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A housing advocate is ending his campaign for the Berkeley City Council, saying he could no longer afford to live in the city. Greg Magofña tweeted that he was ending his run to represent District Four because his roommate plans to move out of the Bay Area within the year, forcing Magofña to look for housing outside of Berkeley because he is “now priced out.” “I’m being forced to leave Berkeley, and it’s ironic because I co-founded an organization called the East Bay for Everyone in 2015, fighting for housing, to make sure something like this doesn’t happen,” Magofña told The Chronicle on Thursday morning. “It just really hits hard when you have been fighting for other people experiencing displacement, and you — as someone with privilege and with a good salary — is displaced,” he said, adding that lived lived in Berkeley’s District Four for nearly 10 years. Magofña is the director of development and outreach for the California Renters Legal Advocacy and Education Fund, an … [Read more...] about Housing advocate ends Berkeley City Council campaign, says he’s ‘priced out’ of city

Amid protests by the opposition parties against the hike in diesel cess imposed by the AP State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), the corporation management has defended the move citing recent hike in the price of diesel. In a statement on Saturday, corporation’s Executive Director (Operations) K.S. Brahmananda Reddy said due to the hike in the price of diesel, the APSRTC was left with no choice but to increase the cess on diesel, which resulted in marginal hike in ticket rates. He said the corporation had taken care to ensure that the common man was not overburdened by the move, and appealed to the public to understand and extend their cooperation. He said even in the wake of serious financial constraints faced by the corporation, which had made the maintenance of buses an uphill task, APSRTC had not increased the bus fare keeping in mind the welfare of the public. “The recent cess hike is inevitable. The marginal increase in the diesel cess effected in April this year was … [Read more...] about Andhra Pradesh: APSRTC defends diesel cess hike

The Centre’s move to increase the import duty on gold by a steep 500 bps (base rate) to arrest the free fall of rupee may lead to strengthening of the grey market, analysts said. “The sudden hike in gold import duty has taken us by surprise,” said Ashish Pethe, Chairman, Gem & Jewellery Council (GJC). “We understand the government’s situation with regard to the rupee vs dollar, but this hike will put the entire industry in a spot and may encourage smuggling,” he added. “We will engage with the government to resolve the situation in favour of the domestic industry,” Mr. Pethe said. He was reacting to the government’s move to increase import duty on gold from base rate of 7.5-12.5% to curb the sharp depreciation of the Indian rupee against dollar. “India’s gold demand is largely met through imports, which, at times when the rupee faces some weakness, exacerbates the issue. Rupee exchange rate touched a record low earlier this week amid higher inflation and expanding trade … [Read more...] about Steep raise in gold import duty may strengthen grey market, says WGC

The story so far: The Indian rupee hit an all-time low against the U.S. dollar this week weakening past the 79 rupees to a dollar mark and selling as low as 79.05 against the dollar on Wednesday. Many analysts expect the rupee to weaken further in the coming months and move past the 80 rupees to a dollar mark. In fact, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the rupee to weaken past the 94 rupees to a dollar mark by FY29. What is happening with the rupee? The Indian rupee has been witnessing a steady decline this year, losing more than 6% against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of 2022. India’s forex reserves have also dropped below $600 billion, plunging by more than $50 billion since September 3, 2021, when forex reserves stood at an all-time high of $642 billion. The drop in India’s forex reserves is believed to be largely due to steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India to support the rupee. RBI officials, however, have noted that the drop in forex reserves is due … [Read more...] about Explainer | The free fall of the rupee

The story so far: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not only created instability in the region and displaced millions of people but has also led to a global food shortage. Earlier in June, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) released a report that outlines the importance of Ukraine and Russia for agricultural markets and the risks associated with the war that broke out in Ukraine in February 2022 when Russia invaded the country. Also Read Russia-Ukraine crisis live updates | Russia says it has more than 6,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war Both Russia and Ukraine are among the top producers of agricultural commodities in the world. In 2021, both ranked among the top three exporters of wheat, barley, maize, and sunflower seed and oil, globally. Share in global production of selected crops (2016/17-2020/21 average) | Photo Credit: FAO People living in eastern Ukraine were already displaced or impacted by war since 2014 when Russia … [Read more...] about Explained | The impact of the Ukraine-Russia crisis on global agricultural markets

Newsmax’s top-rated host Greg Kelly warned Republican Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday night: Don’t take on Donald Trump for president come 2024. The declaration from the primetime star comes more than two years ahead of a 2024 general election and months ahead of the 2022 midterms, as behind the scenes, Republican Party lieutenants mull potential 2024 GOP presidential contenders. “Governor Ron DeSantis. He is amazing, so talented, so smart, unlimited political future. I want him to be president someday,” Kelly began his Friday evening show as a graphic appeared on screen stating, ‘Not Yet, Ron.’ “I think that’s almost guaranteed to happen, but I’d rather not see him run in 2024.” The message from Kelly comes while Trumpworld remains unsure of precisely when a Trump 2024 campaign announcement might come. The New York Times reported Friday that Trump could announce his candidacy “unusually early,” and the news may come not at a rally but on social media. After … [Read more...] about Newsmax Host Rips Into ‘Career Politician’ Ron DeSantis Over Potential 2024 Run Against Trump

The Taliban's supreme leader offered prayers on July 1 for Afghanistan's earthquake victims during a speech to Islamic clerics in Kabul. The tremor in June killed more than 1,000 people in the eastern part of the country . State radio aired Haibatullah Akhundzada's speech live on Friday from the gathering in Kabul, where thousands of Islamic clerics and tribal elders are gathering for the first time since seizing power in Afghanistan in August. Women were not allowed to attend. Mr. Akhundzada's appearance added symbolic heft to the meeting and the decisions the group is considering about Afghanistan's future. The Taliban are under international pressure to be more inclusive as they struggle with Afghanistan's humanitarian crises. The powerful earthquake killed more than 1,000 people in eastern Afghanistan, igniting yet another crisis for the struggling country and further underscoring the Taliban's limited capabilities and isolation. Overstretched aid groups already keeping … [Read more...] about Taliban supreme leader prays for Afghanistan’s earthquake victims

Samsung Electronics said on Thursday that it has started chip production using its 3-nanometre (nm) technology, implemented for the first time ever globally. (Sign up to our Technology newsletter, Today’s Cache, for insights on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, business and policy. Click here to subscribe for free.) Compared to the 5nm process, the first-generation 3nm process can reduce power consumption by up to 45%, improve performance by 23% and reduce area by 16%, the semiconductor maker noted in a statement. Also Read Samsung in talks to hike chipmaking prices by up to 20% Samsung explained that its proprietary technology utilises nanosheets with wider channels, which allow higher performance and greater energy efficiency compared to Gate-All-Around (GAA) technologies using nanowires with narrower channels. “We will continue active innovation in competitive technology development and build processes that help expedite achieving … [Read more...] about Samsung starts chip production with 3-nanometre technology

Two million poor Brits are still having an average of £62-a-month creamed off their benefits to pay back loans and debts. Some 45% of Universal Credit claimants had “deductions” taken by the Department for Work and Pensions in February this year. And nearly half of those (43%) were to repay advances people take out to bridge the five-week wait for the first UC payment. Campaigners say the five-week wait drives people to food banks and must be axed. Figures handed to the Mirror show some of England’s poorest communities are far worse hit than others. In Middlesbrough 60% of all claimants had a deduction in February, taking £497,000 out of the pockets of 7,800 local claimants. ( Image: Getty Images) It was followed by Blackpool South (59%), Knowsley, Redcar (both 58%), Hartlepool, Liverpool Walton and Birkenhead (all 57%). By comparison just 37% of claimants suffer deductions in Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey ’s Suffolk Coastal seat. Some 41% … [Read more...] about DWP creams off £62 a month from 2million Brits – full list of 100 worst-hit areas