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Legislative election should become genuine milestone in Kazakhstan’s democratization drive

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:24:01 GMT

This Sunday, on 19 March, Kazakhstan will hold parliamentary and local elections, which will be unique in comparison to the previous one, writes Margulan Baimukhan, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Belgium.While the election was called early, which is not unprecedented in the country’s electoral record, it is arguably its most competitive in nearly two decades. It is a vivid outcome of the systemic democratic reforms initiated and implemented by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev since 2019, which were further amplified and expanded following the turmoil that the country experienced in January 2022.President Tokayev announced the date of the election to the Mazhilis (lower house of parliament) and maslikhats (local representative bodies) on January 19, two months before voting day. As with almost every early poll anywhere in the world, some voiced concerns that political actors would not have enough time to prepare for the intensive campaign. However, the President first proposed to ca...

Rain continues into Wednesday amid flooding, mudslides and potholes

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:24:01 GMT

Record-setting rainfall on Tuesday left its mark on the Southland, with flooded streets and mudslides impacting multiple areas amid the continuing precipitation Wednesday morning.Multiple areas broke their rainfall records for March 14, including Oxnard, which broke a 93-year-old record of 1.46 inches with 2.25 inches of rain. Nearby Camarillo, which has experienced flooding and sinkholes amid the recent storms, also received more than 2 inches of rain.Los Angeles International Airport also shattered its daily rainfall record of 0.43 inches with 1.97 inches of rain, smashing a record that's stood for more than 40 years.Rain cascades down a hillside in Ventura, California. March 14, 2023. (KTLA)Rain cascades down a hillside in Ventura, California. March 14, 2023. (KTLA)Street flooding in Ventura County, California. March 15, 2023. (KTLA)Flooding damaged the backyard of a home in Camarillo, California. March 14, 2023.With all of the precipitation, residents are advised to remain vigil...

Another atmospheric river heading for California next week, likely to impact metro Los Angeles

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:24:01 GMT

Brace yourselves, Californians. Yet another atmospheric river is taking shape and preparing to slam the state. During a press briefing Monday, state climatologist Michael Anderson said after a few days of clear weather late this week, another atmospheric river – or even two – are forecast to hit California between Sunday and Wednesday. The impacted area, Anderson said, would likely be large, from the San Francisco Bay Area through metropolitan Los Angeles and all the way south to San Diego. Meteorologists say it's too soon to predict the exact timing of the storm, or which parts of the state it will hit hardest. Where does the California drought stand heading into spring? "We know there'll be something. There is some activity out in the Pacific right now and models are trending to bring that closer to the California coast," said National Weather Service meteorologist Eleanor Dhuyvetter. "What we don't know is the exact track and intensity by the time it reaches us." Dhuyvett...

Life on Earth: Arts Calendar March 16-22

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:24:01 GMT

Art about hybrid lifeforms in web3, theater about aliens helping us leave Earth, artists make feature films, artists make experimental music, actors make questionable choices; paintings celebrate SoCal color, drawings celebrate L.A. noir; comedy gets shady, tap dance gets loud, college students takeover the museum, artists open their studios to the public.Lauren Lee McCarthy: still from Good Morning (2023–Ongoing) at Vellum LAThursday, March 16LIFELIKE at Vellum LA. A new group exhibition in collaboration with EPOCH, curated by Katie Peyton Hofstadter, explores the work of ten artists logging biological, genetic, and behavioral information on a digital ledger, invoking a conversation about body sovereignty in Web3. These artists are interested in what it will mean, and how it will feel, to have a body in a future where wetware (living tissue) serves as a foundation for technology, where medical implants monitor our hearts and minds, and where decisions are made by programs none of u...

Did the pandemic cost California 638,100 jobs?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:24:01 GMT

”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations while noting these grades are best seen as a mix of artful interpretation and data.Buzz: While California now has more jobs than in its pre-pandemic days, the statewide hiring pace has slowed dramatically.Source: My trusty spreadsheet analyzed recently revised state job counts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, comparing job creation in the pandemic era (three years ended December 2022) vs. the hiring boom of the pre-coronavirus times, the three years ended December 2019.ToplineYes, California has more than replaced the jobs it lost in the early days of the pandemic.The state had 300,600 more workers at year-end 2022 vs. three years earlier. That was the third-largest job gain among the states in the period.But that’s a sharp cooling of hiring from the previous three years when California ranked No. 1 with 938,700 added workers.So, the 638,100 drop in hiring pace – one could call it a loss of...

Review: Fantastic SZA SOS Tour is now the show to beat in 2023

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:24:01 GMT

With just two full-length albums to her credit, SZA was nonetheless able to deliver a masterclass in how to put on a thoroughly entertaining and engaging concert on Tuesday night at an absolutely packed Oakland Arena.The show was visually stunning and resonated emotionally from start to finish. There was a well-developed theme to the production and a sense of purpose to basically everything happening on the stage. SZA’s vocal work was brilliant and she exuded not just superstar power — but also the kind of aura that can only come when an artist has just taken her career to a towering new level.Whoa.It’s almost scary to think where this 33-year-old soul singer can go from here.But why rush things? As it currently stands, SZA is touring with what appears to be the show to beat in 2023.The sold-out Oakland gig was SZA’s second big performance in the Bay Area over the last sevenths months or so. The first came when she delivered a headlining set at the Outside La...

East Bay reservoirs are full, but atmospheric rivers won’t end water worries

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:24:01 GMT

After 11 atmospheric rivers and counting this winter, reservoirs that supply water to the East Bay are brimming. As of today, four out of five local East Bay reservoirs are completely full.But despite concerns about capacity in other parts of the state during the current storms, water managers in the East Bay say local reservoirs are still safe. According to the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), their total storage is currently at 87%.“That’s perfect. It means we have room in the reservoirs for the storm that’s coming in right now, and we’re creating space for the snowmelt,” said Andrea Pook, a spokesperson for EBMUD.SettingsSo far, the storms have been beneficial to East Bay watersheds, which have mainly avoided the types of catastrophic flooding that has wracked parts of the South Bay and Monterey County.  But even with the torrential rains over the last months, Pook warned that the region’s long-term water problems are far from over.“These last few years, i...

Crews close gap in Pajaro levee but keep working as floods keep Highway 1 shut

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:24:01 GMT

Crews closed what had been a 365-foot breach in the Pajaro River levee Tuesday evening that had opened up overnight during Saturday rains, but Highway 1 remains closed due to floodwater worries.The team of 24 contractors working on two 12-hour shifts completed the first phase of the levee work around 5 p.m. Tuesday using 39 trucks, 3 large excavators, and 3 tracked dump trucks to drop boulders, two-to-four-ton rock and gravel. Work will continue to completely secure both exposed ends of the levee at the breach, and then to raise the repair to full levee height..The town of Pajaro remains under evacuation order, with more than 300 people housed in emergency shelter, mostly at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds across the river in Watsonville.Highway 1, the main corridor along the coast, remains closed between Watsonville and Moss Landing due to floodwater concerns around the Pajaro River. Caltrans said water flow from the upstream levee breach has eroded embankment material around the...

Apple’s iPhone maker has $100 million of ‘indirect exposure’ to Silicon Valley Bank fallout

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:24:01 GMT

Debby Wu(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc.’s main iPhone-making partner has indirect exposure to Silicon Valley Bank’s meltdown of about $100 million, joining the ranks of finance and tech firms shaken by the startup linchpin’s failure.Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. parked capital with investment funds that in turn funneled money into startups that banked with the California lender, Chairman Young Liu said. It’s now going through its books carefully but anticipates minimal impact since the Fed has guaranteed SVB’s deposits, he told reporters after reporting results Wednesday.Related ArticlesTechnology | Credit Suisse in fight to win back confidence as shares plunge Technology | Editorial: SVB failure adds to tech industry’s greedy image Technology | Krugman: Silicon Valley Bank in 2023 isn’t Lehman Brothers in 2008 Technology | Collapse of SVB, Signature Bank explained: What to know Technology | Si...

Credit Suisse in fight to win back confidence as shares plunge

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:24:01 GMT

Yousef Gamal El-Din and Marion Halftermeyer(Bloomberg) — Credit Suisse Group AG’s fragile recovery is hitting wider market concerns about financial firms, leaving the bank’s leaders with an uphill battle to convince investors it can pull off an extensive turnaround.The Swiss bank’s stock plunged to the lowest level on record and its credit spreads surged as the company’s top shareholder ruled out increasing its stake because of regulatory constraints. That helped drag all European banks lower as investors show a quick trigger on shying away from risk after the turmoil of the past week.Credit Suisse is just a few months into a complex reshaping that will see it spin out the investment banking unit while focusing on its key wealth management business. Its second strategy pivot in as many years has so far failed to win over investors or halt client outflows, and the effort risks being further complicated by market unease across financials after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.Chief...