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  The Japanese government has suspended entry of non-resident foreign nationals to Japan to prevent the transmission of coronavirus variants. The measure is taking effect on Monday and will continue through January 31. A similar restriction is already in effect for travelers from the United Kingdom and South Africa. The government also suspended a conditional exemption of a 14-day self-quarantine that had been applied to Japanese and foreign residents when they reentered Japan after a short overseas business trip. All travelers returnin g  to or entering Japan from parts of the world where coronavirus variants have been confirmed need to submit a negative test certificate. Such travelers need to take a test within 72 hours before departure and another upon arriving in Japan. https://eventplanning.odos.virginia.edu/sites/eventplanning.odos.virginia.edu/files/webform/patriots-vs-bills-live-stream-HQ_0.pdf https://cawp.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/webform/patriots-vs-bills-liv...

  IRCC released details of its report on the citizenship program between 2013 and 2018. A recent immigration department self-evaluation highlights areas where Canadian citizenship processes could be improved. The report, released in November, revealed Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) findings and recommendations on how to address issues in the  citizenship program . As it is now, permanent residents can apply for citizenship if they have lived in Canada for at least three years, among  other eligibility requirements . Generally, citizenship applicants must pass a citizenship test, or interview, and prove their language skills in English or French. IRCC’s self-evaluation covered the period from 2013 to 2018, with previous years taken into consideration. It was done as part of an accountability measure with the Treasury Board, which oversees the funding of federal departments, including IRCC. They found that out of the more than 2.8 million permanent re...

  A medical staff member stands by a Covid-19 patient on Christmas Eve at a hospital in Houston, Texas. Photographer: Go Nakamura/Getty Images We’re tracking the latest on the coronavirus outbreak and the global response.  Sign up here  for our daily newsletter on what you need to know. U.S. cases rose on Christmas Day at the slowest rate  i n almost two months, though the numbers were likely skewed by the holiday. Hospitalizations in New York City continued to climb, while statewide the total fell slightly, as did new infections. New Jersey has had about as many cases in December as it did from May through October. North Carolina surpassed 500,000 infections over the holiday. Japan will ban entry to most non-Japanese nationals through the end of January. Global infections surpassed 80 million. As some European Union nations began vaccinations, Sweden joined France, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and Japan on a growing list of countries that have identified their firs...

  B eing a mother was something I always wanted, despite (or because of?) my own childhood. Let’s just say my own mother was less than nurturing and had a violent, nasty streak that meant my psyche was hammered out on an anvil of fear, forged in survival. I knew I could do better, and I did. I wasn’t perfect, mind you, but damn near good enough. My daughter is striking. Olive skin, blue eyes, tall. Taller than I. Her lineage is indigenous Australian, but it’s a heritage that’s hard to pinpoint just by looking at her. She could be Greek, Italian, Spanish. While I celebrated her bloodline, she is ashamed and does not want to know her history. Australia is racist country and Aboriginal people are, unfortunately, not highly regarded. When she met her boyfriend, now fiancée, she gave me strict instructions to “not tell him what I am”. I often wonder whether that feeling of deep shame, an internalised reflection of how Australian society views her Aboriginality and hence her, has somehow...

 A three-month-old Rottweiler puppy who was found wandering alone through Hyde Park, London, has got his Christmas wish: a forever home in time for Christmas. Oliver the Rottweiler puppy certainly didn’t have the most auspicious start to life. Found wandering alone through Hyde Park, the little guy had been abandoned by his previous owner. Thankfully, a kind passerby took pity on the pup and took him to Battersea Cats and Dogs Home where centre workers discovered he was completely blind. Oliver the Rottweiler puppy certainly didn’t have the most auspicious start to life. Found wandering alone through Hyde Park, the little guy had been abandoned by his previous owner. Thankfully, a kind passerby took pity on the pup and took him to Battersea Cats and Dogs Home where centre workers discovered he was completely blind. A mystery pup With no chip and no way of knowing where he came from, it’s difficult to say exactly why he was abandoned but it does seem possible that it was by breeders...

“It’s time we address the structural inequalities in our economy that the pandemic has laid bare,” President-elect  Joe Biden  said this week, as he introduced his economic team. Beware going 'back to normal' thoughts – normal gave us Trump Robert Reich Read more It’s a good team. They’re competent and they care, in sharp contrast to  Trump’s goon squad . Many of them were in the trenches with Biden and Barack Obama in 2009, when the economy last needed rescuing. But reversing “structural inequalities” is a fundamentally different challenge from reversing economic downturns. They may overlap – last week the Dow Jones Industrial Average   hit a record high   at the same time Americans experienced the highest rate of hunger in 22 years. Yet the problem of widening inequality is distinct from the problem of recession. https://education.howard.edu/sites/education.howard.edu/files/webform/cbs-new-york-jets-vs-las-vegas-raiders-live_.pdf https://education.howard.edu/s...