Vietnam’s financial hub is setting aside land to develop what locals call a new “Silicon Valley,” a reference to the area of California where a lot of new technology is developed, but with not-so-California characteristics, such as state planning and a lack of venture capital. The Home Affairs Department of Ho Chi Minh City filed a plan this month to the city’s Communist Party committee for merging three districts into a single zone for development as a tech center, domestic media outlet VnExpress International says. The plan followed a meeting May 8 between city officials and Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the news outlet says.   City leaders had begun in 2017 planning a 22,000-hectare (54,300-acre) zone to monetize scientific and technical research, the news outlet says. More than 1 million people already live along the flat swathe of land along the Saigon River. The zone will appeal foremost to internet and software developers, including an estimated 40 financial technology firms, as well as their employees who hope to live near work, analysts on the ground say. The zone is taking shape as tech-educated Vietnamese in their 20s start companies. “Vietnamese are very entrepreneurial,” said Jack Nguyen, a partner at the business advisory firm Mazars in Ho Chi Minh City. “They see something work in other countries, or in the U.S., they’ll give it a shot here in Vietnam.” Vietnamese entrepreneurs, some educated overseas, are taking advantage of a largely “mobile” culture in the Southeast Asian country as well as low-paid local engineers to build up their bases in Ho Chi Minh City, Nguyen added.   Ho Chi Minh City’s tech zone includes a slice of its financial center, modern apartment tracts and a nearby polytechnic university. Those perks should make the zone more attractive for techies, said Phuong Hong, a native of the city who lives in the zone.   “These three districts have the level of living, and transportation is also very, very convenient,” she said, referring to the three administrative tracts to be merged. Tech workers are likely to take advantage of that convenience, said Frederick Burke, Ho Chi Minh City-based partner with the law firm Baker McKenzie.    “The fact that they give extra incentives to locate there creates an ecosystem where some employees live in the neighborhood,” Burke said. “Therefore, an engineer can jump from one job to another more easily.”   Central government leaders have tried over the past decade to steer Vietnam’s export-led economy Electricity needs are rising as Vietnam’s economy grows, adding challenges for the state power utility, EVN, as it tries to balance free markets and central planning. (Ha Nguyen/VOA)National-level and city government planning will probably lead the tech zone’s formation – a key difference compared to the more organic development of Silicon Valley of California – analysts say. “What we’ll likely see as key differences between the two is the Ho Chi Minh City project will be a cluster that heavily recruits global and regional companies and (where) entrepreneurial behaviors are likely commissioned by the government, whereas Silicon Valley is more locally grown and has been driven by industry trends and technology innovations,” said Lam Nguyen, managing director with the tech market research firm IDC Indochina in Ho Chi Minh City.  State planning to date has offered internet bandwidth. Growth of the zone will require local officials to build out infrastructure, the IDC managing director said. The zone will need tax incentives, better business licensing processes and ideal locations to draw newcomers, he added.   Tech investors will favor Vietnam’s relatively lower costs, Lam Nguyen said. Vietnam’s tech zone will face a lack of venture capital, buyouts and failures followed by restarts, country observers say. A lot of startup founders have ideas but lack capital, Jack Nguyen said. They look overseas for funding, he said. The area south of San Francisco known as “Silicon Valley” first became a hub of technology development in the 1950s, when a dean of Stanford University’s engineering school encouraged faculty members to start their own companies. Silicon Valley output has been estimated at an unusually high $275 billion per year and it’s one of the most expensive parts of the United States. 
…

Hong Kong riot police established a blockade around the city’s legislative complex Wednesday as lawmakers prepared to debate a controversial bill that would make disrespecting China’s national anthem a crime. Police erected water-filled barriers around the complex to keep away protesters after a call went out the night before to surround the building to derail the proceedings.  But thousands of protesters gathered in the city’s business district shouting pro-democracy slogans and insults at police, who fired pepper pellets at the demonstrators to disperse them. Hong Kong lawmakers are holding a second debate on a bill that calls for anyone who intentionally insults the anthem by booing or any other means, to face up to three years in prison and fines of more than $6,000. The bill was introduced last year in response to fans regularly booing “March of the Volunteers” during football (soccer) matches. The global financial hub was engulfed by massive and often violent anti-government protests during the last half of 2019, sparked initially by a controversial extradition bill that eventually evolved into a demand for greater democracy. Many Hong Kongers fear their autonomy is steadily being eroded by a central government on the mainland that is increasingly meddling in its affairs. The debate over the national anthem bill coincides with a proposed national security law unveiled last week in China’s national congress that would prevent and punish acts of “secession, subversion or terrorism activities” that threaten national security. The law would also allow Chinese national security organs to set up agencies in Hong Kong. The legislation has been condemned by business groups and Western nations as the death knell for Hong Kong’s status under the “one country, two systems” concept established after Britain handed over control of the financial hub to China in 1997, especially since the proposed law bypasses Hong Kong’s legislature. 
…

Only a fraction of the world’s economists expects a healthy global post-coronavirus economic recovery, according to a new survey by Reuters. The news agency says it polled more than 250 economists and only 15 predict what’s known as a “V-Shaped” recovery – one where the numbers rise sharply after a sharp drop. Most said they forecast a slower recovery or one with a lot of ups and downs before a sustained economic comeback. U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. economy would “skyrocket” as soon as the coronavirus pandemic passes, but some economists say they believe a full recovery will take time. The economists who talked to Reuters say one of the tricks is how to revive economic activity without triggering a second COVID-19 wave when people once again travel, shop, and play. Illnesses such as the coronavirus give rise to countless folk remedies and other pieces of advice on fighting or preventing the disease. The latest piece of advice sweeping social media is the recommendation that people take large doses of Vitamin D — as much as 60,000 IU (international units) per week. Many health experts say “don’t.” “There have been some news reports about vitamin D reducing the risk of coronavirus. However, there is no evidence that this is the case,” the British National Health Service says.  Too much Vitamin D can lead to a poisonous buildup of calcium in the blood, bringing on disorientation, kidney damage, and heart problems among other conditions.  Experts say the body generates its own Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. They say the best food sources are fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel or a cold glass of fortified milk.  The author of a government report that said U.S. hospitals faced shortages of coronavirus testing materials says she is “plowing ahead” with 14 new reports that may be critical of the Trump administration’s COVID-19 response. Acting Health and Human Services inspector general Christi Grimm told a House committee Tuesday that she has not felt what she described as a “chilling effect” by the president’s criticism of her or his nomination of someone to replace her. “I personally and professionally cannot let the idea of providing unpopular information drive decision-making in the work that we do,” Grimm told the lawmakers via videoconference. Trump called the April report about testing shortages “just wrong” and “fake” and driven by politics. Grimm says she has worked for Democratic and Republican presidents and called independence the “cornerstone” of what an inspector general does. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden Tuesday called Trump a “fool” for suggesting that wearing a mask in public to stave off coronavirus is a sign of weakness. Biden made his first public appearance in months Monday when he wore a black mask at a Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony while Trump has yet to appear before a camera wearing one. “He’s supposed to lead by example,” Biden told CNN. “He’s a fool, an absolute fool, to talk that way.”  Trump denies he was making fun in a tweet of his likely rival for the White House in November.    “They’re inside, they don’t wear masks and so I thought it was very unusual that he had one on. But I thought that was fine. I wasn’t criticizing him at all. Why would I ever do a thing like that?” he told reporters. Biden called the president’s refusal to wear a face covering “macho stuff.”  
…

Like many expectant mothers, makeup artist Merry Mwihava was delighted to learn that she would be welcoming a new child into the world. But when Merry lost her job during the pandemic, she was forced to tap into her creative talents to find inventive ways to feed her family. A Coming Joy Wrapped in Fears takes us Merry and her family’s journey to discover new rituals and unanticipated ways to survive in a changing world.Camera: Kitundu Jonathan, Alex VenanceProduced by: Barbara Santos, Euna Lee
…

More than nine months after U.S. President Donald Trump first floated his name, John Ratcliffe is taking charge of the country’s intelligence operations, promising to live up to the U.S. intelligence community mantra of speaking truth to power, despite his reputation as a Trump loyalist.The 54-year-old Ratcliffe was sworn in as director of national intelligence on Tuesday, less than a week after FILE – U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, poses for the media prior to his accreditation at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, May 8, 2018.During a White House briefing Tuesday, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany expressed hope Ratcliffe would follow in the path of Richard Grenell, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Germany, who had been serving as acting director for the past three months.“Rick Grenell has done an excellent job in that position,” McEnany said. “He’s done extraordinary work at ODNI. I expect John Ratcliffe will as he takes over,” she added.In his short time as the acting DNI, Grenell irritated some lawmakers by refusing to consult with them while pushing ahead with a series of reforms, including changes to how the intelligence community will brief on election interference and moves to streamline operations at the National Counterterrorism Center.JUST IN: Senate Intelligence Committee official tells Senate Intelligence Committee member Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. questions CIA Director John Brennan on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 9, 2016.“Ratcliffe has proven that his loyalty is to Donald Trump, not the truth,” Democratic senator and Intelligence Committee member Ron Wyden tweeted last week, following Ratcliffe’s Senate confirmation.“This is yet another unqualified Trump nominee rubber-stamped by (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell, and a sad day for our democracy,” Wyden added.Concerns first surfaced last August when the president tweeted his intent to nominate Ratcliffe and caused the Texas lawmaker to withdraw his name from consideration.Concerns about inexperience, partisanshipSpecifically, lawmakers questioned whether Ratcliffe, a former U.S. attorney, had overstated his counterterrorism achievements, and noted that at the time, he had only served on the House Intelligence Committee for six months.Since then, Republican members of Congress warmed to Ratcliffe’s nomination, satisfied with his assurances that he would not use the U.S. intelligence community to further the president’s political goals..James R. Clapper, Jr., Director of National Intelligence, testifies on Capitol Hill, March 10 2011.James Clapper, who served as DNI under former President Barack Obama and who has been a frequent critic of the Trump administration, said one option would be for Ratcliffe to hold a series of town halls “so he can get to know the agencies, and they him.“The rank and file are going to watch closely to see what the new DNI does and says,” Clapper said. “I think they’ll want to give him a chance to live up to what he promised during his confirmation hearing.”
…

In another sign of progress in the battle against the spread of the coronavirus in Massachsuetts, a field hospital set up inside the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center is suspending the admission of new patients.The field hospital, dubbed “Boston Hope,” was one a handful of temporary emergency facilities created around the state to help hospitals cope with an expected influx of COVID-19 patients.The facility served more than 700 COVID-19 patients and will continue to treat those still in the facility, Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday. The 1,000 beds will remain in place over the summer in case the state experiences another COVID-19 surge.Baker said the decision to close the facility comes after daily conversations with the health care community.”We’ve talked a lot about preparing for and dealing with the surge — which is now something that, thanks to a lot of work by a lot of people, is behind us — and as a result of that, many of the field hospitals that we set up around the state to add beds and reduce strain on hospitals have begun to close,” he said.The emergency hospital was pulled together by state and city officials, Mass General Brigham, Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, and others.The state’s hospitals were stressed but never overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, according to Baker.COVID-19 update The number of new COVID-19 cases fell below 500 as the state continues to see steady improvement as it battles the coronavirus.The number of individuals in Massachusetts diagnosed with confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday climbed to about 93,700 as the state reported 422 new cases.The number of confirmed COVID-19-related deaths since the start of the pandemic climbed to 6,473 as another 57 deaths were reported.There were other signs of progress.The number of people currently hospitalized with the disease fell to about 2,100, down from about 3,100 two weeks ago.The number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care also fell to 560 — down from 818 two weeks ago.The number of deaths at long-term care facilities rose to 3,924 — or about 60% of all COVID-19-related cases in the state.
…

На українському міжбанківському валютному ринку котирування в головній парі наближаються до позначки 27 гривень за долар. За даними Finance.ua, торги 26 травня розпочалися на рівні 26 гривень 86,5–88,5 копійки за долар, а завершилися на позначках 26 гривень 92–94,5 копійки за одиницю американської валюти.

За інформацією експертів сайту «Мінфін», упродовж майже всього дня попит на долар переважав пропозицію. Фахівці вказували на існування кількох чинників впливу на перебіг торгів. На користь гривні було проведення Міністерством фінансів України аукціону з розміщення ОВДП та зарахування компаніям-експортерам валютної виручки за два дні (понеділок у США був вихідним, американці відзначали День Пам’яті). Проти гривні працювало зарахування основних відшкодувань ПДВ експортерам, що зменшує для них потребу в продажу валюти.

Національний банк України встановив на 27 травня курс 26 гривень 90 копійок за долар, це на три копійки більше за офіційний курс на 26 травня.
…

J.K. Rowling is publishing a new story called The Ickabog, which will be free to read online to help entertain children and families stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic. The Harry Potter author said Tuesday she wrote the fairy tale for her children as a bedtime story over a decade ago. Set in an imaginary land, it is a stand-alone story “about truth and the abuse of power” for children from 7 to 9 years old and is unrelated to Rowling’s other books. Rowling said the draft of the story had stayed in her attic while she focused on writing books for adults. She said her children, now teenagers, were “touchingly enthusiastic” when she recently suggested retrieving the story and publishing it for free.  “For the last few weeks I’ve been immersed in a fictional world I thought I’d never enter again. As I worked to finish the book, I started reading chapters nightly to the family again,” she said.  “‘The Ickabog’s first two readers told me what they remember from when they were tiny and demanded the reinstatement of bits they’d particularly liked (I obeyed).”The first two chapters were posted online Tuesday, with daily installments to follow until July 10.The book will be published in print later this year, and Rowling said she will pledge royalties from its sales to projects helping those particularly affected by the pandemic.  
…