 160+ countries and across every ocean. For more information, visit www.comtechefdata.com.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. designs, develops, produces and markets innovative products, systems and services for advanced communications solutions. The Company sells products to a diverse customer base in the global commercial and government communications markets.

Certain information in this press release contains statements that are forward-looking in nature and involve certain significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking information. The Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings identify many such risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking information in this press release is qualified in its entirety by the risks and uncertainties described in such Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

PCMTL

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201014005209/en/

Contacts

Media Contact:
Michael D. Porcelain, President and Chief Operating Officer
631-962-7000
[email protected]

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Law Society Condemns Plans For Economic Crime Levy

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Law360, London (October 14, 2020, 1:51 PM BST) — The government’s plans for a financial crime levy on law firms and other regulated businesses is “a special tax on the legal profession” that could make companies less willing to invest in Britain, an industry body warned on Wednesday. 

The Law Society, the professional body that represents more than 140,000 practicing solicitors in England and Wales, said the industry already devotes significant resources as it complies with its obligations to counter money laundering and financial crime.

Simon Davis, the society’s departing president, said that pushing up the cost of doing business would hit the competitiveness of the legal sector in the international market…

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Worker suspended for flying Trump flag from government truck

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida municipal worker was suspended without pay for flying a flag supporting President Donald Trump’s re-election from his government truck.

Palm Beach County suspended construction project specialist Randall Williams for five days for violating its rules against engaging in political activity during work hours.

“During a heated political season such as the one we find ourselves in now, it is imperative to remember that political activities must be done outside of working hours,” County Engineer David Ricks wrote in a staff memo Friday announcing the suspension.

A motorist spotted Williams, 61, driving his county truck with a Trump flag attached to the driver’s window last week and took a photo, The Palm Beach Post reports. The photo was forwarded to the county, which identified Williams.

Trump’s official residence, Mar-a-Lago, is in Palm Beach County.

Williams does not have a listed phone number and could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He could appeal his suspension.

The resident who spotted the truck told the Post in an email that Williams can support the president or any other candidate, but not by using a taxpayer-funded truck.

“Showing your political party, you can do it in your home, whatever, it’s your right,” Laurent Lesage said. “But on a county vehicle, I think it’s trying to do some provocation.”

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Lipocine Announces Presentations at the 21st Annual Fall Meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America

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SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Lipocine Inc. (NASDAQ: LPCN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on metabolic and endocrine disorders, today announced it will present results from studies suggesting that low testosterone levels may play an important role on the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in men as well as the safety and efficacy of TLANDO™, an oral testosterone replacement therapy without a dose titration requirement, at the 21st Annual Fall Scientific Meeting of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America (“SMSNA”). Lipocine will outline the possible mechanisms and clinical evidence that suggests men with low testosterone have poor COVID-19 outcomes, and the rationale of using an oral testosterone therapy for men with COVID-19. Results from the previously completed dose validation (“DV”) study of a fixed dose TLANDO in hypogonadal males will also be presented at the meeting.  The presentations will take place virtually on November 9, 2020 from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. EST during Session 2 (Androgens and Ejaculation/Orgasm Disorders). 

https://www.smsna.org/V1/2020/program/scientific-program?where_person=44
https://www.smsna.org/V1/2020/program/scientific-program?where_person=42

“We know that while COVID-19 infection rates are comparable between men and women, men are developing severe symptoms and dying at a significant higher rate than women. Furthermore, men with comorbidities commonly associated with lower testosterone are at greater risk for severe disease and death,” said Dr. Mahesh Patel, Chairman, President and CEO of Lipocine Inc.  “The presentation on COVID-19 highlight key clinical evidences suggesting that low testosterone levels may play an important role on the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in men. Based on the published data, the use of oral testosterone with the goal of achieving physiological testosterone levels should be evaluated in clinical trials of COVID-19.”

Dr. Anthony DelConte, Chief Medical Director of Lipocine further stated, “TLANDO will be the first oral testosterone for treatment hypogonadism without titration requirement. It is expected to be easy to prescribe and use.” Dr. DelConte added, “The SMSNA presentation on TLANDO highlights the key safety and efficacy data from multiple clinical studies supporting TLANDO’s ability to effectively restore testosterone levels in hypogonadal men without need for any dose adjustment.”

Is Oral Testosterone a Potential Treatment for COVID-19 in Men? (Benjamin J. Bruno et al)

The authors performed a literature search to understand the possible mechanisms and clinical evidence concerning testosterone levels in COVID-19 patients.  A recent clinical study investigating testosterone levels in men with COVID-19 found 80% of men who died due to COVID-19 had low total or bioavailable testosterone levels at the time of hospital admission. Those with severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (“ARDS”) had acutely depressed total testosterone compared to patients who did not exhibit severe ARDS. The mean total testosterone levels for men who required invasive ventilation was 29 ng/dL (normal range ~300-1100 ng/dL), whereas those who were discharged from the ICU had mean total T of 254 ng/dL at the time of ICU admission.

In comparison to other routes of testosterone administration, oral testosterone therapy may be the most convenient and suitable for acute treatment of COVID-19 in

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UK travel industry calls for urgent government action

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Planes on the apron at London City Airport which has been closed after the discovery of an unexploded Second World War bomb.
Planes at London City Airport. Photo: PA

UK travel group ABTA said the government is not doing enough to support the sector, which has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

It criticised the government for “ever-changing quarantine rules and a dwindling number of destinations for holidaymakers to visit,” and demanded tailored support, including further grants.

ABTA said it is “vital that the Global Travel Taskforce launched this month to consider a testing regime, and other measures to support recovery of the travel industry, acts decisively and urgently to help increase consumer confidence and get the industry moving again.”

The taskforce was set up by the government and is meant to report to prime minister Boris Johnson no later than early November, setting out recommendations for how the UK can support the recovery of international travel.

According to new figures released by ABTA, only 15% of people took a foreign holiday between February and July 2020 compared to 51% over the 12-month period, and 64% the previous year.

READ MORE: EU gets approval to slap $4bn worth of tariffs on US imports in Boeing dispute

More than half (53%) of the people surveyed said they took fewer overseas holidays this past year compared to the previous year, with 87% of those saying they took fewer holidays because of coronavirus. 

Government restrictions were a contributing factor to a hesitation to travel, with 93% of people concerned about potential last-minute changes to foreign office travel advice and four in five people (80%) concerned about having to quarantine when they return to the UK.

The findings are from research based on a sample of 2,000 consumers and related to holiday booking habits in the 12 months to July 2020.

Meanwhile, figures also revealed that more than half of people (52%) believe that the travel industry should reopen in a greener way. 

A new report by ABTA identified the sustainability challenges faced by the industry, including the need to accelerate decarbonisation and to ensure that tourism generates greater benefits for destinations and local communities.

READ MORE: Turbulent times ahead for airlines as UK travel quarantine measures kick in

Mark Tanzer, ABTA’s CEO said: “There is no doubt that people’s confidence and trust in the industry has taken a huge hit — and we must work hard to earn that trust back. Not only is that by being creative and flexible in terms of the holiday and customer experience we offer, but also by making sustainability a fundamental principle of travel.”

Earlier this week a survey was reported to show that nearly two-thirds (64%) of business leaders see domestic and international travel as “key to their future prospects.”

The research, commissioned by London City Airport, also indicated that 48% believe the government’s quarantine restrictions are the biggest barrier to business air travel.

In other news showing the toll the pandemic has taken on the travel industry, British Airways chief executive Alex Cruz has quit the top job with immediate effect, to be replaced by

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Communities can force government action to stop out-of-control wildfires

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Every year, more of America’s forests burn. For months now, Americans throughout entire time zones have been inundated with ash and smoke from our woodlands, neighbors’ homes and ecosystems that will take years to recover.

Yet despite this predictable yearly carnage, the solutions our government can and should immediately take are lost among generalizations and talking points. Public officials on both sides of the aisle have lobbed excuses at each other over the “true” cause of these wildfires: “It’s bad forest management!” “No, it’s climate change!”

They are both right and they are both wrong.

Starting in the early 1900s, decades of flawed forest management led to the dangerous over-accumulation of forest fuel (dense forest brush and small trees). Then, in the past few decades, longer and more severe droughts made dangerously fire-prone forests literal tinder boxes where fires burned hotter, moved faster, grew bigger and posed ever-greater risks to forests, homes and lives. Our forests are burning uncontrollably today because of decades of questionable management and changing environmental conditions.

But it doesn’t matter whether it is 30 percent of one cause and 70 percent of the other, or a 50/50 mix of both. Because whatever has led to these conditions, our federal officials are 100 percent responsible for taking every reasonable step available to dramatically reduce fuel loads in our forests and making the land safe for residents, homeowners and wildlife.

This is because federally owned forests dominate our fire-prone landscapes, and Congress bears the largest share of the responsibility to make them safer. But federal legislators have handcuffed forest management staff with red tape and competing (often conflicting) priorities, all the while failing to fund the top priority, which should always be community safety. This has to stop, and Congress has the responsibility to make it so by reforming federal forest management policies to prioritize fuel reduction and make forests healthier.

Prioritizing fuel reduction means exempting fuel removal from the thicket of bureaucracy that impedes it. Things such as lengthy environmental reviews, multiple layers of planning documents, vetoes on fuel reduction by other agencies, ever-looming citizen lawsuits, and inadequate funding for proper forest management all have made the forests more dangerous and less healthy. Cutting and reforming these debilitating policies, and even removing forest fuel reduction from Endangered Species Act regulation (there are few greater risks to endangered wildlife than catastrophic fires), can have real, immediate impact on forest fire danger. 

Unfortunately, these obvious measures depend on Congress taking its responsibilities seriously and accomplishing rapid, bipartisan action. But communities at greatest risk of fire can’t wait while Congress dithers, so they should take matters into their own hands in the federal courts.

Local governments have the power to sue the federal government under public nuisance laws to force the feds to properly maintain overgrown forests threatening cities and towns. Just as a city can take action against delinquent property owners over a rundown property that poses a fire risk to a neighborhood, cities can take action against the

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Europcar chooses the law that suits it best to refuse a refund | Money

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In June I booked a hire car with Europcar for a week’s holiday in France. I paid a higher rate which allowed me to cancel for a cash refund and phoned to confirm that this was what I was entitled to. However, when the government advised against travel to France, Europcar told me that under French law it was allowed to issue a credit note instead of a refund. It claimed that since the car was booked in France my contract was with its French counterpart, despite the fact the payment was taken in sterling and Europcar’s address on my credit card statement given as Watford. I think Europcar is choosing the law that suits it best.
JA, London

You have good reason to think that. I began by asking Europcar why customers who need to cancel a booking by phone are directed to a number that costs up to 75p a minute from a mobile. Premium rate numbers are banned for after-sales service.

Europcar replied that it does not consider a contract is formed until a customer collects their rental vehicle. That argument does not stop it holding that same customer to its terms and conditions as soon as they make – and pay for – a booking.

As for those terms and conditions – your booking confirmation indisputably states that Europcar provides free cancellation up to 48 hours before pick up. The terms and conditions on its website state the same. Nowhere does it warn that its policy may vary depending on where you hire a vehicle.

“Europcar has investigated this case and found that whilst it operated within the law and its own terms and conditions, it appreciates that the current process for cancelled bookings made for France may not have been made clear at the reservation stage and on the UK website,” it says. “Therefore a refund for the cancelled booking has been processed and the company’s apologies extended to the customer.”

It says it is reviewing the wording on its website. Customers are not bound by terms and conditions which are unclear or a figment of the trader’s imagination. Anyone else affected by Europcar’s concerning approach to small print can make a claim through their credit card issuer or the small claims court.

If you need help email Anna Tims at [email protected] Include an address and phone number. Submission and publication are subject to our terms and conditions

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