Today’s news digest this first weekend of September comes via my own Twitter account @VShah1984. The 21st annual Minnesota Children’s Book Festival will take place this month to celebrate the art of children’s literature in the American state. Hosted by the Andersen Center, the festival will feature high-quality online video readings and presentations of new books by eight of the state’s most acclaimed children’s and young adult authors and illustrators. A series of online presentations will take place from September 9 to 12, with a special socially-distanced activity session at the Center on the 19th. Participating authors and illustrators are Daniel Bernstrom, V.T. Bidania, H.M. Bouwman, Cori Doerrfeld, Bao Phi, Caren Stelson, Lauren Stringer and Kao Kalia Yang – Minnesota Children’s Book Festival Brings Children’s Literature to Life (Wandering Educators)
The poisoning of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has raised pressure on the German Chancellor Angela Merkel to cancel a proposed gas pipeline contract between Germany and the Russian state, the New York Times reports. The Chancellor argued that the USD $11 billion Nord Stream 2 fuel contract should go ahead, as politics and business should be kept apart. The NYT said “The 764-mile pair of pipelines under the Baltic Sea is being built by a consortium led by the Russian energy giant Gazprom, which owns it, and would double the capacity for natural gas to flow directly from Russia to Germany. It has been criticized by many in Europe and the United States for increasing Russian leverage on Germany and helping to line the pockets of the Russian state.” – Navalny Poisoning Raises Pressure on Merkel to Cancel Russian Pipeline (The New York Times)
British law studies blog The Legal Amity @thelegalamity is launching its inaugural TLA Team Social event online this month to help members of the blog and contributors get to know each other in a safe environment. The special event, which will take place on Zoom on the 12th September, can be entered by sending in a ‘funny fact’ about yourself – 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗟𝗔 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹! (The Legal Amity/Twitter)
Warner Bros. Television, in collaboration with John Wells Prods., have announced they will beginning filming of two of their landmark television series this month in Los Angeles, USA. The shows to be filmed are Shameless and Animal Kingdom, of which the filming for the former will be for its final series – ‘Shameless’ Starts Filming Final Season, WarnerMedia’s Ann Sarnoff Reveals, Talks COVID-19 Impact On TV Production & More (DEADLINE)
Jacob Serrano, a New York resident who lost seven of his relatives to the SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) coronavirus, will be the first American to trial an experimental vaccine developed by Oxford University in the UK, the New York Post reported earlier this week. He will be among 31 volunteers taking part in a trial held in Florida state. “Look at the amount of lives that we lost,” Serrano told CBS medical contributor Dr. Jon LaPook. “And I just don’t want that to keep occurring.” “I know there was a risk because it’s like — it’s a trial,” he said. “But I’d rather have us one step closer, no matter what it takes.” – Man who lost 7 relatives to COVID-19 first to try experimental vaccine in US (New York Post)
Filming of the latest Batman film, The Batman, has been put on hold after its lead actor Robert Pattinson tested positive for coronavirus according to US news media and Britain’s BBC News. A spokeswoman for the studios said: “A member of The Batman production has tested positive for Covid-19, and is isolating in accordance with established protocols. Filming is temporarily paused.”. It is believed Pattinson contracted the illness while engaged in filming activities in London, which is the UK’s highest concentration of viral cases. The Batman was initially due for release in June 2021 but has been delayed to October 2021 – Batman filming paused after Robert Pattinson ‘tests positive for coronavirus’ (BBC News)
Mauritius’ Aret Kokin Nu Laplaz (AKNL) collective has petitioned local authorities to make a beach accessible to the public again after it was closed down during the country’s COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Pomponette beach, just west of the town of Souillac on the island’s south coast, was sealed off with walls of metal sheeting to prevent public access. AKNL spokesperson Yan Hookoomsingh told Mauritius’ radio station outlet Radio Plus: “We must return this beach to the Mauritian people. We are not against development. But we need real development that is in everyone’s interest,”. AKNL has written to the state minister for land and housing, Steven Obeegadoo, to kickstart the reopening of Mauritius by re-opening Pomponette first – «Redéclarer la plage de Pomponette publique», réclame AKNL (Defimedia.info)
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