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CBD News: The 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference[1] opened yesterday in the seaside town of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt with an opening ceremony that included an address from President of Egypt, H.E. Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi, who emphasized the c




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CBD News: The two-year wait is over! Amidst the beating sun of Sharm-el-Sheikh comes a project from the cold, dark winter of Northern Europe.




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CBD News: The 2018 UN Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP14) closed tonight with broad international agreement on reversing the global destruction of nature and biodiversity loss threatening all forms of life on Earth.




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CBD News: Statement of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, Assistant-Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the occasion of the Official Launch of the 2019 International Year of Indigenous La




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CBD News: Opening statement by Ms. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the eighteenth session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, United Nations Headquarters, Ne




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CBD News: The world needs transformative change if life on Earth is to be safeguarded and people are to continue to receive the services and benefits that nature provides, according to a new report from an international team of leading researchers.




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CBD News: Statement by Ms. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity, at the closing of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 4 May 2019




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CBD News: The United Nations celebrated the International Day for Biological Diversity by examining the fundamental role of nature in ensuring human health and good nutrition.




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CBD News: The Convention on Biological Diversity is pleased to partner with the Slow Food International for this year's celebrations of the International Day for Biological Diversity, on 22 May 2019, which focuses on biodiversity as the foundation of




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CBD News: Presentation by Dr. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, UN Assistant Secretary-General, Executive Secretary of UN Biodiversity Convention, for EU Environmental ministerial, Helsinki, Finland, July 11 2019




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CBD News: Statement of the Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Dr. Cristiana Pasca Palmer, UN Assistant Secretary-General, on the occasion of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples




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CBD News: In 1992, at the landmark Rio Earth Summit, the international community, in its wisdom, created three interrelated conventions to safeguard the future of the planet, all peoples, and indeed all life on earth: the United Nations Framework Conventi




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CBD News: This year's World Tourism Day theme, 'Tourism and jobs: A better future for all', serves to highlight the critical role tourism, and ultimately nature, plays in job creation.




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CBD News: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2019: Acting Together to Achieving the three objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity will ensure that the children of today and tomorrow, along with their families and communities, ca




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CBD News: This year's World Cities Day theme, "Changing the world: innovations and better life for future generations", focuses on how urban governance can be used to achieve sustainable development.




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CBD News: In the "Beijing Call for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Change", French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping on 6 November reaffirmed their commitments to enhance international cooperation on climate change




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CBD Notification SCBD/CPU/DC/MA/MW/88481 (2019-103): Nomination of Experts to the Western, Central and Eastern Asian Training Course on Risk Assessment of Living Modified Organisms, 13-17 April 2020 - Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia




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CBD News: Eleventh meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Inter-Sessional Working Group on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (20 - 22 November 2019 - Montréal, Canada)




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CBD News: The Secretariats of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme and Ja




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CBD Notification SCBD/OES/DC/AC/88568 (2019-115): Submission of views on possible targets and indicators for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework related to the interlinkages and interdependencies between biodiversity and climate change




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CBD Notification SCBD/OES/DAIN/MB/FD/88610 (2020-007): Theme for the International Day for Biological Diversity 2020




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CBD News: Twenty years ago, on 29 January 2000, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The Cartagena Protocol entered into force on 11 September 2003.




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CBD News: Over 1000 delegates from more than 140 countries started negotiations today at FAO headquarters, Rome on the zero draft of a landmark post-2020 global biodiversity framework and targets for nature to 2030.




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CBD News: Joining the global celebration of the United Nations World Wildlife Day, representatives of UN Member States, UN System organizations, international and non-governmental organizations, rural communities and youth gathered at the UN Headquarters




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CBD Notification SCBD/OES/DAIN/MB/FD/88610 (2020-035): Logo for the International Day for Biological Diversity 2020: "Our solutions are in nature"






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A linearly convergent majorized ADMM with indefinite proximal terms for convex composite programming and its applications

Ning Zhang, Jia Wu and Liwei Zhang
Math. Comp. 89 (2020), 1867-1894.
Abstract, references and article information





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Topological Phases of Matter and Quantum Computation

Paul Bruillard, Carlos Ortiz Marrero and Julia Plavnik, editors. American Mathematical Society, 2020, CONM, volume 747, approx. 240 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4704-4074-9 (print), 978-1-4704-5457-9 (online).

This volume contains the proceedings of the AMS Special Session on Topological Phases of Matter and Quantum Computation, held from September...




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RBS shutters Bó after just six months

The challenger brand launched by the high street bank will be shutting down after informing customers that it is closing down the app-only bank





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Nonlinear ????-term approximation of harmonic functions from shifts of the Newtonian kernel

Kamen G. Ivanov and Pencho Petrushev
Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 373 (2020), 3117-3176.
Abstract, references and article information




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Common interview questions for developers




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Backyard Critters

Makuta Matata posted a photo:

"Mere jars won't hold these two..."

A companion piece entry for Lego Ideas' alternative nature contest

More photos are on my Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/140765177@N05/




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Backyard Critters

Makuta Matata posted a photo:

"Mere jars won't hold these two..."

A companion piece entry for Lego Ideas' alternative nature contest

More photos are on my Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/140765177@N05/




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Backyard Critters

Makuta Matata posted a photo:

"Mere jars won't hold these two..."

A companion piece entry for Lego Ideas' alternative nature contest

More photos are on my Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/140765177@N05/




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Estimation of the rate of convergence in the central limit theorem for a sequence of series in terms of averaged pseudomoments

M. M. Kapustei and P. V. Slyusarchuk
Theor. Probability and Math. Statist. 99 (2020), 101-111.
Abstract, references and article information





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Solutions in Lebesgue spaces to nonlinear elliptic equations with subnatural growth terms

A. Seesanea and I. E. Verbitsky
St. Petersburg Math. J. 31 (2020), 557-572.
Abstract, references and article information










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Prosecutions free from interference

The Department of Justice (DoJ) is responsible for making prosecutorial decisions. At times, these decisions attract extensive discussions in the community. It becomes interesting when overseas media and politicians embark upon allegations or purported demands relating to Hong Kong’s prosecutorial decisions.

 

Article 63 of the Basic Law provides that the DoJ of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall control criminal prosecutions, free from any interference. This prosecutorial independence ought to be a feature in any society that cherishes the rule of law, and therefore attempts made by jurisdictions requesting such decisions to be made one way or another or even to request that they be varied is a blatant defiance of rule of law.

 

The DoJ acts independently without political, improper or undue influence, including those from public opinions and certainly not from overseas politicians who made these requests possibly not based on evidence or law but on political motives.

 

In cases in which legal proceedings are ongoing, we will not comment and neither should others as it may bring about the undesirable effect of a trial by the public. Statements made requesting the DoJ to drop all the charges or uttered with a view to affecting the DoJ’s role in controlling criminal prosecutions are futile. It is plainly wrong to label our prosecutions as politicised. On the contrary, no one, be they tycoons or politicians, will be above the law or be treated differently simply because they have a certain status or are pursuing certain beliefs or goals.

 

When law enforcement agencies have completed their investigation, they would seek legal advice from the DoJ. Our prosecutors would carefully consider the investigation reports and relevant materials submitted. A prosecution would only be commenced if the prosecutor is satisfied that there is sufficient admissible evidence to support a reasonable prospect of conviction.

 

The well-established procedures of our criminal justice system include the independent investigations by law enforcement agencies, the independent prosecutorial decisions based on objective assessment of evidence, applicable laws and in accordance with the Prosecution Code, and finally open trials by our independent judiciary. If we are to accede or be seen to yield to unreasonable demands to drop charges irresponsibly, we would not only be unfair and unprofessional but would also act in violation of the spirit of the rule of law.

 

I have explained the DoJ’s prosecution procedure on various occasions and stressed that our prosecutors are expected to apply the highest of professional standards in handling all criminal cases impartially and without fear or favour. They must not be influenced by political consideration. Cases should not be handled any differently irrespective of one’s own political beliefs or opinions.

 

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government always respects and protects human rights and freedoms. However, these rights are not absolute. As pointed out by the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal at the Ceremonial Opening of the Legal Year 2020: “It is important to understand that the enjoyment of these rights has limits so as not to affect adversely to an unacceptable level the enjoyment by other members of their community of their rights and liberties.” There are clear limits in the law to the exercise of these rights. When law is broken, action will be taken in accordance with the criminal justice system.

 

The rule of law is a core value in Hong Kong. We have to stand united in upholding our independent criminal justice system especially when it is under attack by any unfair and unfounded allegation made with a view to discrediting or undermining it. Any attempt to do so would only be attractive to those unfamiliar with our independent legal and judicial systems. We are obliged to continue to explain and ensure that their absence of knowledge would not override facts. We will continue to disseminate proper and accurate information and help clear any misunderstandings in the local and overseas communities.

 

Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng wrote this article and posted it on her blog on April 26.




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20 Questions–Job Interview, or First Date?

We are now in the peak of job season. Depending upon your branch, applications may have been due as early as October 1. Big deadlines are November 1, November 15, and December 1.  Still, you should basically be done applying now—see … Continue reading




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Offensive Words/Phrases: Who Should Know Better?

Required reading for any academic is Philip Roth’s “The Human Stain.” In the first few pages an older, tenured professor is “forced to retire.” Why? There were two students who never were present when he called roll. Even after roll … Continue reading




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Branko Grunbaum Remembered--A Great Geometer!