Need to pay for some groceries? No problem, just wave your palm. That could be the new mode of payment at Amazon Go stores if current trials of its new technology in Seattle, Washington, are successful.   The technology, known as Amazon One, is a “free, contactless service that lets you use your palm to pay, enter or identify yourself,” according to its website. The product, which is undergoing trials at two Go stores in Seattle, will allow customers to enter their credit card details and cell phone number and scan their palm or palms for distinct details such as “surface area, lines and ridges as well as subcutaneous features such as vein patterns” on a biometric device. The individual palm details are then used to create a customer’s unique palm signature, and Amazon is counting on that to protect customer information. The e-commerce company assures customers that the Amazon One device does not store information. “We treat your palm signature just like other highly sensitive personal data and keep it safe using best-in-class technical and physical security controls,” according to the website.  Once sign-up is complete, customers can purchase goods and services with their palm prints by hovering over the payment device. It will also allow customers to use their palms as a form of ID, which allows them to enter Go stores without a code. If customers change their minds about using the service, Amazon says it will completely delete their information. “Amazon will permanently delete your palm signature from Amazon’s systems after completion of any remaining transactions,” the website says. “Your Amazon One ID will also be automatically deleted if you do not interact with an Amazon One device for two years.” Amazon says it hopes to replicate the technology in all of its Go stores after its pilot use in Seattle and that it looks forward to other retailers signing up for the service.  
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With international travel almost nonexistent because of the coronavirus pandemic, the global tourism industry is finding new ways to make money. In Asia, one way companies are trying to stay profitable is through so-called “flights to nowhere,” as VOA’s Bill Gallo explains from Seoul. 
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U.S. President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, meets informally Tuesday with senators on Capitol Hill, kicking off an accelerated confirmation process that Republicans intend to complete before the November 3 presidential election in the face of Democratic opposition.
 
Barrett, who would be Trump’s third conservative appointee to the nation’s highest court if confirmed by the Senate, meets first with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.  
 
She will also meet with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, Republican committee members Mike Crapo, Chuck Grassley, Mike Lee and other Republican senators.
 
The informal meetings are part of a traditional process leading to confirmation hearings that are set to begin on October 12. A Barrett confirmation would give the court a clear 6-3 conservative majority.
 
Graham has said the Judiciary Committee will probably vote on Barrett’s nomination on October 22, paving the way for a vote before the full Senate, where Trump’s Republican allies have a 53-47 majority.
 
Democrats are strongly opposed to Barrett and Republicans’ acceleration of the confirmation process. They maintain the winner of the presidential election should nominate a successor to liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on September 18 at the age of 87. Most Americans also share that perspective, according to national polls.
 
Barrett currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit after being nominated by Trump and confirmed by the Senate in 2017.
 
Since her confirmation to the 7th Circuit, Barrett has authored more than 100 opinions that have consistently reflected her conservative values.
 
The 48-year-old Barrett is a devout Catholic who is very popular among conservative evangelical Christians, arguably Trump’s most loyal supporters. Abortion rights groups are concerned that Barrett’s confirmation could threaten the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in the U.S.  
 
As a professor at Notre Dame Law School, Barrett expressed some criticism of the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, which protects a pregnant woman’s right to have an abortion without unnecessary government restriction.
 
Democrats also have voiced concerns that Barrett could cast a deciding vote in a Supreme Court case on November 10, in which Trump and Republican allies are asking the court to strike down Obamacare, a nationwide health care law known formally as the Affordable Care Act.
 
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French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday pledged European support for the people of Belarus after he met with opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. The talks took place in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where Tsikhanouskaya fled after an August presidential election in Belarus sparked a political crisis. Many in Belarus reject the official results of the election that gave another term to longtime President Alexander Lukashenko, and in the weeks following the vote thousands have protested. The European Union said last week it does not recognize Lukashenko as president, and Macron has said he must step down. 
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Millions of Afghans are closely watching preliminary peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha. Many are waiting to see whether the political freedoms and rights gained over the last 19 years will be protected in a future peace deal. VOA’s Najiba Khalil spoke to Mohammad Naim, the spokesperson for the Taliban’s political office in Qatar via Skype about women’s rights, press freedom, as well as Taliban attacks and filed this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
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Northern California’s wine country was on fire again Monday as strong winds fanned flames in the already scorched region, destroying homes and prompting orders for nearly 70,000 people to evacuate. Meanwhile, three people died in a separate fire farther north in the state. In Sonoma County, residents of the Oakmont Gardens senior living facility in Santa Rosa boarded brightly lit city buses in the darkness overnight, some wearing bathrobes and using walkers. They wore masks to protect against the coronavirus as orange flames marked the dark sky.  The fire threat forced Adventist Health St. Helena hospital to suspend care and transfer all patients elsewhere.  The fires that began Sunday in the famed Napa-Sonoma wine country about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of San Francisco came as the region nears the third anniversary of deadly wildfires that erupted in 2017, including one that killed 22 people. Just a month ago, many of those same residents were evacuated from the path of a lightning-sparked fire that became the fourth largest in state history.  “Our firefighters have not had much of a break, and these residents have not had much of a break,” said Daniel Berlant, assistant deputy director with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire. Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin evacuated her property in the Oakmont community of Santa Rosa at about 1 a.m. She is rebuilding a home damaged in the 2017 fires. Gorin said she saw three neighboring houses in flames as she fled early Monday. “We’re experienced with that,” she said of the fires. “Once you lose a house and represent thousands of folks who’ve lost homes, you become pretty fatalistic that this is a new way of life and, depressingly, a normal way of life, the megafires that are spreading throughout the West.” More than 68,000 people in Sonoma and Napa counties have been evacuated in the latest inferno, one of nearly 30 fire clusters burning across the state, said Cal Fire Division Chief Ben Nichols. Many more residents have been warned that they might have to flee, even though winds eased significantly Monday afternoon, giving firefighters an opportunity to make some progress, he said.An air tanker drops retardant as the LNU Lightning Complex fires tear through the Spanish Flat community in unincorporated Napa County, Calif., Aug. 18, 2020.”The smoky skies that we’re under are a sign that there’s not a lot of air movement out there moving the smoke around,” Nichols said at an evening briefing. “Not good for air quality, and folks outside exercising, but great for us to work on containing this fire and working on putting it out.”  The Glass Fire broke out before 4 a.m. Sunday and merged with two other fires to scorch more than 56 square miles (145 square kilometers) as of Monday. There was no containment. Officials did not have an estimate of the number of homes destroyed or burned, but the blaze engulfed the Chateau Boswell Winery in St. Helena and at least one five-star resort. Logan Hertel of Santa Rosa used a garden hose to fight flames at a neighbor’s house in the Skyhawk neighborhood until firefighters could relieve him.  “Seems like they got enough on their hands already. So I wanted to step in and put out the fire,” Hertel said.  Dominic Wiggens, who lives in the same neighborhood, evacuated but returned later Monday. His home was still standing, but many others were gone. “It’s so sad,” he said.  Pacific Gas & Electric was inspecting its equipment as it sought to restore power to more than 100,000 customers who had it turned off in advance of gusty winds and in areas with active fire zones. The utility’s equipment has caused previous disasters, including the 2018 Camp Fire that killed 85 people and devastated the town of Paradise in the Sierra Nevada foothills. More than 1,200 people were also evacuated in Shasta County for the Zogg Fire, spread over 23 square miles (59 square kilometers) by Monday.  Shasta County Sheriff Eric Magrini said three people died as a result of the fire, though he gave no details. “It’s with a sad heart that I come before you today,” he said, urging residents to heed advice to leave. “When you get that order, evacuate immediately. Do not wait.” Residences are widely scattered in the forested area in the far northern part of the state. The region was torched just two years ago by the deadly Carr Fire — infamously remembered for producing a huge tornado-like fire whirl. The causes of the new fires were under investigation. Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said 2020 has been challenging.  “The silver lining to it is that people who live in California become more prepared, they’re more aware, they know these events take place and we’re seeing a citizenry that does get it and is working hard to be prepared,” he said.  Numerous studies in recent years have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Scientists say climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable. The latest fires erupted as a giant ridge of high pressure settled over the West, producing powerful gusts blowing from the interior toward the coast while slashing humidity levels and raising temperatures. So far in this year’s historic fire season, more than 8,100 California wildfires have now killed 29 people, scorched 5,780 square miles (14,970 square kilometers), and destroyed more than 7,000 buildings.  Most of the losses occurred after a frenzy of dry lightning strikes in mid-August ignited a massive outbreak of fires. Fire worries were developing across Southern California, although it was unclear how strong the predicted Santa Ana winds would become. Heat and extreme dryness were also expected to create problems.  Conditions were also hot, dry and windy in parts of Arizona, where the Sears Fire in Tonto National Forest north of Phoenix has grown to more than 14 square miles (36 square kilometers) since it erupted Friday. Authorities reported zero containment.  
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UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD ) economists say the vast sums of money flowing out of Africa through illegal, corrupt practices are undermining progress made by African countries to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.UNCTAD’s just released Economic Development in Africa Report 2020 estimates illicit financial flows out of Africa are costing the continent $89 billion annually.The economists say the scale and scope of illicit capital flight, which is equivalent to 3.7 percent of Africa’s gross domestic product, and the economic consequence of COVID-19, threaten to reverse gains made in health, education and other areas. Nigerian Vice President, Oluyemi Osinbajo warned that the illicit financial flows out of Africa also undermine the foundations of democracy, provide financial incentives for terrorist activities, and fuel conflict on the continent.”The enormity of efforts required to tackle illicit financial flows is evidenced in the many dimensions the scourge presents itself,” he said by video conference from Lagos, Nigeria.  “It manifests through harmful tax policies and practices, abusive transfer pricing, trade mispricing and mis-invoicing, legal exploitation of natural resources, as well as official corruption and organized crime.  UNCTAD reports the annual $89 billion outflow from Africa nearly matches the combined total annual inflows of official development assistance and foreign direct investment. UNCTAD Secretary General, Mukhisa Kituyi said Africa needs an estimated $200 billion a year to achieve the SDGs, but only about half that amount is available.  He said illicit financial flows represent a major drain on capital and revenues in Africa and this puts development prospects on the continent at risk.”Countries with high illicit financial flows invest about 25 percent less in health, 58 percent less in education than comparable countries on the continent,” Kituyi said. “And, half of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa do not have sufficiently developed domestic transfer pricing rules and regulations in their jurisprudence.”That, Kituyi said, is a handicap for governments that have limited capacity to challenge multi-national enterprises in their domestic courts on these illegal practices. The report finds tackling capital flight and illicit financial flows would provide a large potential source of money to finance investments in infrastructure, education, health and productive capacity.UNCTAD economists said curbing illicit capital flight could generate enough capital by 2030 to finance nearly half of the $2.4 trillion needed by sub-Saharan African countries for climate change adaptation 
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A group of Malawi women is changing lives in villages that have long lived without power by installing and maintaining solar equipment in homes and schools.  The women, known as the Solar Mamas, were trained in India as solar engineers, with sponsorship from charities.  The solar power has allowed students in rural Malawi to study at night and for their families to earn more income. The women may look like ordinary villagers, but a chat with them reveals they are trained solar engineers.The Solar Mamas are helping to bridge the power gap in rural Malawi, a country where only 10% of the population is connected to the power grid. Charity groups Barefoot and Voluntary Services Overseas, or VSO, sponsored the women’s six-month training in India.Mtisunge Mngoli managed the Solar Mamas’ program at VSO.“We trained illiterate women because we believed that education is not just in the classroom, Mngoli said. “And we wanted to tell people that even women can be solar engineers. So, we purposely selected older women that were about 45 years old and who did not go past standard (Grade) 5.”The women have so far brought solar power to over 200 households in villages around Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe.The program helped some villagers, like Mailosi Banda a tradition leader for Kainja village, get into the battery-charging trade. (Lameck Masina, VOA)The program helped some villagers get into the battery-charging trade and remove lengthy travel to charge mobile phones.    The Solar Mamas have also connected schools with solar power, allowing students — for the first time — to attend classes in the early mornings and evenings.Chatsala Primary school in Lilongwe is one of the beneficiaries of the Solar Mamas efforts. (Lameck Masina/VOA)Ethel Phiri is a Grade 8 learner at Chatsala Primary School in Lilongwe.Phiri said, “The coming of solar power here has helped me a lot. Because in the past, I was unable to study at night at home because my parents are poor and could not afford a lamp or a flashlight. But now, I can come here at night to study and work on assignments.”The Solar Mamas have also trained Malawi’s youth in solar engineering so they can become the next generation of Solar Mamas and Papas.    
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A Taiwan biotech company says it has developed a testing robot that can accurately process more than 2,000 coronavirus test results a day and is marketing the machine as a way for economies to get back up and running while still controlling the spread of the virus.The Taipei-based TCI company says its QVS-96 robot is the first fully automated virus scanner. It uses three robotic arms to manipulate large amounts of test specimens usually handled by multiple laboratory technicians.TCI chief supervisor Arvin Chen says the machine can process an initial round of 96 specimens in three-and-a-half hours, and, thereafter, can process 96 specimens every 60 to 70 minutes. The company says the QVS-96 achieves the same safety and quality standards as any laboratory.Chen suggests the QVS-96 could be deployed in major metropolitan airports, in places such as New York City or Singapore. He says with 100 of the robotic testing machines operating, “These airports can fully resume their flights and let the passengers travel safely and bring back the country’s economy.”TCI says the QVS-96 has also been programmed to detect the flu and differentiate it from the coronavirus which could be crucial in northern hemisphere nations in the coming months.The company recently announced a global distribution agreement to make the QVS-96 available worldwide. Earlier this year, the machine was officially registered with the U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationThe company says QVS-96 is currently being used in a selection of government agencies, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control and three hospitals in northern and central Taiwan.   
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Turkey says it will back Azerbaijan with all means necessary as fighting entered a second day Monday between Azeri and Armenian forces over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, in a sign the conflict could be widening.  Monday saw Azeri and Armenian forces exchange heavy artillery fire, with each accusing the other of starting the hostilities Sunday. Observers called the latest fighting over Nargono Karabakh, an enclave inside Azerbaijan but run by ethnic Armenians, the worst since the 1990s. Witness reports put the number of dead, including civilians, at more than 20 and at least 100 wounded.  People watch TV in a bomb shelter in Stepanakert, the capital of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, in this picture released Sept. 28, 2020. (Foreign Ministry of Armenia/Handout via Reuters)Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to voice support  for Azerbaijan, labeling Armenia “the biggest threat to peace in the region.” The Turkish leader called on “the entire world to stand with Azerbaijan in their battle against invasion and cruelty.” The Armenian foreign ministry on Monday said Turkish military “experts” were “fighting side by side with Azerbaijan.” Turkish government officials declined to comment on the accusations.  “Turkey troops will not be on the front line, Azeri forces don’t need them,” said Turkish analyst Ilhan Uzgel. But Uzgel says Ankara remains Baku’s key military ally. “Turkey is already supporting Azerbaijan militarily,” he said, “through technical assistance through arms sales, providing critical military support, especially in terms of armed drones and technical expertise. The line for Turkey’s involvement, is Russia’s involvement; actually, that is a red line for Turkey. Turkey doesn’t want a direct confrontation with Moscow.” An image from a video made available on the website of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry on Sept. 28, 2020, allegedly shows Azeri troops conducting a combat operation during clashes between Armenian separatists and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.Moscow is a vital supporter of Yerevan, and maintains a military base in Armenia.  The Russian foreign ministry on Monday called for Armenia and Azerbaijan to exercise restraint.  “Armenian-Russian relations are firm and solid,” said Dr. Zaur Gasimov, a Russian affairs expert at Germany’s Bonn University. “Now, having faced with casualties on the front line, Yerevan would search for more support from Moscow.” Ahead of Sunday’s outbreak of fighting, Baku had accused Moscow of emboldening Yerevan with significant arms shipments since July.  “500 tonnes of military cargo has been delivered to Armenia. Let us be clear, from Russia,” said Hikmat Hajiyev, head of Azerbaijan department of foreign affairs, in a briefing to foreign journalists in Turkey earlier this month.  Hajiyev highlighted the significance of Turkey’s military assistance. “We have seen firm and strong support of Turkey to Azerbaijan. Annually, we have 10 joint military exercises covering land troops, anti-terror special forces operations, and air force exercises.” In what observers interpreted as a message to Armenia, Turkish fighter jets carried out an exercise in Azerbaijan shortly after Armenian and Azeri forces clashed in July. Energy interests July’s fighting in Azerbaijan’s Tovuz region was close to crucial energy pipelines that serve Turkey, causing alarm in Ankara. “This is a very core security issue for Turkey for energy security,” said a senior Turkish energy ministry official speaking to journalists on the condition of anonymity. The official said Turkey “will take any relevant measures” to continue receiving energy deliveries from Azerbaijan.  Ankara has long supported Baku in its efforts to retake Nagorno-Karabakh, and Erdogan on Monday asserted that if Armenia immediately leaves the territory that he said it is occupying, the region will return to peace and harmony. A view of a house said to have been damaged in recent shelling during clashes between Armenian separatists and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region, Sept. 28, 2020. (Handout Photo from Armenian Foreign Ministry)Restoring Azeri control over Nagorno-Karabakh has the strong support of Turkish nationalists, a critical political base for Erdogan.”Two nations, one people” is a popular mantra used by Baku and Ankara to describe the countries’ relationship. Armenian separatists seized Nargono Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a bloody 1990s war that killed an estimated 30,000 people.  Turkey appears poised to deepen its cooperation with Azerbaijan, analysts say. “But it’s quite a risky area. The Caucasus, it’s one of Russia’s near abroad, the Caucuses is part of Russian area of influence. They may not tolerate Turkish Azerbaijani military action against Armenia that results in heavy Armenian losses. If Turkey and Azerbaijan are planning to have a huge success through military means, that could put Turkish Russian relations at serious risk.” In recent years, Ankara and Moscow have deepened their relationship, cooperating in Syria and building trade ties that even extend to the purchase of sophisticated Russian military hardware.  
 
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Officials in Australia’s Victoria state – considered the nation’s COVID-19 hotspot – reported five new cases Monday, the lowest case number in more than three months. At a news conference, Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters the state would immediately lift an overnight curfew that has been in place for the past month. He said beginning in October, most children will return to school, and many businesses, including manufacturing, construction and food processors can reopen, sending more that 125,00 people back to work.Andrews acknowledged the sacrifices people had made and said clearly their strategy had worked. As recently as early August new daily COVID-19 cases peaked at 725. But Andrews stressed the need to remain vigilant. “If we start doing things that we know deep down are not the right thing to do, then we can put at risk everything that we’ve built, everything that Victorians have given. I don’t want that to happen and I’m confident it won’t,” he said.Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, and surrounding parts of rural Victoria state were placed under strict “Level 4” lockdowns on Aug. 2, closing schools and non-essential businesses, imposing a nighttime curfew and prohibiting public gatherings.Many restrictions remain in place. Public gatherings of no more than five people from a maximum of two households will be allowed, and masks are still mandatory in public. But Andrews said a further easing could take place on October 19 if the average falls below five new cases per day.Overall, Australia has been one of the more successful nations in controlling the outbreak, with 27,000 total cases in a population of 25 million. Andrews said there are 359 active cases in Victoria.
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We look at the role of nature, especially during Covid, and how it can play a positive role for your mental health.   (some of the pieces in this program have previously aired).  
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Asian markets are mostly higher Monday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index is up 1.3%. The S&P/ASX index in Australia is down 0.2%. The KOSPI index in South Korea is up 1.2%, while Taiwan’s TSEC index is up 1.8%.   In late afternoon trading, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is up 0.8%, Shanghai’s Composite is down 2.5 points, but is virtually unchanged percentage-wise, and Mumbai’s Sensex is up 1.2%. In commodities, gold is trading at $1,863.00 an ounce, down 0.1%.  U.S. crude is trading at $39.89 per barrel, down 0.8%, and Brent crude oil is trading at $41.61 per barrel, down 0.7%.   All three major U.S. indices are trending upward in futures trading.  
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