Tag: agree

Dining across the divide: ‘I don’t agree with his overblown fears about what Brexit would unleash’

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Nick, 30, Bristol
Occupation Part-time history lecturer, part-time cleaner
Voting record Grew up in Montana, a Democrat surrounded by conservatives
Amuse bouche As a teenager and inspired by Tolkien, Nick invented his own language called Hesperian
Peter, 60, Bristol
Occupation Computer science professor
Voting record A Labour party member until recently, Peter is no fan of Keir Starmer and sometimes votes Green
Amuse bouche Once lived in a squat in London. “The police burst in, but we didn’t have any drugs, so they left with their tails between their legs”
For starters
Nick He was a lovely man. I could tell he was very much in this for the conversation. He wasn’t quite as into the menu as I was – that was half my motivation. I had paneer tikka and a prawn curry.
Peter He was smart and thoughtful, able to hold his own but also listen. I could be his father – he’s younger than my daughters – but I can’t say it made any difference. The food was very good, too.

The big beef
Nick Peter seems to have this mindset that the young today – Gen Z and millennials – have it uniquely bad, and that this explains what people term the mental health crisis. I see it more as a self-fulfilling prophecy. I guess I see what were formerly just normal conditions of life – things people addressed through philosophy or religion – being medicalised.
Peter No generation has it easy. But if I was the same age as Nick, I’d be thinking: “I can’t buy a house, rent is really expensive” – and that would make me worry about the future. I’d be concerned about climate change, mass extinction events. That creates a lot of stress for people.
Nick I accept that a lot of problems like anxiety and depression probably have roots in brain chemistry. But for students worried about doing poorly on tests or not fitting in, it becomes: “I now have anxiety as part of my identity.” It is something they embrace and then don’t really try to overcome. Maybe I’m projecting a bit unfairly.
Peter It’s a spectrum – everyone is physically ill sometimes, and almost certainly slightly mentally ill sometimes as well. In the end, it’s that medics are better able to diagnose it.
Sharing plate
Peter We agreed that Brexit had been economically bad. But I think it might be good for the following reason: some people look back at the empire and think Britain is this fantastic leading country, but actually it isn’t. If Brexit teaches humility, that is a good thing, and Britain may then become a good European nation rather than being the bad boy in the room all the time.
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Nick I view the election of Trump in similar terms. I hate him – there was a legitimate risk he could have subverted democracy. But at the same time it has forced America to reckon with its place in the world. When I was growing up, we were literally told we were so lucky to be born in the most free, wonderful country that God ever created. I don’t think it’s the same here, but imperial nostalgia is confronting reality now.
For afters
Nick One of the reasons Peter had for voting against Brexit was that it would unleash a rightwing coup.
Peter The EU is a neoliberal club, but it is blunted, and that EU club has blunted the neoliberals here. They want to be released from those restraints. I feared a rightwing coup, and that seems to have happened – Johnson coming into power, the Tufton Street cabal, Kwarteng, Truss and so on.
Nick I think Britain is a more socially democratic country than before, though whether that is because of Covid is another question. I don’t agree with Peter’s overblown fears about what Brexit would unleash. That is partly shaped by his experience of the 80s – he seems like a school of Tony Benn type.
Takeaways
Nick So much of the resentment I have towards my own generation is because it’s impossible to have these kinds of broad discussions. It was nice to talk about how societies can be overhauled rather than getting bogged down in identity politics. At the same time, it was a reminder that I’m a bit cloistered in my own attitudes.
Peter I do like being challenged. It was a very positive experience. We exchanged numbers, so who knows – maybe I’ll invite him and his partner round for dinner. I’m not so good, but my wife is very good at cooking.
Additional reporting: Kitty Drake
Nick and Peter ate at Nutmeg in Bristol.
Want to meet someone from across the divide? Find out how to take part
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#Dining #divide #dont #agree #overblown #fears #Brexit #unleash
( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

April 27, 2023
German government, trade unions agree on wage deal for public workers

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The German government, local authorities and trade unions reached a deal late Saturday on higher pay scales for the country’s 2.5 million public-sector workers, staving off the possibility of indefinite strikes.
“We have accommodated the unions as far as we can responsibly do under difficult budgetary circumstances,” said Nancy Faeser, the country’s interior minister. Trade union Ver.di had called for significant raises as the country, like many others across the Continent, grapples with high inflation.
Among other things, the deal entails tax-free one-time payments totalling €3,000 in several stages, with the first €1,240 to be handed out in June, followed by €220 each month from July to February 2024. In March 2024, monthly pay for all public workers will increase by €200, followed by a 5.5 percent salary increase, with a minimum increase of €340.
The agreement runs for 24 months.
The compromise is largely based on a proposal by arbitrators who were called in after talks broke down last month. Ver.di had initially asked for a 10.5 percent raise and at least €500 more pay over a twelve-month period.
Frank Werneke, the union’s chair, said the negotiations had not been easy. “With our decision to make this compromise, we went to our pain threshold,” he said.
Municipalities in the country fear the deal may pose new financial challenges for them. Prior to the negotiations, Karin Welge, president of the Federation of Municipal Employers’ Associations, had estimated the deal could create additional costs of €17 billion for cities and municipalities.
The agreement sets an end to months of negotiations. In a string of walkouts, employee representatives in recent months had disrupted public administration and other public services. At the end of last month, Ver.di, together with the national rail and transport union, brought rail and air traffic to a halt across the country in a large-scale strike.

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#German #government #trade #unions #agree #wage #deal #public #workers
( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 21, 2023
The one thing Trump and McConnell agree on: A hatred for this group

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Even lawmakers keeping an open mind about how the Club approaches the current cycle don’t hide their concern over the group’s past tactics.
“There’s a lot of work to be done on understanding the main goal is not to make a point on any one political issue, but to win,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), against whom the Club once tried to recruit a primary challenger.
But the Club hasn’t been content merely to cross Senate GOP leaders. The group has launched an offensive against Trump too, raising the spectre that a primary that was already destined to be brutal could end up bloody. In recent weeks, Trump has returned the volley, privately indicating that he would be far less likely to endorse down ballot candidates who are allied with the Club, according to two people close to the Trump campaign.
While it has never been known as a go-along-to-get-along institution, the Club has been increasingly embracing its position as party antagonist. And it enters the cycle with two powerful foes.
“It goes with the role, because if we weren’t willing to take some incoming and people not liking us, we couldn’t do our job,” said David McIntosh, the group’s president. Asked whether it was more important to elect candidates with the group’s political philosophy or to take back the majority, McIntosh said the former. “We have both goals,” he explained. “But the primary one is that focus on the economic conservatives.”
For many in GOP circles, the Club’s talents lie not in its ability to win elections but to generate attention. For that reason, they’re often loath to engage publicly with the group. But McIntosh insists that the organization’s motivation is fealty to principle. And if that means angering bigwigs, he’s comfortable with it.
He began the cycle by briefing reporters that Trump’s toxicity was hurting the party’s chances with swing voters and announcing that the group had not invited him to its annual donor retreat. Then, he outlined his plans to zero in on key Senate races.
In West Virginia, the Club announced it will spend at least $10 million to boost Republican Rep. Alex Mooney just as GOP recruiters are on the cusp of convincing the wealthy and popular Gov. Jim Justice to run. In Montana, the group is nudging Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale, who lost to Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in 2018, to make another go while the NRSC has been heavily recruiting Tim Sheehy, a Navy SEAL and wealthy businessperson.

And in Ohio, the Club is beseeching GOP Rep. Warren Davidson
to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in what is already an extremely crowded field.
In 2020, Trump carried all three states. In 2024, they represent Republicans’ best opportunity to retake the Senate. All three of the Club’s preferred candidates in these states are members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus with profiles that might not endear them to swing voters in a general election.
And there is fear elsewhere in the party that those candidates or a divided primary will only boost the three veteran Democratic incumbents in those races.
“That’s an old shopworn line that the moderates have used for 20 years. And the data shows they’re wrong,” McIntosh said in dismissing those concerns. “The milquetoast kind of establishment Republicans actually do worse.”
But inside the NRSC, operatives are desperately trying to lock in candidates with broad appeal. One example: They have been trying to recruit Justice, a coal-mining magnate-turned-West Virginia governor who is increasingly expected to launch a run against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC with close ties to McConnell, released a poll showing Justice was the only candidate who could beat Manchin.
Privately, strategists gripe that Mooney, a former Maryland state senator, could face carpetbagger attacks and struggle to fundraise while Justice, who is worth hundreds of millions, could write his own checks. Mooney backers counter that the congressman could easily run to the right of Justice, a Democrat-turned-Republican who supported President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill.
The Club signaled its intent to boost Mooney with that $10 million or more cash infusion and McIntosh said that “unless Governor Justice is just dying to be in the Senate” he hoped he would sit out the race and “bring the whole party together.”
Both Justice and Mooney are hoping to claim the MAGA mantle by securing the backing of Trump himself in a state he carried by 39 points in 2020. Justice, who hunts with the former president’s sons, is actively trying to nab Trump’s endorsement, according to a person close to the governor. As is Mooney, who endorsed Trump last year. The congressman discussed the race with Trump and is also hoping for his backing, according to a person close to his campaign.
Tensions are running even higher in Montana where the Club is eagerly recruiting Rosendale, a two-term congressman, to take on Tester. Austin Knudsen, the state’s attorney general, is also weighing a run but many Republicans in D.C. and Montana are excited about a potential campaign by Sheehy, a political neophyte with no record to attack and who could self-fund a bid.
“He’s a great kid and a good business guy and smart,” Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) raved about Sheehy. “He’s going to represent the younger generation.”
Rosendale lost to Tester by more than 3 points in 2018 after being branded as a carpetbagger with a noticeable Baltimore accent. Privately, Rosendale has told friends and allies that he plans to run for Senate, according to a person familiar with his plans. Publicly, he has remained noncommittal, and he raised just $127,000 in the first quarter and spent more than that.
“Jon Tester does not represent the state of Montana,” Rosendale said in response to a question about his Senate plans. ”The voters in Montana will make a decision over the next 12 to 18 months on who they want to replace him.”
Asked why Rosendale would fare better against Tester six years later, McIntosh said the Club depleted its resources boosting him in the primary in 2018 and blamed Republican leaders for failing to come in for the general election.
“I am now very aware of that, and realize I can’t count on McConnell, because honestly, I don’t think his motive is simply to get the majority,” McIntosh said. “It is frustrating to watch the establishment not fund somebody and then say, Oh, they couldn’t win.”

Former President Donald Trump (left) and then-Montana State Auditor Matt Rosendale (right) shake hands during a campaign rally in Missoula, Mont. in October 2018. Rosendale has declined to endorse him, telling POLITICO he planned to remain neutral.
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Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
Trump looms large in Montana. Rosendale has notably declined to endorse him, telling POLITICO he planned to remain neutral. Yet he traipsed to Mar-A-Lago to attend Trump’s post-indictment rally earlier this month — a move that befuddled some consultants in the former president’s orbit.
The former president’s campaign is closely tracking which members have endorsed him, according to two people close to the operation. Those people note that Republican operatives who want to dissuade Trump from backing an opposing candidate send Trump’s team news clips showing the Club’s support for that candidate.
The Club, which spent some $150 million in the past two elections, is still a major player in Republican politics and has close ties to many of the party’s top donors. Its spending is dwarfed by that of the Senate Leadership Fund but it will have the resources to cause headaches in primaries.
Some of its candidates would be well-positioned, if not favored, in a primary. But in others the path to victory is less clear. In Ohio, the group is pushing Davidson, a fourth-term member, to enter a field already crowded with wealthy businessmen.
“It’s safe to say I’m actually very actively looking at the race every day,” Davidson said in an interview. “I would clearly be the conservative.”
The group hasn’t always been on a different page from national Republicans. Both the Club and Trump aligned to support Blake Masters in 2022, with the Club spending more than $3 million to push Masters through a crowded primary. But Masters went on to lose to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).
“They didn’t do a really great job last time around,” Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) said of the Club. “Their folks were underperformers and I just think people are tired of the anger and the vitriol and actually want to see people get along and get some things done.”
The Club did not back some of the other notable 2022 Senate losers, such as Don Bolduc in New Hampshire or Herschel Walker in Georgia. And it has had some success in boosting candidates to Congress, notably current Sen. Ted Budd, who won an open seat in North Carolina in 2022 with both Trump’s backing and the group’s support.
“I think they’ve really tried to get fiscally responsible people to win Senate races,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), another Club-backed candidate. “They were very influential in Ted Budd winning the primary and the general last time.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

April 18, 2023
Syria, Saudi Arabia agree to resume consular services, flights

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Damascus/Riyadh: Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed in a joint statement to resume consular services and flights, after the bilateral ties have been stranded for years.
The announcement came as Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad wrapped up his visit to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first time since the Syrian civil war broke out in 2011, Xinhua news agency reported.
The statement on Wednesday said both Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume the consular services and the flights between the two countries, stressing that both sides have agreed on boosting security and counter-terrorism efforts, according to the Syrian Foreign Ministry.

The two sides discussed the necessary steps to achieve a comprehensive political settlement to the crisis in Syria that would end all its repercussions, achieve national reconciliation, and contribute to the return of Syria to its Arab surroundings and the resumption of its natural role in the Arab world, according to the statement.
The two countries also agreed to resolve humanitarian difficulties and offer a suitable environment for assistance to reach all parts of Syria, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The two sides stressed the importance of the return of Syrian refugees and displaced individuals to their areas, along with taking the required steps to stabilise the situation in the country.
Mekdad’s visit to Saudi Arabia came upon the invitation by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, as the relations between both countries are on the way to normalisation.
On Wednesday, Tunisia and Syria decided to reopen their respective embassies to resume diplomatic ties between the two countries.

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#Syria #Saudi #Arabia #agree #resume #consular #services #flights
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

April 13, 2023
Congress appropriated $500M for workers. Democrats can’t agree on whether to spend it.

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According to two Appropriations Committee aides involved in the talks, $500 million in funding was included in the draft in hopes Democrats and Republicans could reach a deal to extend the TAA program, but they failed to do so. In the rush to pass the final bill, the appropriations provision was not altered, and aides felt it was not necessary to do so because the program was not authorized. The aides were granted anonymity to discuss confidential policy negotiations.
While stressing that the senator supports TAA in principle, Murray’s office believes the program remains expired and the money cannot be spent without authorizing language. After the bill was signed and Murray became chair of the Appropriations Committee, she called DOL to relay that information and request the agency not restart processing applications for TAA aid.
“The appropriations bill that passed at the end of the year said the program ended, that’s the way it was written,” Murray said in a brief Capitol Hill interview on Monday. She declined to comment on the language from her own committee allocating nearly $500 million to the program, reiterating that the bill “specifically said that the program was ended” and that “is all I’m going to say.”
Wyden, one of Murray’s senior Democratic colleagues whose committee oversees the TAA program, is challenging that interpretation.
Wyden and House Democrats tried for months to get an agreement with Republicans to authorize the program for another year. Republicans insisted throughout negotiations that the Biden administration would need to commit to new trade talks overseas to get the TAA payments restarted — a demand the White House dismissed. Though they never reached a deal on that language, Wyden says that having money appropriated for the program is enough for DOL to reopen TAA again.
“I believe the omnibus extended TAA for a year,” Wyden said in a Capitol Hill interview on Monday, adding he was not aware of Murray’s guidance to DOL. “The text of the law is clear,” he added later. “The Biden administration should use that authority to deliver workers the benefits they are owed.”
DOL declined to weigh in on the legal debate between the senators, but has so far complied with requests from Murray and her staff that the agency keep the program frozen. An agency spokesperson confirmed that the program “remains in termination status” and that DOL “may not conduct new investigations or issue certifications of eligibility for new groups of workers.” A separate fact sheet put out by the agency says more than 24,000 workers have pending applications that DOL cannot investigate.
If lawmakers and DOL do not attempt to use the $500 million, the TAA program will phase out after the remaining workers in the program — roughly 7,000, according to the DOL fact sheet — finish receiving their benefits. Congress could renew the program, potentially in the year-end spending bill, but Republicans have shown no desire to drop their demand for new free trade talks and Biden’s team hasn’t budged either.

The situation is angering labor unions, like the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, who wrote to DOL earlier this month, saying that “tens of thousands of workers are currently awaiting determinations of their petition for TAA support.” Other labor groups, including the United Steelworkers and AFL-CIO, also sent similar letters.
The issue, say congressional aides involved in the omnibus negotiations, goes back to the year-end crunch to finalize the spending package. As Wyden and trade lawmakers negotiated on TAA, appropriations lawmakers wrote in the $500 million in case lawmakers arrived at a deal to reauthorize it. That deal never materialized, but the $500 million provision was not altered in the rush to finish the package before the winter holidays. The mixup was an “artifact of the timing,” as one Appropriations Committee aide put it, stressing that it was Republican opposition — and not Murray — that ultimately killed the program.
Wyden’s office and the unions say that DOL should push forward regardless and spend the $500 million appropriated to the program, pointing out that executive agencies often spend appropriated funds on expired programs without explicit reauthorization. In particular, they point to a footnote in the Government Accountability Office’s guidance on appropriations law that says Congress “appropriates huge sums each year to fund programs with expired authorizations.”
But the Appropriations Committee staff says that argument doesn’t apply to TAA.
“There’s longstanding case law and precedent on this issue about when appropriation is sufficient to extend authorization of the program,” said one committee aide involved in the spending negotiations last year. “Everybody understood ahead of the omnibus that was not the case here.”
Additionally, the aide said the committee would not push DOL to reopen the program because it could poison upcoming spending negotiations with Republicans that need to be completed by the end of this year.
“While not our preferred policy outcome, we will stand by those negotiations,” the committee aide said, “because they are very delicate and we want to have a good process in [fiscal year 2024] as well.”
CORRECTION: This article was corrected to reflect the fact that Appropriations Committee aides said it was not an accident that the TAA funding was included in the omnibus spending bill.
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#Congress #appropriated #500M #workers #Democrats #agree #spend
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 30, 2023
Saudi, Iranian FMs agree to meet ahead of reopening embassies

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Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud have agreed to meet at the earliest opportunity to prepare the ground for the reopening of embassies and consulate generals between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran announced on Thursday.
The two Ministers discussed the issues in a phone call to congratulate each other on the starting of the Muslim fasting month of Ramzan, Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying.
The Saudi Foreign Minister pointed to the positive achievements of the Beijing meeting, in which the two countries signed an agreement on the normalisation of ties after seven years, and highlighted the necessity of meeting his Iranian counterpart in the near future and the reopening of the embassies.
Meanwhile, Amir-Abdollahian expressed satisfaction with the detente between Tehran and Riyadh, expressing Iran’s readiness to develop and strengthen bilateral relations.
China, Saudi Arabia and Iran on March 10 announced that Riyadh and Tehran had reached a deal that included the agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Riyadh.
Following the agreement to restore diplomatic relations, the two nations also announced they will reopen embassies within two months and re-establish trade and security relations.
Saudi Arabia cut ties in January 2016 after demonstrators stormed its embassy in Tehran after Riyadh had executed the prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was convicted of terror-related offences.

Since then, tensions between the Sunni- and Shia-led neighbours have often been high, with each regarding the other as a threatening power seeking regional dominance.
They have been on opposing sides of several regional conflicts, including the civil wars in Syria and Yemen.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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#Saudi #Iranian #FMs #agree #meet #ahead #reopening #embassies
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 23, 2023
Palestine, Israel agree to de-escalate tension

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Cairo: The Palestinian National Authority and Israel reaffirmed their commitment to advancing security, stability and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis.
According to a communique released after a meeting between officials from the two sides, Egypt, Jordan and the US in Egypt’s Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, the parties recognised the necessity of de-escalation on the ground, the prevention of further violence, as well as of pursuing confidence-building measures, and addressing outstanding issues through direct dialogue.
Israel and the Palestinian National Authority also reaffirmed their joint readiness and commitment to immediately work to end unilateral measures for 3-6 months, Xinhua news agency reported.
This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussion of any new settlement units for four months and to stop authorization of any outposts for six months, according to the communique.
The two sides also affirmed their unwavering commitment to all previous agreements between them, particularly the legal right of the Palestinian National Authority to carry out the security responsibilities in Area (A) of the West Bank, in accordance with existing agreements, and will work together towards achieving this goal.
They also agreed to develop a mechanism to curb and counter violence, incitement, and inflammatory statements and actions.
The parties also reiterated the commitment of maintaining the historic status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem, both in word and in practice, and reaffirmed the importance of the Hashemite Custodianship of Jordan.
They highlighted the need for both Israelis and Palestinians to take proactive measures to thwart any actions that would disrupt the sanctity of these sites during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which coincides with Easter and Passover this year.

The parties reaffirmed the importance of maintaining the meetings under this format, noting they will convene again in Egypt.
The five-party meeting is a continuation of discussions that took place on February 26 in Jordan that worked on paving the road for resuming the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
The tension between Israel and Palestinians has been rising since the start of this year. The Palestinian Health Ministry said that 89 Palestinians have been killed so far this year by Israeli soldiers, while official Israeli figures show that 14 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians.
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#Palestine #Israel #agree #deescalate #tension
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 20, 2023
Players and Industry Agree on Need of Responsible Gaming Policies

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Witzeal CEO: Responsible Gaming Is Critical for Industry Growth
Ankur Singh, Founder and CEO of Gurugram-based gaming company Witzeal Technologies, recently argued that responsible gaming is critical for the development of the industry and that the Indian online gaming market must create and maintain a ”safe and welcoming space” for players in order to preserve its solid growth trajectory.
The country’s online gaming market has reached a size of $2.2 billion and is projected to expand further to $5 billion, driven on the one hand by rising smartphone penetration, cheap mobile data plans, and growing disposable incomes, and on the other hand supported by increasing levels of player engagement and diversification of monetization schemes.
This promising growth, however, is accompanied by an alarming spread of online fraud, identity or data theft, and other types of cyber crimes, including online harassment and bullying in multiplayer settings. Risks related to online gaming could also involve individual mental health and financial wellbeing, as cases of addiction and problem gambling have also been reported.
For these reasons, Ankur Singh urges for a system of responsible gaming policies and requirements applicable to operators and players alike, including restricting access of minors to real money games, strong privacy and data protection, play time or money spending limits, among other measures.
“Responsible gaming is critical for sustaining the integrity and actual enjoyment of online gaming. It is the responsibility of both the players and the platform to conduct ethical gaming so that it continues to generate employment and revenues for the country,” Witzeal’s Singh concludes.
Responsible Gaming Is Expected on the Players’ Side
Industry representatives see responsible gaming as the way to build a sustainable business, but studies have established that the majority of players themselves expect responsible gaming policies to be there to guarantee their safety. What’s more, most players behave responsibly even if it is not explicitly required by the gaming platform or the government.
Two thirds of online players around the world say that they would choose to play a socially responsible game over one that has no such aspect. Likewise, the studies reveal, the majority of players in India would also welcome a safer gaming environment, even though this would necessitate the imposition of certain play restrictions.
According to the Gambling Commission of the UK – a national gaming authority with long traditions in overseeing a mature gambling market, social responsibility in gambling has three main aspects: keeping crime out of gambling, conducting gambling in a fair and open way, and protecting children and other vulnerable people from harm and exploitation.

Typical responsible gaming tools include digital ID checks, advisory pop-ups and warnings triggered by player behaviour, deposit and sign-in time limits, as well as providing players with easy access to an array of self-exclusion and time-out options, as well as to various free support and counselling resources.
Collected empirical evidence shows that such responsible gaming mechanisms effectively mitigate negative consequences in cases of loss of control due to player inexperience, “binge gambling”, or other reasons, and help protect vulnerable groups such as problem gamblers and juveniles.

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#Players #Industry #Agree #Responsible #Gaming #Policies
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 18, 2023
Scientists agree that money can buy happiness

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New York: People get happy as they earn more, according to a new study which overturns the dominant thinking that money cannot buy happiness.
The study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences paper, shows that, on average, larger incomes are associated with ever-increasing levels of happiness.
Two prominent researchers, Daniel Kahneman from Princeton University and Matthew Killingsworth from the University of Pennsylvania, surveyed 33,391 adults aged between 18 and 65 who live in the US, are employed and report a household income of at least $10,000 a year.
For the least happy group, happiness rose with income until $100,000, then showed no further increase as income grew. For those in the middle range of emotional well-being, happiness increases linearly with income, and for the happiest group the association actually accelerates above $100,000.
“In the simplest terms, this suggests that for most people larger incomes are associated with greater happiness,” said lead author Killingsworth.
“The exception is people who are financially well-off but unhappy. For instance, if you’re rich and miserable, more money won’t help. For everyone else, more money was associated with higher happiness to somewhat varying degrees,” he added.
The researchers said that the study shows both a happy majority and an unhappy minority exist.
For the former, happiness keeps rising as more money comes in; the latter’s happiness improves as income rises but only up to a certain income threshold, after which it progresses no further.

These findings also have real-world implications, according to Killingsworth.
For one, they could inform thinking about tax rates or how to compensate employees. And, of course, they matter to individuals as they navigate career choices or weigh a larger income against other priorities in life, Killingsworth said.
However, he adds that for emotional well-being money isn’t all. “Money is just one of the many determinants of happiness,” he says. “Money is not the secret to happiness, but it can probably help a bit.”
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#Scientists #agree #money #buy #happiness
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 14, 2023
Iran, Saudi Arabia agree to resume ties, with China’s help

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Videos released by Iranian state media showed Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, with Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and Wang Yi, China’s most senior diplomat.
The joint statement calls for the reestablishing of ties and the reopening of embassies to happen “within a maximum period of two months.” A meeting of their foreign ministers is also planned.
In the video, Wang could be heard offering “wholehearted congratulations” on the two countries’ “wisdom.”
“Both sides have displayed sincerity,” he said. “China fully supports this agreement.”
China, which last month hosted Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, is also a top purchaser of Saudi oil. Xi visited Riyadh in December for meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations crucial to China’s energy supplies.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency quoted Shamkhani as calling the talks “clear, transparent, comprehensive and constructive.”
“Removing misunderstandings and the future-oriented views in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will definitely lead to improving regional stability and security, as well as increasing cooperation among Persian Gulf nations and the world of Islam for managing current challenges,” Shamkhani said.
Al-Aiban thanked Iraq and Oman for mediating talks between Iran and the kingdom, according to a transcript of his remarks published by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

“While we value what we have reached, we hope that we will continue to continue the constructive dialogue,” the Saudi official said.
Tensions long have been high between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom broke off ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts there. Saudi Arabia had executed a prominent Shiite cleric with 46 others days earlier, triggering the demonstrations.
The execution came as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, then a deputy, began his rise to power. The son of King Salman, Prince Mohammed previously compared Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Adolf Hitler, and also threatened to strike Iran.
In the years since, the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018. Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks after that, including one targeting the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in 2019, temporarily halving the kingdom’s crude production.
Though Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels initially claimed the attack, Western nations and experts have blamed it on Tehran. Iran long has denied launching the attack. It has also denied carrying out other assaults later attributed to the Islamic Republic.
Religion also plays a key role in their relations. Saudi Arabia, home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray toward five times a day, has long portrayed itself as the world’s leading Sunni nation. Iran’s theocracy meanwhile views itself as the protector of the Islam’s Shiite minority.
The two powerhouses also have competing interests elsewhere, such as in the turmoil now tearing at Lebanon and in the rebuilding of Iraq after decades of war following the U.S.-led 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and political group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, praised the agreement as “an important development” that could “open new horizons” in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates also praised the accord.
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute who long has studied the region, said Saudi Arabia reaching the deal with Iran came after the United Arab Emirates reached a similar understanding with Tehran.
“This dialing down of tensions and deescalation has been underway for three years and this was triggered by Saudi acknowledgement in their view that without unconditional U.S. backing they were unable to project power vis-a-vis Iran and the rest of the region,” he said.
Prince Mohammed, now focused on massive construction projects in his own country, likely wants to finally pull out of the Yemen war as well, Ulrichsen added.
“Instability could do a lot of damage to his plans,” he said.
The Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government into exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition armed with U.S. weaponry and intelligence entered the war on the side of Yemen’s exiled government in March 2015. Years of inconclusive fighting created a humanitarian disaster and pushed the Arab world’s poorest nation to the brink of famine.
A six-month cease-fire in Yemen’s war, the longest of the conflict, expired in October despite diplomatic efforts to renew it.
In recent months, negotiations have been ongoing, including in Oman, a longtime interlocutor between Iran and the U.S. Some have hoped for an agreement ahead of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which will begin later in March. Iran and Saudi Arabia have held off-and-on talks in recent years, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether Yemen was the impetus for this new detente.
Yemeni rebel spokesperson Mohamed Abdulsalam appeared to welcome the deal in a statement that also slammed the U.S. and Israel. “The region needs the return of normal relations between its countries, through which the Islamic society can regain its lost security as a result of the foreign interventions, led by the Zionists and Americans,″ he wrote online.
For Israel, which has wanted to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia despite the Palestinians remaining without a state of their own, Riyadh easing tensions with Iran could complicate its own calculations in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure politically at home, has threatened to take military action against Iran’s nuclear program as it enriches closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Riyadh seeking peace with Tehran takes one potential ally for a strike off the table. Netanyahu’s government offered no immediate comment Friday to the news.
It remains unclear, however, what this means for America. Though long viewed as guaranteeing Middle East energy security, regional leaders have grown increasingly wary of Washington’s intentions after its chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment over the announced deal.
However, the White House bristled at the notion that a Saudi-Iran agreement in Beijing suggests a rise of Chinese influence in the Mideast.
“I would stridently push back on this idea that we’re stepping back in the Middle East — far from it,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.
He added: “It really does remain to be seen whether the Iranians are going to honor their side of the deal. This is not a regime that typically honors its word.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 10, 2023