Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

More people are working at home, and this may be an opportunity to deduct expenses related to having a home office.

The COVID-19 pandemicand economy-lockdown measureshave changed many aspects of daily life, possibly permanently. No surprise there.

Less obvious are some of the tax breaks and other benefits that might help you deal with the pandemic. Programs and resourceslike stimulus payments have received a lot of media attention, but others aren't so obvious. Here are some personal-finance tips that might make livingin a coronavirusworldless disruptive.

More people are working at home, and that trend likely will continue. But does this represent an opportunity to deduct expenses related to having a home office? Possibly.

Prior to federaltax-reform legislation enacted in 2017,unreimbursed employee business expenses could be taken as an itemized deduction, but that's no longer the case. But at the same time,employees who receive reimbursement from their companies for home office expenses dont need to pay taxes on the money, noted tax researcher Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accountingin a recent commentary.

An employer should havean accountable reimbursement plan" to help make sure reimbursements aren't taxed.In essence, that means"employers should require receipts to be submitted and reimburseemployees based on those receipts," said Mark Luscombe, principal federal tax analyst at Wolters Kluwer.

Self-employed individuals, as in years past, typically can deduct home-office expenses.

On a related note, federal tax law allows a$250 deduction for teachers of expenses that they incur out of pocket. While the law cites classroom expenses, the break likely is also available to teachers who are instructingstudents remotely at home, Luscombe said.

Remodeling projects are on the upswing, with more people working at home having the time and even the money to update their dwellings. Some projects are directed toward creating more comfortable or efficient spaces to work or for home schooling. Tax laws offer someincentives for certainremodeling projects, but these benefits are limited.

One possibility is a$500 federal tax credit for energy-efficient improvements involvingexterior doors, windows,insulation, heat pumps,fans, air conditioners, water heaters and so on. However, this is a lifetime credit, and many homeowners have already used up their allotment. Thecredit expires at the end of 2020, though it has been extended in the past, Luscombe noted.

There's also a tax credit to installqualified equipmentfor solar water heaters, small wind-energy generators, geothermal heat pumps and more. This credit is worth 26% of relevantexpenses if incurredthis year and 22%in 2021.

Some home improvements mightqualify for an itemized medical expense deduction. Examples includewheelchair ramps, hand rails or other equipment if prescribed by a doctor. Medical expenses may be deducted to the extent they exceed 7.5% of a person's adjusted gross income this year, but that rises to 10% in 2021.

With a home-equity loan, the interest can be deductedif theproceeds areused for home improvements, as opposed to paying offcredit-card debt or otherpurposes.

RETIREMENT:Here's what to know if it arrives sooner than expected

Health Savings Accounts were gaining traction even before the virus hit, largely because they offer a way to save up money and avoid paying taxes if the proceeds are used for an array of medical-related expenses. Given that health-care spending needs could rise for a lot of people down the road, these flexible, versatile accounts could come in handy.

You can qualify for an HSA if you enroll in a high-deductible medical plan something to consider during open enrollment.

Themany COVID-19 expenses that triggertax-free withdrawals include doctor visits, lab tests, prescription drugs and over-the-counter remedies for flu symptoms. However, respirators and face masks are among coronavirus-specificexpenses that haven't yet been approved by the Internal Revenue Service, reports Fidelity Investments.

Researcher Morningstar calls HSAs "the most tax-favored investment vehicle" out there. Unlike with 401(k) accounts, Individual Retirement Accounts andSection529 college-savings plans, the money invested in HSAs isn't taxed on the way in or the way out, and payroll taxes don't apply either, Morningstar said.

Yet HSAs also are significantly underutilized and possibly misunderstood, the company added. They are one type of account worth researching further.

If you're searching for employment,here's a job-hunting aspectyou might have overlooked the virtual interview.Owing largely to COVID-19 social-distancing precautions, more employers are discussing openings with job candidates using Zoom and other online methods, reports Challenger, Gray and Christmas, which found that 80% of employers were conductingsome interviews online as of an April survey.

The outplacement and business-coaching firmrecommends several tips to make your remote job interview more successful. First, understand theparameters of theinterview including how many people will be participating, how long will it last, what software will be used andwhat you should send in ahead of time, such as a resume.

Also, rehearsein advance by having a friend ask practice questions, so that you can see yourself on camera, evaluate your answers,become more comfortable with yourmannerisms and check thebackground. Moveto another room or adjust your lighting if it's too bright or if shadows are distracting.

"Experiment to see what looks best,"Challenger, Gray said in a commentary. "No messy work areas, laundry or accumulated dishes" should appear in the background.

Dress inbusiness attire with solid colors that are less distracting than patterned clothing, the company added. Also, make sure your hair, including any facial hair, is neat and trimmed, and practice your delivery so that you're not touching or fussing with your hair.

As Congress has debatedanother round of COVID-19 relief payments, it's easy to forget that money from the original program is still available.

Most eligible taxpayers already received Economic Impact Payments of up to $1,200 per person months ago. But many people who don't normally file income-tax returns still might be eligible, thoughthey mustregister by Nov. 21. To do so, goto irs.gov and look for a section titled"Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here."

This"non-filers" section is designed for single people with incomesbelow $12,200 whocan't be claimed as someone else's dependent and for married couples with income under$24,400. Manyhomeless individuals could be among those still eligible for stimuluspayments.

Reach Wiles at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com.

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HACKETTSTOWN, NJ The Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) and International Builders Show (IBS), the kitchen/bath and housing industrys leading showcases for new products and services, will return to Orlando as in-person events in 2022, one year after the shows transformation in 2021 to digital-only events.

Officials from the National Association of Home Builders and the National Kitchen & Bath Association owners of IBS and KBIS, respectively announced 2022-2044 dates for the co-located live events shortly after announcing cancellation of the on-site portion of the 2021 shows due to health/safety concerns and travel restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The co-located KBIS and IBS, previously scheduled for Feb. 9-11, 2021 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, are staged each year as the focal points of Design & Construction Week, which will return as a live event to Orlando Feb. 8-10, 2022. Las Vegas will be the site of the annual three-day live shows on Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2023 and Feb. 27-29, 2024, show officials added.

The decision to cancel the in-person portion of the 2021 show came following months of lengthy conversations with NAHB and (show producer) Emerald, said Bill Darcy, CEO of the NKBA. The safety and well-being of our attendees, partners, exhibitors, site workers and staff has always been our top priority, Darcy said. As we crossed the 16-weeks-out mark, it was time to transition to focus 100% on a virtual event. Ultimately, the health and safety of attendees and exhibitors, as well as the ability to produce a signature event experience, outweighed all other considerations.

KBIS and IBS, like trade shows and conferences worldwide, have been facing unprecedented challenges resulting from a global public-health crisis that has forced the postponement, cancellation or reformatting of more than a dozen overseas and domestic industry-related events in the nine months since the coronavirus began resulting in government-mandated social distancing, travel restrictions and widespread concerns over attending large indoor gatherings.

Prior to the decision to convert to a digital-only format, KBIS and IBS officials had been undertaking a months-long effort to implement comprehensive protocols aimed at safeguarding the health and safety of attendees, exhibitors and vendors in the face of COVID-19. Onsite safety measures were to have included one-way traffic aisles, mask-wearing and social distancing, contactless registration with remote badging and enhanced cleaning measures.

The live events became untenable, however, in the face of the overwhelming challenges caused by the coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic,including government-imposed restrictions and limitations on large gatherings, the inability of KBISs international community to travel to the show due to quarantine requirements and travel bans, and various company-imposed travel restrictions on employees.

Show officials had acknowledged they were facing a substantial number of booth cancellations and exhibit-space reductions, as well as an attendance projected to be far below the estimated 90,000 people who attended Design & Construction Week this year in Las Vegas.

An online poll of dealers and designers conducted by Kitchen & Bath Design News in early October found that 81% of survey respondents said they did not plan to attend the 2021 KBIS-IBS. A similar number (78%) said they do not plan to attend any trade shows through at least June of 2021.

The newly formatted DCW 2021 will still take place the week Feb. 8, allowing participants digital access to exhibitors, as well as to a mix of live and recorded video panels, discussions and CEUs, from wherever they are in the world, show officials said.

An all-virtual Design & Construction Week will be a different experience, but with it comes new opportunities to reach an even larger audience that would not have been able to participate on-site, for any number of reasons, including on-going travel restrictions, Darcy said.

Details about the virtual event will be unveiled as the event approaches, show officials added, noting that registration for the virtual DCW event is free for all NKBA and NAHB members and, as with the in-person shows, attendees will have access to both KBIS and IBS exhibits and programming.

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The year 2020 has been dominated by COVID-19 and for many, the issues surrounding climate change and transitioning to renewable energy were put on the backburner.

But that was all flipped on its head when iconic documentary-maker David Attenborough released A Life on Our Planet, which outlined why immediate action is required.

Reducing carbon emissions and moving away from fossil fuels are the primary goals being flagged around the world, but there are numerous environmental concerns flagged in A Life on Our Planet and that need to be considered, including here in Australia.

Here are the major environmental issues our country need to worry about outside of carbon emissions and renewable energy:

Deforestation

The bottom line is we are cutting trees down at a much more rapid rate than we are planting them. As late as 2019 1.66Mha of tree cover was lost and there has been a 14 per cent decline in trees in Australia from 2000 to 2019. That is before we even look at the devastating bushfires of 2019-20 which wiped out another 18.6 million hectares.

Agriculture clearing and overgrazing

Since European settlement, around 13 per cent of all vegetation has been lost and this is only increasing as agricultural activities ramp up to feed a rising population around the world. Australia is placed in the top 10 land clearing nations in the world for agricultural purposes.

Overfishing and illegal fishing

Policing our borders for illegal fishing vessels is very difficult due to the size and geography of Australia. But it is not just overseas fishing boats depleting our stock, with government figures showing that 17.5 per cent of our stocks are overfished and the status of a further 16.5 per cent is not known.

Introduction of pests

Invasive species are an ongoing problem for Australia, from the spread of the cane toad from Queensland to other states to domestic feral animals and including new introduced exotic species and diseases which decimate our crops and wildlife stocks every year.

Pollution

Did you know that 5000 Australians die from exposure to air pollution every year? Over 30 per cent of our agricultural land is considered degraded by the impacts of pollution and we are seeing more and more of it because of natural events like bushfires and rising commercial operations that are contributing towards our negative air quality.

Infrastructure development

As we continue to grow as a nation, our infrastructure projects rise as well which results in more land clearing, more native animals and species lost, more emissions and pollution and more impact on our environment. While measures are being put in place to use more recycled materials, manage our land better and reduce emissions, the tides of progress remain a large burden on our environment.

So while COVID-19 has been a major issue, it is important to remember the ongoing environmental problems facing Australia so that we can take action and improve the world around us for generations to come.

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Why carbon is not the only major current environmental issue in Australia - Energy Matters

Upcoming Deadlines/DatesOctober 30: WHIP+ Signup; 2020 Organic Certification Cost Share Program SignupDec. 11: CFAP 2 Signup; Dairy Margin Coverage SignupMarch 15: 2021 ARCPLC Signup

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2USDA announced up to an additional $14 billion for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19. Signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) began September 21 and runs through December 11, 2020. CFAP 2 payments will be made for three categories of commodities Price Trigger Commodities (corn soybeans, etc.), Flat-rate Crops (alfalfa, oats, etc.) and Sales Commodities (beef cattle, sheep, pigs, excludes breeding stock).Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap. Documentation to support the producers application and certification may be requested. All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap/apply. For existing FSA customers, including those who participated in CFAP 1, many documents are likely already on file. Producers should check with FSA county office to see if any of the forms need to be updated.

Dairy Margin Coverage ProgramSignup for the 2021 Dairy Margin Coverage Program is now open and continues through December 11. Coverage levels range from $4.00 to $9.50 per cwt, in $0.50 increments. Coverage percentage of the dairy operations production history ranges from 5 percent to 95 percent, in 5 percent increments. If you locked in during the 2019 signup, your selections stay the same, but you still need to stop in and sign an application each year. If you did not lock in you can make the same elections, new elections, or choose not to participate in 2020. If you decide not to participate in 2021, you can still participate in 2022. You have the flexibility to participate or not each year.

CRP Mid-Contract ManagementSome CRP contract holders received a packet of information detailing the activities that need to be completed in FY21. You can begin those activities as early as October 1, 2020. However, all activities need to be completed by May 14, 2021 unless otherwise indicated on your forms. Now is a great time to line up contractors, if needed. Their schedules fill up quickly. Please stop in or call if you have any questions.

Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland ComplianceLandowners and operators are reminded that to receive payments from USDA, compliance with HEL and WC provisions are required. Farmers with HEL determined soils are reminded of tillage, crop residue, and rotation requirements as specified per their conservation plan. Producers are to notify the USDA Farm Service Agency prior to conducting land clearing or drainage projects to ensure compliance. Failure to obtain advance approval for any of these situations can result in the loss of eligibility and all Federal payments.

Maintaining the Quality of Farm-Stored Loan GrainBins are ideally designed to hold a level volume of grain. When bins are overfilled and grain is heaped, airflow is hindered and the chance of spoilage increases. Producers who take out marketing assistance loans and use the farm-stored grain as collateral should remember that they are responsible for maintaining the quality of the grain through the term of the loan.

Unauthorized Disposition of GrainIf loan grain has been disposed of through feeding, selling or any other form of disposal without prior written authorization from the county office staff, it is considered unauthorized disposition. The financial penalties for unauthorized dispositions are severe and a producers name will be placed on a loan violation list for a two-year period. Always call before you haul any grain under loan.

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What's Up at the USDA Office? | The Standard Newspaper - Waukon Standard

A contractor bidding process is to begin this fall to prepare for the construction of a 344-acre multipurpose reservoir in Caldwell County. This comes after all agencies involved approved the Little Otter Creek Lake to move forward to begin construction after nearly 25 years of planning, design, reviews, and permitting.

The primary purpose of the lake is to provide a source of drinking water to communities in Caldwell County and the surrounding area. The secondary purpose is to provide flood control and recreational opportunities, such as fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, biking, and viewing nature.

Construction plans have been completed and approved. The land for the Little Otter Creek Lake has been acquired. It is to be located about three miles east of Hamilton on the south side of U. S. Highway 36.

A news release notes the lake will be the first water supply lake the Corps of Engineers has approved in more than 25 years in Missouri. Mozingo Lake in Nodaway County was the last community lake to be approved, and it was built in the 1990s.

The federal government has committed more than $16,000,000 and more than $5,500,000 from the state and local government toward the Little Otter Creek Lake project. Caldwell County residents passed a half-cent county sales tax in 2004 for the lake and have contributed more than $4,000,000 of local tax money so far. Most of the funds have been used for land acquisition, surveys, permitting, and other preliminary activities. The state has also provided financial support and assistance from the Department of Natural Resources and other state agencies.

Plans involve starting land clearing of the pool area this winter and beginning construction of the dam and reservoir next summer. As part of the permit approval and lake construction, five low water crossings will be removed and replaced with span structure bridges as part of the mitigation requirements. Other mitigation requirements include purchasing stream credits and wetland credits along with riparian plantings on some of the county-owned lake property. Clearing and construction are estimated to take about two years. It may take up to two years for the lake to fill based on average rainfall.

Additional plans are being developed in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation and other agencies for future land use and recreational opportunities around the Little Otter Creek Lake.

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Eurex Repo has added a new basket of green bonds for use as general collateral (GC) within its repo marketplace, as of 2 November, as part of Deutsche Boerses contribution to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives within the EU.

The Green Bond GC Basket encompasses euro-denominated debt securities that are issued in adherence with guidelines for sustainable bonds that include renewable energies, sustainable waste management, the preservation of biodiversity and sustainable land utilisation, as well as social bonds that raise funds for new and existing projects with positive social outcomes.

Included in the basket is the first Green Federal security. The 10-year Green Federal bond was first issued by the German Finance Agency in September and a second issuance is due on 4 November. A total amount of 11.5 billion is expected to be issued through green instruments this year.

Eurex says that by allowing for these debt instruments in a new specific GC basket it enables clients to incorporate ESG factors into their funding and financing activities, a key secondary market activity for trading, clearing and collateral management.

We see the launch of the new Eurex Repo Green Bond GC Basket as a major step forward in the development of a sustainable repo market, says Claus Breternitz, a director on the repo desk at Commerzbank AG. This first Green Bond GC basket shows the repo market is reacting to the increasing number of green bond issuances and the growing importance of the ESG segment.

Frank Gast, managing director at Eurex Repo, adds: The new Eurex Repo Green Bond Basket is bridging the gap between the well-established Green Bond cash bond market and the newly-emerging ESG securities financing industry.

By incorporating green and social bonds into its trading, clearing and collateral management ecosystem, Eurex is contributing to the further development of this market and facilitating the attractiveness of newly issued ESG bonds.

Elsewhere, the baskets go-live follows Eurexs inclusion of the new EU Sure bonds as eligible margin collateral and for repo trading and clearing.

The European Commission released the Sure bonds last month to raise funds to support businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The issuing consisted of two bonds, with 10 billion due for repayment in October 2030 and 7 billion in 2040.

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There is a real and credible concern that election-related violence might occur at some point in the coming weeks. It could take place on Election Day, in the form of armed thugs at polling stations in swing states, or extend throughout election season if no clear result is announced or, in what might be a worst-case scenario, if a candidate refuses to concede. Keep in mind that the Trump campaign has already tried to enlist every able bodied man and woman to join [an] Army for Trumps election security operation. As a country, we could be facing one of the most volatile and chaotic episodes in our history. This concern is underscored by many well understood and researched cases of election violence from around the world which have shared, among others, the following contributing factors:

All these factors are present in the current US context. But risks do not necessarily determine outcomes. As much as experts have analyzed, researched, and studied these risk factors, no expert sits with a crystal ball peering into a murky future. Human beings are unpredictable. But there is real power in the decisions that each of us make when social and political stress is high. Widespread civil resistance has, time and time again, proven to be the most effective tool to defend democracy and delegitimize political violence.

This is why our team at the War Prevention Initiative launched a campaign last week: #NonviolentElections2020. We noticed that mainstream information on nonviolent action is too narrowly focused on attending a protest or march, even though scholarship and practice clearly show that civil resistance is so much more. While protests are immensely important (and weve been incredibly impressed by the commitment to nonviolence demonstrated by Black Lives Matter protesters), these highly visible public demonstrations are not desirable or feasible to all. There are myriad reasons why perhaps youre a parent concerned about putting your children in harms way at a protest. Maybe youre immuno-compromised and concerned about the risk of COVID-19 transmission at public gatherings. Or youre a government employee with restrictions on what you can do or say. We also know that while mass protests historically have led to significant concessions, those in power have become savvier. Sustained and diverse tactics of civil resistance can chip away at the pillars of support that uphold the power structures in question.

Sustained and diverse tactics of civil resistance can chip away at the pillars of support that uphold the power structures in question.

There are over 200 forms of nonviolent civil resistance that have been used by social movements around the world, all documented in the Global Nonviolent Action Database hosted by Swarthmore College. During this campaign, we are highlighting several key categories that are cognizant of the risk factors outlined above and in the context of increasing rates of COVID-19 transmission around the country. Here are some to give you an idea:

Using drama and music like Billionaires for Bush

During the 2004 presidential campaign, Billionaires for Bush was a political street theater group that would appear at George W. Bush campaign stops, satirically supporting the incumbent president. This group used humor to convey their political opinion and attract supporters through entertaining, non-threatening, and nonviolent action.

Employing symbolic actions like the Redwood Rabbis

In January 1997, logging companies began clearing old growth redwood forests in northern California. The Redwood Rabbis protested deforestation by aligning with the Jewish imperative to guard the earth with reclaiming land owned by the logging company by trespassing on logging company land and planting redwood seedings.

Noncooperation with unjust laws like Saudi Women and their campaign for the right to drive

For over two decades, Saudi women waged a nonviolent campaign for recognition of their rights and at the very least the right to drive. Women would not cooperate with law and customs by driving en masse through the capital city and, in turn, were arrested. In 2018, Saudi women were permitted to drive after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman legally recognized womens right to drive.

Disobeying authority like how Dutch clergy members stood for immigrant rights

In October 2018, an immigrant family moved into a church in the Hague, Netherlands, to take sanctuary. 650 clergy members, over 1,000 pastors and clergy members of the church volunteered to hold a continuous religious service to resist deportation of an immigrant family. Dutch authorities are prohibited from interfering with a religious service and the church congregations disobedience prevented the family from deportation.

Obstructing like Casino-Free Philadelphia

Spurred by the 2007 Pennsylvania citizens Casino-Free Philadelphia campaign, the Philadelphia City Council stalled and enacted procedural hurdles to prevent two casino plans from proceeding. These obstruction tactics aided the larger campaign to ultimately stop one casino construction and significantly reduce the size of the other.

Striking like Rio Olympic workers

Ahead of the World Cup and Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the state government forcibly removed communities from low-income favelas for aesthetic purposes. Simultaneously, multiple industries went on strike in 2016 to demand better service workers pay amidst massive government spending to facilitate the events. The strikes were part of a larger campaign for human rights and against financial mismanagement that eventually led to arrest of the governor of Rio.

The best possible outcome is that this is all a moot point, and our country moves past election day with a clear and decisive winner and a concession by the candidate who fell short of the necessary votes. Short of that outcome, it is best that we all make a plan and take necessary action to defend American democracy. One thing is for sure, we cannot afford to miss the moment and look back at times of violent unrest asking, how could that happen?

Kelsey Coolidge, MA, is a social science researcher with an interest in peace and conflict, gender, and climate change. She is the managing editor of the Peace Science Digest and the Associate Director of the War Prevention Initiative of the Jubitz Family Foundation.

Kristin Henderson, MA, is a political violence and nonviolence researcher with an interest in state repression and civilian-led social movements. She is currently the Project Manager at War Prevention Initiative of the Jubitz Family Foundation.

Patrick. T. Hiller, Ph.D., is a Conflict Transformation scholar, professor, served on the Governing Council of the International Peace Research Association (2012-2016), is a member of the Peace and Security Funders Group, and is Director of the War Prevention Initiative of the Jubitz Family Foundation.

Follow our campaign on Twitter at @WarPrevention or through the hashtag #NonviolentElections2020, or follow us on Facebook and Instagram: War Prevention Initiative.

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Here's How to Be Prepared if the Election Goes South - Inkstick

TERTER, Azerbaijan For years, the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia had agreed to postpone discussion about the status of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, to avoid inflaming passions. But that changed suddenly this spring, when Armenias populist prime minister declared the area indisputably Armenian.

To Azerbaijanis, who lost a bitter, unresolved war with Armenia over the region in the 1990s, the remark by the prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, landed with explosive force. Even more infuriating, it was delivered in Shusha, a city that Azerbaijanis regard as their cultural capital but that lies in territory lost during the war.

The final nail in the coffin of the negotiation process was when he said that Nagorno-Karabakh was Armenian, said Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to the Azerbaijani president.

The two countries returned to all-out war a month ago, with Azerbaijan determined to retake the roughly 13 percent of its land that Armenia seized 26 years ago, displacing 800,000 Azerbaijanis in the process. The fighting threatens to draw in Turkey, on the Azerbaijani side, and Russia, which backs Armenia.

Casualties in the conflict have already mounted into the thousands, but as his troops make advances, Azerbaijans president, Ilham Aliyev, is showing no signs of slowing down, and the country is gripped with war fever.

A cease-fire mediated in Washington last weekend was broken within an hour of coming into force as both sides traded artillery fire Monday morning.

Mr. Aliyev is demanding that Armenian forces withdraw to internationally recognized borders in keeping with United Nations Security Council resolutions and basic principles agreed to in previous negotiations. These were the terms agreed upon 10 years ago but never implemented, and analysts say that Armenia became less ambiguous this year about claiming Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts seized during the war.

Mr. Hajiyev said in an interview that Azerbaijan had hoped for progress when the Armenian leader, Mr. Pashinyan, came to power after a popular uprising in 2018. At their first meeting, Mr. Pashinyan, a former journalist, asked Mr. Aliyev for time but promised to pursue a new policy on Nagorno-Karabakh.

That policy never came. Tensions escalated this year, analysts say, as Mr. Pashinyan and his defense minister made increasingly populist statements over the territory, announcing plans to make Shusha the regional capital and in August moving the Parliament there. Those steps may ultimately prove to have been major miscalculations.

An American-Armenian historian, Jirair Libaridian, has suggested as much. We became obsessed with our dreams instead of focusing on the possible, he wrote in September.

Independent analysts largely see Azerbaijan as the main driver of the war, saying it prepared a major offensive, but add that Mr. Pashinyan pushed the envelope with his populist talk.

Its logical that Azerbaijan wanted to start this, not the Armenians, who merely want the status quo, said Thomas de Waal, a senior fellow with Carnegie Europe and author of Black Garden, a book on Nagorno-Karabakh. But the Armenians also played their part with provocative moves.

The Armenian government has accused Azerbaijan of mounting a planned offensive and of instigating the clashes that led to all-out war, and says it is acting entirely in self-defense.

Russia has been a crucial presence backing Armenia. It supported Armenia in the original conflict, maintains two military bases in the country and has provided support and equipment.

Since the moribund truce in 2009, leaders of both countries proceeded carefully, believing it was politically safer to stick with the status quo than risk the territorial compromises that a peace deal would demand, Mr. de Waal said.

All the while, Mr. Aliyev, who inherited the presidency from his father in 2003, was using his countrys oil and gas wealth to build up the military, purchasing advanced weapons and sending officers for NATO-standard training in Turkey.

The rearming effort seemed to bear fruit in 2016, when in four days of fighting Azerbaijani forces seized control of a village just over the cease-fire line. But Russia intervened to stop the advance, said Farid Shafiyev, a former diplomat and director of the government-funded Center for Analysis of International Relations in Baku.

The popular disappointment at that time was palpable, he said. He noticed the same public reaction when Russia negotiated a cease-fire on Oct. 10, just two weeks into the latest fighting. People were very depressed, he said.

The immediate spark for the current conflict came in July, in a deadly clash near the border town of Tovuz, where Azerbaijans vital oil and gas pipelines run on their way to Georgia and Turkey.

Armenian soldiers fired on an Azerbaijani military vehicle, touching off heavy cross-border exchanges that killed more than a dozen people, including several officers.

One of those killed, Maj. Gen. Polad Hashimov, was a popular figure whose death stirred an outpouring of emotion. A small protest became a demonstration of tens of thousands of people marching through the capital, Baku, demanding that the country retake Nagorno-Karabakh.

The July events sent a shock wave, said Mr. Hajiyev, the policy adviser. And public opinion and the youngsters sent this message: Enough is enough.

Frustrations over the coronavirus pandemic and severe water shortages added pressure, said an Azerbaijani journalist, Khadija Izmayilova. It was clear to Aliyev that the public was ready to explode and it was time to act.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey regarded the clash at Tovuz as a strategic threat to Azerbaijan and immediately dispatched jets and troops for two weeks of joint military exercises with the Azerbaijani military.

Turkish analysts saw Mr. Erdogans move as a way to gain leverage in his dealings with Russia. But protecting his Turkic ally, which recently replaced Russia as Turkeys main source of natural gas, was also hugely important.

It is a clich that Turkey was instigating it, Mr. Shafiyev, of the Center for Analysis of International Relations, said of Azerbaijans venture into war. But he confirmed, as both Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Aliyev have since, that Turkey has promised active support if Azerbaijan were to run into difficulties.

In August, the Azerbaijani authorities said the army had detained Armenian troops making another cross-border foray. We understood something was coming, Mr. Hajiyev said.

After years of trading sporadic artillery fire, both sides were poised and ready for more by September.

Villagers living on the Azerbaijani side of the cease-fire line near the town of Terter were forewarned by the Azerbaijani military on Sept. 26. Some who had cars left in the night. Those who stayed described a barrage of Armenian rockets at 7 a.m. the following day.

We hear shelling all the time, but this was completely different, said Gulbeniz Badalova, 59, who lives in Terter, just 500 yards from the cease-fire line. They started to fire continuously, and we all got scared.

Azerbaijan quickly retaliated, saying it was defending its civilian populations. They started attacking civilians and we were obliged to make a counter offensive operation, Mr. Hajiyev said. But even some officials admitted they had been waiting for an excuse to launch an attack.

Azerbaijani troops have already retaken parts of four southern districts along the border with Iran and have come within striking distance of the Lachin corridor, a mountain pass that is a critical supply route from Armenia.

But there is little doubt that it has been tough going for Azerbaijani forces. Baku has not released numbers of military casualties, but President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia said on Thursday that each side had already lost more than 2,000 soldiers in less than a month of fighting. Missile strikes have also killed at least 65 civilians from Azerbaijan and 37 from Armenia, according to official figures from both sides.

Public support for the offensive remains solidly behind Mr. Aliyev and the army, but the president could face a difficult job managing expectations.

Many Azerbaijani families displaced by the shelling in Terter are originally refugees from Karabakh, and said they would not be satisfied if Mr. Aliyev halted after taking only a few districts.

Its not enough, Zarifa Suleymanova, 43, said, before listing all the regions Azerbaijan needed back. We have very brave sons. It will not take long.

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Roots of War: When Armenia Talked Tough, Azerbaijan Took Action - The New York Times

New York, Oct. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Asia Pacific Horticulture Lighting Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Analysis - by Technology, Application, and Cultivation" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05978825/?utm_source=GNW Due to the population boom witnessed in APAC countries, the demand for food products is anticipated to extend within the coming years.

This is often why several countries in APAC are focusing on greenhouse and indoor farming techniques to extend their agricultural yield significantly.Use of artificial lights for farming purposes is sort of low, particularly in some developing countries across APAC region.

Still, with the growing popularity of horticulture and indoor crop cultivation, the APAC horticulture lighting market is predicted to pace up quickly within the near future because the farmers are adopting big data technologies, predictive analytics, internet of things, and automation within the farming techniques.Such developments and research initiatives taken in the horticulture field are driving the growth of the APAC horticulture lighting market.

Growing government initiatives such as legalization of cannabis, various incentives is among the other factors expected to positively influence the demand for horticulture lighting in APAC. Furthermore, the APAC region is highly affected by COVID-19 outbreak, especially China and India. APAC is characterized by a large number of developing countries, positive economic outlook, high industrial presence, huge population, and rising disposable income. All these factors make APAC a major growth driving region for various markets, including horticulture lighting. Due to the pandemic, uncertain consumer demand and supply chain problems have affected the horticulture lighting industry in the region. The lockdown of various factories in China has affected the supply chains and negatively impacted the manufacturing and sales of various products and services. The pandemic has a severe impact on the LED industry since the supply chain is mostly located in this region and production majorly comes from China. The governments are taking drastic measures to reduce the effects of coronavirus outbreak by announcing lockdowns as well as travel and trade bans. All these measures are expected to have a negative impact on the adoption and growth of horticulture lighting in 2020 and 2021.

Based on cultivation, the fruits and vegetables segment led the APAC horticulture lighting market in 2019.The dominance of this segment is mainly ascribed to the significantly greater use of artificial light for growing vegetables and fruits than that in the cultivation of flowers.

According to the APAC-based Department of Agriculture, in 2019, there was a rise in the production of apples, grapes, and pears, than that in 2018, in APAC region.This is anticipated to contribute toward the greater use of horticulture lighting in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables.

The climate variations in APAC countries, such as Australia and India, hamper agriculture, which compels them to import fresh vegetables and fruits from neighboring regions.The indoor and vertical farming techniques allow these countries to produce fruits and vegetables in a controlled environment.

The fruits and vegetables segment is expected to dominate the market in the APAC region during the forecast period.

The overall APAC horticulture lighting market size has been derived using both primary and secondary sources.To begin the research process, exhaustive secondary research has been conducted using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the market.

The process also serves the purpose of obtaining overview and forecast for the APAC horticulture lighting market with respect to all the segments pertaining to the region.Also, multiple primary interviews have been conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate the data, as well as to gain more analytical insights into the topic.

The participants who typically take part in such a process include industry experts, such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers, along with external consultants, such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders specializing in the APAC horticulture lighting market. Key players operating in the APAC horticulture lighting market include General Electric Company; Heliospectra AB; Hubbell, Inc.; Lumileds Holding B.V.; OSRAM Licht AG; and Signify N.V.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05978825/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

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Asia Pacific Horticulture Lighting Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Analysis - by Technology, Application, and Cultivation -...

Annelise Capossela for NPR

Annelise Capossela for NPR

When Dr. Norman Rosenthal moved to the U.S. from South Africa, he felt less energetic during the harsh winters. He noticed that other people felt the same way. "Just like the autumn leaves, they became depressed on schedule," says Rosenthal, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine. "In spring, the condition reverses itself." He studied the problem, published the first research on the syndrome and coined its name: seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.

Rosenthal found that about 1 in 20 people in the U.S. has SAD. If you have it, you may feel sluggish or depressed, oversleep, overeat, gain weight and be uninterested in doing things you previously enjoyed. Many more people have the winter blues, a milder version of SAD, where you feel like a sadder, sleepier or slower version of yourself.

One of Rosenthal's patients described themselves as feeling like a bear in the winter and wanting to hibernate. "So if you feel any identification with a hibernating bear, you might well have SAD," he says. Women are about four times more vulnerable than men, and the condition is more common in the Northern Hemisphere.

With winter just around the corner, here's why you may feel this way and simple ways to feel better.

When Maia was a teenager, she noticed that in the winter, she didn't feel like herself. She says she was "just lying there for hours and hours, not knowing how to get out of bed and move or do anything." The songwriter from California doesn't use her last name to protect the privacy of her family. (She goes by mxmtoon, pronounced em-ex-em-toon, in her music.) It was hard for her to do basic things like eat a meal, drink water or even use the bathroom.

She tweeted about it. "I went on Twitter and I was like, am I crazy? Because I feel really sad right now." Lots of people tweeted back, telling her to look into seasonal affective disorder. So she talked to her parents and friends and realized they all felt the same way.

Rosenthal says if you feel like things are getting more difficult every fall when it gets darker earlier, but you feel better in the bright days of spring and summer, you may well have SAD.

While some people don't feel different at all when the seasons change, Rosenthal says others are quite disabled by it. People diagnosed with SAD, he says, are "people who would go to a doctor because the problem was bad enough."

Rosenthal says it can be hard to recognize a pattern, because the symptoms creep up on you. "For example, it might be a little bit serious in September and a little worse in October and a little worse in November. It's a little bit like the story of the frog in the bowl that keeps getting warmed up, and he doesn't really realize that he's going to die of overheating because it happens so incrementally."

But, he says, recognizing your symptoms and taking them seriously are critical, because SAD can be debilitating or worse.

Light and not getting enough of it are at the heart of this disorder.

It turns out that a fundamental part of the physiology of this condition is that some people just need more light. One often recommended fix for this is a SAD lamp. Rosenthal says these lamps generate light that's far more intense than indoor lighting about 10,000 lux, a measurement of light.

This light is absorbed through the eyes, not the skin but, he says, don't stare at it. Rosenthal says he places it so that the light is shining down on him, just like it would if it were a sunny day. "That's how we evolved to see light with the heavens above and the sun shining down, so that it comes and hits the bottom part of our retina." The morning is often the best time, and the earlier the better.

He says if you use the lamp for about 20 to 30 minutes a day, you should feel a difference within two weeks. If you don't, return it.

Recent studies suggest that the value of preventive light therapy is inconclusive and that it's really a patient's preference whether to use it or not. But as a treatment for those who have seasonal affective disorder, SAD lamps have made a big difference.

Isabel Harris, known as Iz in the vlogging world, experiences SAD as "general fogginess and sleepiness." Most people go about their day normally with indoor lighting, but for people with SAD, that indoor lighting is the equivalent of darkness. Iz bought a SAD lamp, and the result was astonishing. "If I come in feeling a bit foggy-headed, I'll turn it on and it functions a lot like taking a walk outside, just like allowing my brain to wake up a little bit."

She has used this SAD light for eight years. "And on the days that I don't, I notice a significant difference in irritability and kind of just general hopelessness and energy levels," she says.

Remember, even if you use a SAD lamp, make sure you are still trying to get as much natural light as possible. Go outside, even if you don't feel like it, because even when it appears overcast, you are getting light from the sun. Remember that small things can make a difference, so trim any overgrowth around your windows and clean the panes.

Rosenthal says people with SAD have a tremendous appetite for carbohydrates. "They crave sweets and starches. And needless to say, that puts on weight, and they can't always take it off in the summer, so every year they're ratcheting up a little more, a little more, and it's a real problem."

Emily Manoogian, Ph.D., is a clinical researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. She says it's not only what you eat and how much but, importantly, when.

To understand this, we need to understand circadian rhythms.

" 'Circadian' is just Latin for 'about a day.' When we talk about circadian rhythms, it's referring to these 24-hour rhythms that we have within our body and throughout biology," she says.

Think of every cell and system in your body as having a tiny clock. And each of these tiny clocks is on approximately a 24-hour cycle, so a master clock in your brain coordinates and makes sure those tiny clocks work together. This "circadian system" essentially signals to your body what time of day it is and what time of year it is and helps match your behavior with your environment.

Manoogian says people with SAD usually have a sort of delay in their circadian rhythm. Manoogian says just like light, food is an important cue to your body. "If you are eating, your body thinks it should be awake."

So what does this have to do with SAD?

She says when the days get shorter, eating or not eating is a good way to signal all those tiny clocks. "Being able to coordinate your internal clocks with your environment can kind of help ease any burden that changes in seasons might have," she says.

Make sure to stop eating three hours before you go to sleep, so your body knows to rest. By just controlling the time that you eat and keeping it within a consistent 10- to 12-hour window, you're giving your body a really strong cue to tell it the time of day, regardless of anything else that's going on.

Like light or food, exercise is another environmental cue that helps signal to all those internal clocks what time it is. Manoogian says physical activity is a cue that says "wake up." "Doing things like exercising during the active time of your day can actually help your body know kind of what time of day it is, coordinate using all that energy and stimulate the brain to be awake to the right time of day and then allow your body to really rest in the evening."

She says controlling those external cues allows your body to really respond to the environment much better.

Rosenthal says when it's cold and dark and you don't feel energetic and aren't active, it can turn into a vicious cycle. "You don't feel like getting up in the morning, so you pull the covers over your head, so you get less light. So you feel more depressed, so you feel even less like getting up. Whereas if you force yourself to get up, then push yourself to do all these things, then you can feel much, much better," he says. Try to push through.

Rosenthal says seasonal affective disorder has three main causes: a genetic component, a lack-of-light component and stress.

He says if you didn't have to do anything, the symptoms wouldn't be as pronounced. "It's when you've got things to do and you're feeling down and not thinking straight and not feeling effective, that's where you can really feel most depressed."

Reduce stress as much as you can. You may want to see a therapist and talk through how you feel. You may want to try meditation. Rosenthal says the effects of practicing meditation on SAD haven't been fully studied yet, but he believes it can help because meditation destresses you.

Be proactive about making pleasurable plans.

Maia says she doesn't wait for occasions like a birthday or holidays to do something special anymore; she celebrates small things that bring her joy. "I try and make myself have things to look forward to, whether it's like baking a pie on the weekend or drinking a cup of tea every single day. And that fuels me a little bit more and feeds me as a person when I'm not able to go outside and feel fed by the world."

For Maia, an important form of self-care is songwriting. Writing about what she's going through helps her process her feelings. She released a song called "Seasonal Depression" as mxmtoon.

She also accepts that for her, winter will never feel like summer. "I've also reminded myself that it's just an indication that the year is passing by and that's OK. Reminding yourself that everything is cyclical and it's bad right now, but it will be good in the future."

Rosenthal says a lot of people do really well following these simple tips. But if you don't find yourself feeling better or if SAD is interfering with your personal relationships or work, he says, medication can also be very effective.

And keep in mind that none of this will make the disorder go away, but as Rosenthal puts it: "It's not a cure, but ... sometimes the SAD dies of neglect."

The podcast portion of this episode was produced by Andee Tagle.

We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

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SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder Symptoms And Treatments : Life Kit - NPR