IS THE CANADIAN PENSION PLAN SAFE?

AFTER THE NEIMAN MARCUS BANKRUPTCY

CPP IS THE OWNER





With Neiman Marcus bankruptcy, CPPIB's investment wiped out
https://www.pressreader.com › canada › the-globe-and-mail-bc-edition
1 hour ago - CPPIB partnered with Los Angeles-based Ares Management to buy Neiman Marcus, which also owns Bergdorf Goodman and the Last Call ...


News Today | Neiman Marcus Bankruptcy: Debt And ...
https://www.facttehz.com › News Today › trend › World news
6 hours ago - News Today | Neiman Marcus Bankruptcy: Debt And Coronavirus Aren't ... in the present day's chapter submitting a “blow” to Ares and CPPIB.




Neiman Marcus's bankruptcy filing wipes out Canada Pension ...
https://www.theglobeandmail.com › business › article-neiman-marcuss-ban...
17 hours ago - Neiman Marcus, not CPPIB and Ares, was the borrower. Leveraged buyouts are a large part of CPPIB's private equity investing program. The ...


CPP-owned retailer Neiman Marcus files for bankruptcy ...
https://www.nationalnewswatch.com › 2020/05/07 › retailer-neiman-marcu...
20 hours ago - Luxury retail chain was bought by consortium that includes Canada Pension Plan Investment Board in 2013. Neiman Ma\rcus, the 112-year-old ...


Neiman Marcus Bankruptcy: Debt And Coronavirus Aren't The ...
https://www.forbes.com › sites › pamdanziger › 2020/05/07 › neiman-mar...
21 hours ago - The Wall Street Journal calls today's bankruptcy filing a “blow” to Ares and CPPIB.

Neiman Marcus Files for Bankruptcy, Plus More Retailers ...
https://people.com › Style
21 hours ago - Neiman Marcus Files for Bankruptcy, Plus More Retailers Facing Financial ... Corp and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

ytheresa Distances Itself From Bankrupt Parent Neiman ...
https://www.pressenterpriseonline.com › bfegshop › business › retail › myt...
22 hours ago - Why Mytheresa Is Not Part of Parent Neiman Marcus' Bankruptcy ... with about $6 billion in debt after its 2013 purchase by Ares and the CPPIB.


Friday, May 8, 2020 from Luxury Daily Register now for Luxury ...
feed.informer.com › widgets
Thursday, May 7, 2020 from CPP-LUXURY. Neiman Marcus Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Thursday in Texas, becoming the highest-profile retail ...

APRIL

Exclusive: Investors to challenge Neiman Marcus bankruptcy ...
https://www.channelnewsasia.com › news › business › exclusive--investors...
Apr 28, 2020 - CPPIB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Like other brick-and-mortar department store operators, Neiman Marcus struggled ...

Neiman Marcus Becomes Covid-19's First Major Retail Casualty
https://finance.yahoo.com › news › neiman-marcus-becomes-covid-19s-22...
Apr 24, 2020 - (NYSE:ARES) and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), is preparing to file for bankruptcy after missing a $72 million interest ...

Will Neiman Marcus Sting CPPIB and OMERS? - Pension Pulse
https://pensionpulse.blogspot.com › 2020/04 › will-neiman-marcus-sting-c...
Apr 24, 2020 - Neiman Marcus could file for bankruptcy as soon as Sunday and is in talks with its current lenders about raising roughly $600 million in ...

Should Neiman Marcus Exist? – Texas Monthly
https://www.texasmonthly.com › More Stories › News
Apr 24, 2020 - Luxury specialty stores—like Neiman Marcus, its sister brand Bergdorf ... acquired the Neiman Marcus Group (comprising Neiman's itself, its Last ... a handsome exit by selling to Ares Management and the CPPIB for $6 billion.

Virus hit Neiman Marcus to file for bankruptcy, owes US$4.8bil ...
https://www.klsescreener.com › news › view › virus-hit-neiman-marcus-to-...
Apr 20, 2020 - Neiman Marcus Group is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this ... Corp and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

Neiman Marcus to File for Bankruptcy | Voice of America ...
https://www.voanews.com › covid-19-pandemic › neiman-marcus-file-ban...
Apr 19, 2020 - Neiman Marcus and Ares declined to comment, while CPPIB representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Other ...

Exclusive: Neiman Marcus to file for bankruptcy as soon as ...
https://www.reuters.com › article › us-neimanmarcus-bankruptcy-exclusive
Apr 19, 2020 - Neiman Marcus and Ares declined to comment, while CPPIB representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The signage ...

Neiman Marcus may seek bankruptcy protection | CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca › news › business › neiman-marcus-1.5520199
Apr 3, 2020 - Canada's national pension plan CPP was part of a group that bought Neiman Marcus for $6 billion US in 2013. The retailer is considering filing ...


HUFFINGTON POST CANADA CPPIB STORIES
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/cppib/

CPP Investment Board - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › CPP_Investment_Board
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board operating as CPP Investments (French: RPC ... Notable investments include 50% of the American pet store chain Petco, 50% of American luxury department store chain Neiman Marcus, 50% of Australian ... In 2012 CPPIB acquired a 45% stake in ten shopping centers and two ...

CPP Investment Board - Wikiwand
https://www.wikiwand.com › CPP_Investment_Board
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board , operating as CPP Investments , is a ... store chain Petco, 50% of American luxury department store chain Neiman Marcus, ... In 2012 CPPIB acquired a 45% stake in ten shopping centers and two ...



NEIMAN MARCUS HAS BEEN AN ALBATROSS SINCE CPPIB BOUGHT IT

Neiman Marcus - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Neiman_Marcus
Neiman Marcus Group, Inc., originally Neiman-Marcus, is an American chain of luxury ... Ares Management (50%); CPP Investment Board (50%). Number ... The company filed for bankruptcy on May 7, 2020 due to high debts and the 2019–20 ...
Owner‎: ‎Ares Management‎ (50%); ‎CPP Invest...
Founders‎: ‎Carrie Marcus Neiman‎, ‎Herbert Mar...
Number of locations‎: ‎42
Number of employees‎: ‎14,300 (2017)

Neiman Marcus" headlines | Every Source, Every ... - NewsNow
https://www.newsnow.co.uk › search="Neiman+Marcus"
The Neiman Marcus Bankruptcy: Separating The Myths From The Realities. Forbes 15: ... CPP-owned retailer Neiman Marcus files for bankruptcy CBC.ca 08:

2019

The Fed Calls it “Collateral Stripping.” These PE Firms Took it ...
https://wolfstreet.com › 2019/06/12 › the-fed-calls-it-collateral-stripping-th...
Jun 12, 2019 - Private-equity owned Neiman Marcus disclosed two things on ... Ares and CPPIB have now taken collateral stripping to the next level, from a ...

CPPIB Capital Inc. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
https://www.ise.ie › debt_documents
Jun 7, 2019 - The Issuer is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CPPIB and was ... Neiman Marcus Group, Livingston International, 99 Cents Only Stores, The Gates ...

Ares mulls GP-led restructuring of Neiman Marcus fund ...
https://www.secondariesinvestor.com › News & Analysis
Mar 26, 2019 - Among the remaining assets in the fund is Neiman Marcus, which ACOF III and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired for around $6 ...

2018

Neiman Marcus Charged in Court with, among Other ...
https://www.prnewswire.com › news-releases › neiman-marcus-charged-in-...

Dec 10, 2018 - PRNewswire/ -- Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. ("the Parent") and related ... These assets were stripped from its insolvent subsidiary Neiman Marcus ... Board ("CPPIB"), which are the beneficial owners of Neiman Marcus Group, ...

Neiman Marcus Seeks Debt Restructuring To Avoid Bankruptcy
https://retailtouchpoints.com › features › news-briefs › neiman-marcus-see...
Oct 25, 2018 - In 2013, Ares Management and Canadian public pension fund CPPIB acquired Neiman Marcus from two other private equity firms for $6 billion.

Neiman Marcus debtholder calls out CPPIB for asset transfer
https://www.benefitscanada.com › pensions › other-pensions › neiman-mar...
Martha Porado | September 24, 2018 He suggests the sale of the MyTheresa business, as well as real estate owned by Neiman Marcus, would be the better option and would benefit all stakeholders in ..

Bondholder says Neiman Marcus might default - FashionUnited
https://fashionunited.ca › news › business › bondholder-says-neiman-marc...
Sep 21, 2018 - Things aren't looking pretty for Neiman Marcus. ... firms, acquired Neiman Marcus for 6 billion in 2013, leaving the company with 4.7 billion dollars in debt. ... from the creditors of the company and (gifts it) to Ares and CPPIB.

Neiman Marcus bondholder says company may be in default .
https://www.reuters.com › article › neiman-marcus-bondholder-says-comp...
Sep 21, 2018 - Buyout firm Ares Management LP and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) acquired Neiman Marcus for $6 billion in 2013, ...

Andrew Coyne on Twitter: "CPPIB paid $6-billion for luxury ...
https://twitter.com › acoyne › status
Jan 22, 2018 - CPPIB paid $6-billion for luxury retailer Neiman Marcus. The bet backfired. - The Globe and Mail ...

CPPIB paid $6-billion for luxury retailer Neiman Marcus. The ...
https://www.theglobeandmail.com › streetwise › article37678127
Jan 21, 2018 - When CPPIB bought Neiman Marcus, which operates 42 of its brand name stores across the U.S., as well as two Bergdorf Goodman department ..

2017

Debt-laden Neiman Marcus abandons hope of a sale ...
https://www.todayonline.com › business › upscale-retailer-neiman-marcus-...
Jun 13, 2017 - U.S. department store operator Neiman Marcus said on Tuesday it had ... public pension fund CPPIB acquired it from other private equity firms.

Neiman Marcus' troubles run deeper than Amazon or other 

https://www.dallasnews.com › business › retail › 2017/04/20 › neiman-mar...
Apr 20, 2017 - CPPIB and Ares bought it from Fort Worth-based TPG and New York-based Warburg Pincus, investment firms that took Neiman Marcus private ...

CPPIB faces a challenge with its US$6 billion luxury retail ...
https://business.financialpost.com › FP Street › News
CPPIB faces a challenge with its US$6 billion luxury retail acquisition Neiman Marcus. Barry Critchley. March 9, 2017 5:12 PM EST. Filed under:.

Neiman Marcus reportedly hires debt restructuring adviser ..
https://ww.fashionnetwork.com › news › Neiman-Marcus-reportedly-hires-d...
Mar 3, 2017 - N) and CPPIB, acquired it from other private equity firms. Following the news of Lazard's hiring by Neiman Marcus, some Neiman Marcus ...

2016

Opinion | Some Canada Pension Plan investments that might ...
https://www.yorkregion.com › opinion-story › 6498086-some-canada-pensi...
Apr 14, 2016 - In March, CPPIB bought more student housing, this time in Britain. Liberty Living ... CPPIB ownership: Equal majority stake in Neiman Marcus.

2015
Canadian Pension Plan and Permira to Buy Informatica in ...
https://www.nytimes.com › informatica-agrees-to-5-3-billion-buyout
Apr 8, 2015 - ... Canada Pension Plan Investment Board are acquiring the enterprise software ... investments in Neiman Marcus, Univision and other big companies. ... Permira and C.P.P.I.B. share both our vision for Informatica to power the ...

2014
Neiman Marcus not coming to Canada after all - Toronto Life
https://torontolife.com › style › shopping › neiman-marcus-not-coming-to-...
Jan 9, 2014 - Neiman Marcus not coming to Canada after all ... retailer was recently bought by the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board. ... Instead, Neiman Marcus is planning for ultra-conservative expansion, ... The current scandal where Neiman Marcus perjured itself in front of our Congress is a disgrace. CPPIB.

2013

NEIMAN MARCUS NOT LIKELY TO OPEN IN CANADA ...
https://www.retail-insider.com › retail-insider › tail-insider.com › 2013/09
Sep 10, 2013 - CCP's purchase of Neiman Marcus makes for a substantial number of international department stores owned either wholly or partly by Canadian ...

Ares and CPPIB acquire Neiman Marcus for $6bn | Private ...
https://www.privateequityinternational.com › ares-and-cppib-acquire-neim...
Sep 10, 2013 - Ares and CPPIB acquire Neiman Marcus for $6bn ... Investment Board have agreed to buy luxury retailer Neiman Marcus for about $6 billion.

Neiman Marcus sold for $6 billion to Canada Pension Plan ...
https://www.reuters.com › article › us-neimanmarcus-ares › neiman-marcu...
Sep 9, 2013 - The owners of Neiman Marcus Inc agreed to sell the U.S. luxury ... the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), said on Monday they ... In July, Hudson Bay Co bought Saks Fifth Avenue, another storied U.S. retailer.

Ares Management and Canada Pension Plan Investment ...
https://www.cppinvestments.com › headlines › cppib-ares-neiman
... Plan Investment Board Complete Acquisition of Neiman Marcus Group ... Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment ...

SEC EDGAR FILING
EX-99.1 2 a13-21743_3ex99d1.htm EX-99.1 Exhibit 99.1 ..
https://www.sec.gov › Archives › edgar › data
Neiman Marcus Group LTD Inc. Prices Offering of $960 Million of 8.00% Cash ... Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”) (the “Acquisition”) and will ..

Leningrad siege survivor supplies needy amid pandemic

By IRINA TITOVA

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In this photo taken on Thursday, April 30, 2020, Galina Yakovleva holds an origami swan made by her, near her van in St.Petersburg, Russia. Every day amid the coronavirus pandemic, 80-year-old Leningrad siege survivor Galina Yakovleva has driven to the city in her white minivan to bring charity groceries and goods to elderly people and families with children in need. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)


ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — As a child during the World War II siege of Leningrad, Galina Yakovleva learned how to make the best of fearful times. Today she’s using those lessons as she brings food and supplies to needy people locked down in the coronavirus pandemic.

The 80-year-old drives a white minivan every day through the city, now named St. Petersburg, on a one-woman charitable mission for the elderly and needy families with children. She’s been doing this for a decade and hasn’t let the virus deter her.

“I’m not afraid of it; I drive my van alone,” she said. “My soul does not let me leave all my people in need without attention.”

“I have arrangements with certain food stores and grocery depots on certain dates of the month. So if I don’t pick up what I am to get, that food will get spoiled and people who need it won’t get it.”

Wasting food is abhorrent to someone who went through the privations of the 1941-44 siege, when the city came under bombardment from Nazi forces, supply lines were cut off and some 800,000 civilians died.

“We never threw away anything. … How can you throw away bread?” she said.

Her kindergarten she attended was bombarded, forcing her and some other children to hide in a cast iron pipe. The shock was so great that she didn’t speak for year afterward, she says.

In adulthood, Yakovleva held several jobs in which she learned skills that she now uses to collect and distribute aid: She variously drove a tractor, an ambulance and a trolley bus.

Yakovleva organized her Dobrota (Kindness) Foundation about 10 years ago to help socially disadvantaged people. She built connections with the city food stores, bakeries, farms and even theaters.


The operation is a lifeline for more than 500 people.

Her activities haven’t changed much during the pandemic, except for some adjustments in picking up and delivering the goods. Men now load her van without direct contact with her and she sometimes leaves her deliveries at a doorstep.

But many of her care recipients still open the door for her and want to communicate.

“I don’t know how I’d live here indoors for a month if not for Galina. She brings me milk, bread, everything so I won’t die from hunger”, said Lyubov Travkina, 83. “I’m amazed. This person lives only for others, not for herself.”

“We should always think of helping others, at least a bit. Not just lie on the sofa,” Yakovleva said.



While nonstop global news about the effects of the coronavirus have become commonplace, so, too, are the stories about the kindness of strangers and individuals who have sacrificed for others. “One Good Thing” is an AP continuing series reflecting these acts of kindness.

AP

SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY #7 LENINGRAD 

Jobless rate spikes to 14.7%, highest since Great Depression

SOMETHING ELSE FOR TRUMP TO BRAG ABOUT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record. The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy.

The losses, reported by the Labor Department Friday, reflect what has become a severe recession caused by sudden business shutdowns in nearly every industry. Nearly all the job growth achieved during the 11-year recovery from the Great Recession has now been lost in one month.

The report indicated that the vast majority of April’s job losses — roughly 90% — are considered temporary, a result of businesses that were forced to suddenly close but hope to reopen and recall their laid-off workers. Whether most of those workers can return to their jobs anytime soon, though, will be determined by how well policymakers, businesses and the public manage their response to the public health crisis.

The collapse of the job market has occurred with stunning speed. As recently as February, the unemployment rate was a five-decade low of 3.5%, and employers had added jobs for a record 113 months. In March, the unemployment rate was just 4.4%


The jump in the unemployment rate didn’t capture the full devastation wrought by the business shutdowns. The Labor Department said its survey-takers erroneously classified millions of Americans as employed in April even though their employers have closed down. These people should have been classified as on temporary layoff and therefore unemployed. If they had been counted correctly, the unemployment rate would have been nearly 20%, the government said.

President Donald Trump, who faces the prospect of high unemployment rates through the November elections, said the figures were “no surprise.”

“What I can do is I’ll bring it back,” Trump said. “Those jobs will all be back, and they’ll be back very soon. And next year we’ll have a phenomenal year.”

But economists increasingly worry that it will take years to recover all the jobs lost. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office expects the jobless rate to be 9.5% by the end of 2021.


1 of 11
FILE - In this May 7, 2020 file photo, a pedestrian walks by The Framing Gallery, closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in Grosse Pointe, Mich. The U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression, as 20.5 million jobs vanished in the worst monthly loss on record. The figures are stark evidence of the damage the coronavirus has done to a now-shattered economy.. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

The government’s report noted that many people who lost jobs in April but didn’t look for another one weren’t even counted in the unemployment rate. Their exit helped drive down the proportion of working-age Americans who were employed in April: It’s now just 51.3%, the lowest proportion on record.

In addition to the millions of newly unemployed, 5.1 million others had their hours reduced in April. That trend, too, means less income and less spending, perpetuating the economic downturn. A measure of what’s called underemployment — which counts the unemployed plus full-time workers who were reduced to part-time work — reached 22.8%, a record high.

Though some businesses are beginning to reopen in certain states, factories, hotels, restaurants, resorts, sporting venues, movie theaters and many small businesses are still largely shuttered. As companies have laid off tens of millions, lives have been upended across the country.

One of the newly unemployed, Sara Barnard, 24, of St. Louis, has lost three jobs: A floor manager at a pub and restaurant, a bartender at a small downtown tavern and the occasional stand-up comedian. Her main job was at McGurk’s, an Irish pub and restaurant near downtown that closed days before St. Patrick’s Day. She had worked there continually since high school.


McGurk’s tried selling food curbside, Barnard said, but it was costing more to keep the place open than the money that was coming in. Around that time, the bar where she worked closed, and comedy jobs ended when social distancing requirements forced clubs to close.

McGurk’s is a St. Louis landmark, and Barnard expects it to rebound quickly once it reopens. She just doesn’t know when.

Job losses and pay cuts are ranging across the world. Unemployment in the 19-country eurozone is expected to surpass 10% in coming months as more people are laid off. That figure is expected to remain lower than the U.S. unemployment rate. But it doesn’t count many people who either are furloughed or whose hours are cut but who receive most of their wages from government assistance.

In France, about half the private-sector workforce is on a government paid-leave program whereby they receive up to 84% of their net salary. In Germany, 3 million workers are supported in a similar system, with the government paying up to 60% of their net pay.

In the five weeks covered by the U.S. jobs report for April, 26.5 million people applied for unemployment benefits.

The job loss reported Friday was a smaller figure because the two are measured differently: The government calculates job losses by surveying businesses and households. It’s a net figure that also counts the hiring that some companies, like Amazon and many grocery stores, have done. By contrast, total jobless claims are a measure of just the layoff side of the equation.


For the United States, a key question is where the job market goes from here. Applications for unemployment aid, while high, have declined for five straight weeks, a sign that the worst of the layoffs has passed. Still, few economists expect a rapid turnaround.

A paper by economists at the San Francisco Federal Reserve estimates that under an optimistic scenario that assumes shutdowns are lifted quickly, the unemployment rate could fall back to about 4% by mid-2021.

But if shutdowns recur and hiring revives more slowly, the jobless rate could remain in double-digits until the end of 2021, the San Francisco Fed economists predict.

Raj Chetty, a Harvard economist, is tracking real-time data on the economy, including consumer spending, small business hiring and job postings. Chetty noted the economy’s health will hinge on when the viral outbreak has subsided enough that most Americans will feel comfortable returning to restaurants, bars, movie theaters and shops.

The data suggests that many small businesses are holding on in hopes that spending and the economy will rebound soon, he said. Small business payrolls have fallen sharply but have leveled off in recent weeks. And job postings haven’t dropped nearly as much as total jobs have. But it’s unclear how much longer those trends will persist.

“There’s only so long you can hold out,” Chetty said.

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=HOOVER

Bug experts dismiss worry about US ‘murder hornets’ as hype

By SETH BORENSTEINyesterday

1 of 17

FILE - In this April 23, 2020, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a researcher holds a dead Asian giant hornet in Blaine, Wash. FILE - This Dec. 30, 2019 photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture shows a dead Asian giant hornet in a lab in Olympia, Wash. It is the world's largest hornet, a 2-inch long killer with an appetite for honey bees. Dubbed the "Murder Hornet" by some, the insect has a sting that could be fatal to some humans. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)Insect experts say people should calm down about the big bug with the nickname “murder hornet” — unless you are a beekeeper or a honeybee.

The Asian giant hornets found in Washington state that grabbed headlines this week aren’t big killers of humans, although it does happen on rare occasions. But the world’s largest hornets do decapitate entire hives of honeybees, and that crucial food pollinator is already in big trouble.

Numerous bug experts told The Associated Press that what they call hornet “hype” reminds them of the 1970s public scare when Africanized honeybees, nicknamed “killer bees,” started moving north from South America. While these more aggressive bees did make it up to Texas and the Southwest, they didn’t live up to the horror-movie moniker. However, they also do kill people in rare situations.

This time it’s hornets with the homicidal nickname, which bug experts want to ditch.

“They are not ‘murder hornets.’ They are just hornets,” said Washington Agriculture Department entomologist Chris Looney, who is working on the state’s search for these large hornets.

The facts are, experts said, two dead hornets were found in Washington last December, a lone Canadian live nest was found and wiped out last September and no live hornets have yet been seen this year.

Looney has a message for Americans: These hornets are not coming to get you. “The number of people who are stung and have to seek medical attention is incredibly small,” he said in an interview.

While its nickname exaggerates the human health threat, experts said this hornet is especially big — two inches long — so it does carry more and stronger toxin.

“It’s a really nasty sting for humans,” said University of Georgia bee expert Keith Delaplane. “It’s like the Africanized bee ... A dozen (stings) you are OK; 100 not so much.”

University of Illinois entomologist May Berenbaum said of the worry: “People are afraid of the wrong thing. The scariest insect out there are mosquitoes. People don’t think twice about them. If anyone’s a murder insect, it would be a mosquito.”

Mosquitoes are responsible for millions of yearly deaths worldwide from malaria, dengue fever and other diseases, according to the World Health Organization. Asian giant hornets at most kill a few dozen people a year and some experts said it’s probably far less.

Hornet, wasp and bee stings kill on average 62 people a year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Japan, Korea and China, “people have co-existed with this hornet for thousands of years,” said Doug Yanega, senior scientist at the University of California Riverside Entomology Research Museum.

Yet bug experts across the country are getting worried calls from people who wrongly think they saw the Asian hornet.

“This is 99% media hype and frankly I’m getting tired of it,” said University of Delaware entomologist Doug Tallamy. “Murder hornet? Please.”

Retired University of Montana bee expert Jerry Bromenshenk said in an email, “One nest, one individual hornet, hopefully, does not make an invasion. ... Do we want this hornet — surely not. But the media hype is turbo charged.”

For bees and the people who rely on them for a living this could be yet another massive problem, but it is not one yet.

The number of U.S. honeybees has been dropping for years, with the winter of 2018-19 one of the worst on record. That’s because of problems such as mites, diseases, pesticides and loss of food.

The new hornets would be different. If they get into a hive, they tear the heads off worker bees and the hive pretty much dies. Asian honeybees have defenses — they start buzzing, raising the temperature and cook the invading hornet to death — but honeybees in America don’t.

The worry for beekeeping in Washington is based on a worst-case scenario that officials have to take seriously, Looney said.

Yet even for bees, the invasive hornets are far down on the list of real threats, not as big a worry as the parasitic “zombie fly” because more of those have been seen in several states, Berenbaum said.

For people, the hornets are scary because the world is already frightened by coronavirus and our innate fight-or-flight mechanisms are activated, putting people on edge, said risk expert David Ropeik, author of “How Risky Is It, Really?”

“This year is unbelievable in a horrible, horrible way. Why shouldn’t there be murder hornets?” Berenbaum said.

17 PHOTOS HERE 

SEE
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=MURDER+HORNETS

___

Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter: @borenbears

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Carved stone turtle unearthed from Angkor reservoir site

By SOPHENG CHEANG today

1 of 2
This May 6, 2020, photo provided by Apsara Authority shows a turtle statue displayed on the ground of Srah Srang site in Siem Reap province northwest Cambodia. Cambodian archaeologists have unearthed a large centuries-old statue of a turtle on Thursday, May 7, 2020, in an excavation at the famous Angkor temple complex in the country's northwest. (Apsara Authority via AP)


PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian archaeologists have unearthed a large centuries-old statue of a turtle at the Angkor temple complex.

The 56-by-93 centimeter (22-by-37 inch) carved stone turtle believed to date from the 10th century was discovered Wednesday during digging at what was the site of a small temple that had been built on Srah Srang, one of Angkor’s several reservoirs.

Researchers pinpointed where the temple had been and workers drained water off to enable the dig, which began March 16, said Mao Sokny, head of the excavation team of the Apsara Authority, a government agency that oversees the Angkor archaeological site.


The bottom half of the turtle remained buried Thursday while preparations were being made to lift it out without damaging it.

Angkor was strongly influenced by Hindu culture, and as a result, when a temple or other important structure was built, sacred objects would often be buried in the ground underneath as a gesture to ensure safety and good fortune. In several Asian cultures, turtles are seen as symbols of longevity and prosperity.

The dig also discovered some other rare artifacts, including two metal tridents and a carved head of a naga, a mythical creature.

The Angkor complex is Cambodia’s biggest tourist attraction, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is included in the Cambodian flag.

Mao Sokny said discoveries of such artifacts help Cambodians take pride in their heritage.

Hundreds evacuated as wildfires rage in Florida Panhandle

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN today

1 of 15
In this Wednesday evening, May 6, 2020 photo, a Florida forestry tractor trailer is parked in Walton County, Fla., near a hot spot from a wildfire. Authorities say firefighters in the Florida Panhandle battled wildfires through the night that have forced hundreds of people to evacuate from their homes. The more than 575-acre fire in Walton County prompted about 500 people to evacuate. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP)

VIDEO AT THE BOTTOM

MILTON, Fla. (AP) — All day it had been sunny. Then it grew dark as the winds began to whip. Daniel Felder stepped out into the road to watch the acrid smoke billow toward him. Ash started raining from the sky like light snow drifting in twilight.

Then came the crackle of fire, and he knew it was time to run.

“Next thing you know, the fire was right there,” said Felder, 45, recounting the harrowing minutes Wednesday afternoon when a raging fire swept through his bucolic wooded neighborhood in Florida’s Panhandle.

Unable to flee, Felder and his landlord waded into a nearby pond until the fire passed.

The house was spared, but the fire took down a barn and turned the surrounding trees into a charred forest of blackened trunks.

The blaze near Milton, Florida, was one of several fires burning through the Panhandle that scorched thousands of acres of woods, razed dozens of structures, including homes, and forced some 1,600 people to evacuate from their neighborhoods.

The 2,000-acre (809-hectare) fire in Santa Rosa County, located just east of Pensacola, prompted the evacuation of 1,100 homes Wednesday. Officials said a few of those residents, in areas south of Interstate 10, have been allowed to return to their homes, although others have been told to stay away. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths.

Officials said 13 homes were destroyed so far in the fire dubbed the Five Mile Swamp Fire. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, some evacuees were sent to nearby hotels to avoid potential problems with crowding.

Firefighters continued battling the erratic fire deep into the night Thursday. With only 35% of the fire contained, it could be days before it can be brought under control, officials said.

A stretch of Interstate 10, northern Florida’s main transportation artery, remained closed in both directions near Pensacola because of smoke.




Gov. Ron DeSantis met with emergency officials at a church parking lot in Milton for an hour Thursday before returning to the state capital of Tallahassee, located about 180 miles (290 kilometers) east.

The fire was feeding on stands of pines in forests strewn with dry needles.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried said in a news conference Thursday afternoon that fire officials are working around the clock to contain the wildfires.

“The threat is far from over and there is no rain forecasted,” Fried said. She asked residents to stay alert and “be ready for a wildfire impacting their neighborhood.”


Sgt. Rich Aloy, with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, was patrolling Wednesday when he and other deputies rescued an older couple trapped by a burning power line. The possibly live wire blocked the two-lane, tree-lined road as smoke engulfed the area. Aloy said he and his deputies just happened upon the couple as they yelled for help.

“Right time, right place,” Aloy said.


In this Wednesday, May 6, 2020 photo, a helicopters carries water to the Five Mile Swamp Fire in Milton, Fla. Authorities say firefighters in the Florida Panhandle are battling wildfires that have forced some 1,600 people to evacuate from their homes. Smoke from the fires caused officials to close a stretch of Interstate 10 in both directions Thursday. (Gregg Pachkowski /Pensacola News Journal via AP)


The Santa Rosa County fire began Monday when a prescribed burn by a private contractor got out of control, Fried said. The conditions created a perfect storm for fire — low humidity and high winds.

“In Florida, when we’re seeing the gusty winds, it’s hurricane season, not necessarily fire season. So the recipe was just right for this fire to make a huge run,” said Ludie Bond, a spokeswoman for the Florida Forest Service.

On four different occasions, she said, the fire made a run for busy Interstate 10. Each time, it jumped the highway and pushed westward by gusts reaching 40 mph (64 kph).

Firefighters were expecting winds to shift and pick up on Friday, adding to the fire’s erratic behavior.

In a place accustomed to hurricanes, officials said many residents were ready to flee when given the word — although scores of people stayed behind, water hoses in hand, to stand against the fire.

Crews from other areas of Florida, including Jacksonville, are assisting firefighters who’ve been working long hours since Monday.

In neighboring Walton County, a 575-acre (233-hectare) fire in Walton County prompted about 500 people to evacuate. Authorities there said multiple structures were lost in the fire, which was 65% contained Thursday morning. Fried said about 33 structures have been damaged so far.

Felder felt fortunate to escape.

“It came close. Lots of trees burned. The home got singed. The barn behind the house was destroyed,” he said.

At the time, his neighborhood was still under voluntary evacuation.

“I knew there was a fire, but it still looked far away,” he said. “But when it got dark, I didn’t know where the fire was. Suddenly it was there.”

When he knew danger was approaching, he ran back into the house to retrieve his cat, Bowser. He heard his landlord hollering for him to head to the pond. He put his cat, shoes and phone in an aluminum boat, and he and his landlord waded into neck-deep water.

“I was afraid, but the panic set in afterward,” he said. “I had never been through anything like this.”

UPDATE   

More evacuations near Indian factory after fatal gas leak

By OMER FAROOQ today

Smoke rises from LG Polymers plant, the site of a chemical gas leakage, in Vishakhapatnam, India, Thursday, May 7, 2020. Synthetic chemical styrene leaked from the industrial plant in southern India early Thursday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. Administrator Vinay Chand said several people fainted on the road and were rushed to a hospital. (AP Photo)
HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Indian authorities evacuated more people from villages near a South Korean-owned chemical factory where a gas leak killed 12 people and left about 1,000 struggling to breathe.

Authorities said the evacuation was precautionary, but it triggered panic among people overnight that another gas leak was occurring.

“No, there was not another leakage,” National Disaster Response Force spokesman Krishan Kumar said Friday.

Factory owner LG Chem said it asked police to evacuate residents because of concerns that rising temperatures at the plant’s gas tank could possibly cause another leak. The company said it was injecting water into the tank and applying other measures to keep temperatures under control.

A state administrator in the district, Vinay Chand, said authorities flew in chemicals from a neighboring state to neutralize the gas completely before allowing people to return to their homes.


A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) soldier is fitted with gear before he proceeds to the area from where chemical gas leaked in Vishakhapatnam, India, Thursday, May 7, 2020. Chemical gas leaked from an industrial plant in southern India early Thursday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. Administrator Vinay Chand said several people fainted on the road and were rushed to a hospital. (AP Photo)

Expert teams were checking the factory’s vicinity for any aftereffects of the gas leak. Residents of five villages are waiting for a clear signal to return to their homes, Chand said.

The initial evacuations on Thursday affected about 3,000 people.

The death toll rose to 12 on Friday with one person dying in a hospital, P.V. Sudhakar, a doctor, said.

Chand said 316 people were being treated in hospitals and were in stable condition. State police chief Damodar Gautam Sawang said 800 people were released after treatment on Thursday.

The chemical styrene, used to make plastic and rubber, on Thursday leaked from the LG Polymers plant on the outskirts of the eastern coastal city of Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state while workers were preparing to restart the facility after a coronavirus lockdown was eased.

The leak was suspected to have come from large tanks left unattended over the past six weeks.

“Our initial information is that workers were checking a gas storage tank when it started leaking,” said Industries Minister M. Goutham Reddy.


People pour water on a hatchling affected by a chemical gas leak in Vishakhapatnam, India, Thursday, May 7, 2020. Chemical gas leaked from an industrial plant in southern India early Thursday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. Administrator Vinay Chand said several people fainted on the road and were rushed to a hospital. (AP Photo)

Videos and photos from the area showed dozens of people lying unconscious in the streets, arms open wide with white froth trailing from their mouths. People fled on foot, on motorbikes and in open trucks as police officers, some wearing gas masks, rushed to get people out of their homes.

The scene evoked bitter memories of the Bhopal industrial disaster in 1984 that killed at least 4,000 people and injured another 500,000, many of them with chronic health problems today, according to the government.

The blanket of gas spread about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles), sickening people in at least four villages. The leak was stopped by 8 a.m. Thursday, officials said.

A neurotoxin, styrene gas can immobilize a person within minutes of inhalation and be deadly at high concentrations.

LG Chem Ltd. is South Korea’s largest chemical company and produces a range of industrial products, including petrochemicals, plastic and batteries used in electronic vehicles. It is part of the family-owned LG Corp. conglomerate, which also has an electronics arm that globally sells smartphones, TVs and personal computers.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said Friday its ambassador to India had expressed regrets and condolences over the gas leak. A ministry statement said the South Korean government is closely monitoring efforts to handle the aftermath.


Firefighters walk with oxygen cylinders outside LG Polymers plant, the site of a chemical gas leak, in Vishakhapatnam, India, Thursday, May 7, 2020. Synthetic chemical styrene leaked from the industrial plant in southern India early Thursday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. Administrator Vinay Chand said several people fainted on the road and were rushed to a hospital. (AP Photo)

LG Chem began operating the plant in Vishakhapatnam in 1997 and its Indian operation is one of the leading manufacturers of polystyrene and expandable polystyrene in the country. The Vishakhapatnam plant has around 300 workers.

The bowl-shaped coastal city in Andhra Pradesh state is an industrial hub known for frequent gas leak accidents. In December 2019, a leak from a pharmaceutical company killed two people.

“We have not learnt from our past mistakes,” said E.A.S. Sarma, a former senior state official, referring to the 1984 Bhopal gas leak.

Considered the world’s worst industrial accident, the leak of methyl isocyanate at a Union Carbide India pesticide plant prompted successive Indian governments to pledge to improve safety standards. But many similar accidents, although on a smaller scale, continue.


People affected by a chemical gas leak are carried out of a truck to an ambulance in Vishakhapatnam, India, Thursday, May 7, 2020. Chemical gas leaked from an industrial plant in southern India early Thursday, leaving people struggling to breathe and collapsing in the streets as they tried to flee. Administrator Vinay Chand said several people fainted on the road and were rushed to a hospital. (AP Photo)

Toxic gas leak at Indian chemical plant kills at least 11 and hospitalizes hundreds

By Vedika Sud, Akanksha Sharma, Jessie Yeung, Esha Mitra and Emma Reynolds, 

CNN Thu May 7, 2020

(CNN)Bodies lay crumpled on the ground beside toppled motorcycles and cars as suffocating toxic gas rose from a chemical plant in southern India in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Roads near the site of the fatal leak in the state of Andhra Pradesh were filled with hundreds of people fleeing the noxious gas, according to footage from the scene, many carrying the injured and unconscious over their shoulders.
Rescuers from India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) wearing hazmat suits and gas masks were also seen running with limp bodies in their arms.


Smoke rises from the chemical plant after the leak.

At least 11 people have been confirmed dead and hundreds more have been hospitalized after the incident at an LG Polymers plant, which lies near a village of at least 3,000 people on the outskirts of the city of Visakhapatnam.

Most of the dead were driving or standing on terraces outside their homes when they lost consciousness and fell where they stood, while others slipped into unconsciousness while they were sleeping, said Mekapati Goutham Reddy, minister for Industries, Commerce, and Information Technology in Andhra Pradesh. Three of those who died were children, he added.

Almost 1,000 people were directly exposed to the gas and about 20-25 people are in critical but stable condition, said Kamal Kishore from the National Disaster Management Authority.


A man runs from the toxic gas leak carrying an unconscious child as 5,000 people were evacuated from the area.


A member of India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is fitted with protective gear before he enters the area affected by the leak.
The gas has been identified as Styrene, a flammable liquid that is used to make a variety of industrial products, including polystyrene, fiberglass, rubber, and latex.
"When we arrived on the spot a lot of people were lying on the ground unconscious and we evacuated around 1,000 people and rushed them to the hospital," said Tej Bharath, a senior Vishakhapatnam district official.
Gopalapatnam Police helped hundreds of people to escape the apocalyptic scenes in ambulances, police vehicles, and state-provided buses, while others left on their own, said local police Inspector V Ramanayya.
At least 285 people are now in hospital, said K Kanna Babu, managing director of the state's disaster response force. Individuals were taken to hospitals across the city to be treated for exposure of the gas.

How does India, a country of 1.3 billion people, have around 1,000 coronavirus deaths?
Babu said the district administration received the call by around 3:30 a.m. and his team was notified around 5:30 a.m. and were on-field by 6 a.m. But, he added, "we couldn't immediately enter because the smell of the gas was very pungent so we had to wait for half an hour before we could go in and start evacuating people."
The gas came out the factory's chimney and was carried by the wind, he said.
There are 10,000 people within the affected area of the gas leak; about 5,000 have been evacuated.
Photos tweeted by Satya Pradhan, director general of the NDRF, showed team members in hazmat suits and gas masks helping residents to safety.
Disaster response teams have brought the leakage in the silo to a minimum and it is almost under control, authorities confirmed in a press briefing.
"Overall the situation is under control. Now, the situation is of rehab and treatment," said Pradhan.


People affected by the gas leak are carried out of a truck to an ambulance in Vishakhapatnam.

How it happened
It is not immediately clear what led to the leak. However, the plant, which is owned by the South Korean company LG Chem, was preparing to reopen after coronavirus lockdown restrictions were eased, with the gas leak occurring during the process of re-starting operations, according to Bharath, the Visakhapatnam district official.
Reddy, the Andhra Pradesh minister, said workers at the plant had been conducting regular maintenance and gauging whether it was ready to return to full production. It was during this process that they found the leak coming from a storage tank, where the chemical had turned into a gas.

They immediately worked to neutralize the chemical, and had shut down the plant within an hour, Reddy said.
But Reddy said an alarm should have been raised when the gas leaked and asked why that didn't happen.
An LG Chem communications official told CNN that the plant's alarm only detects if raw Styrene is leaked in liquid form, and "something in there reacted," which meant it "leaked in vapor form."
Asked why it had turned into vapor, the official added: "That is something we need to investigate."
In a statement to CNN, LG Chem said it was taking measures to protect residents affected by the leak.
"(We) are currently assessing local town residents' damage situation and are taking maximum necessary measures for the protection of residents and employees together with related organizations," said the statement.
"The factory's gas leak is currently under control. Leaked gas can cause vomiting and dizziness from inhaling. (We) are seeking all measures so that related treatment can be done quickly."


A crowd gathers outside the plant after the leak.


Dead cows on the ground after the leak at an LG Polymers plant, which had recently reopened after the coronavirus lockdown.
"There is no specific antidote to reverse the effect of Styrene. The treatment does remain mainly supportive. Individuals have to be removed from the exposed area," said Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Local police are investigating the cause of the leak and conducting house to house visits in adjoining areas.
Photos of the aftermath has drawn parallels online with the Bhopal disaster -- a gas leak in the central Indian city of Bhopal in December 1984.
Nearly half a million people were exposed to toxic fumes, nearly 4,000 people died in the immediate aftermath, and around 10,000 subsequent deaths have been blamed on the leak, which is now considered one of the world's worst industrial disasters.
This leak is likely not as lethal as the Bhopal disaster, said Reddy, the state minister.

Government response
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet today that he had spoken with officials regarding Thursday's leak, and was monitoring the situation.
"I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam," he tweeted.
The state's chief minister is also set to visit the city hospital where residents are being treated, his office confirmed in a tweet.

"The Chief Minister is closely monitoring the situation and has directed the district officials to take every possible step to save lives and bring the situation under control," said the tweet.
The city's civic authority, the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), warned residents to stay indoors during the response effort.

"There is gas leakage identified at LG Polymers in Gopalpatnam. Requesting Citizens around these locations not to come out of houses for the sake of safety precautions," GVMC tweeted. "As precautionary measures, the colonies and villages around the industry may leave to safer locations. Please use wet cloth as mask to cover nose and mouth."
Now as efforts turn from evacuation and rescue to investigation, state officials are beginning to look into the cause of the leak.
"Right now we are not taking any action but certainly the burden of proof lies with them (LG) -- to come forward and say what they have done," said Reddy. "We need to understand to what extent was this negligence or what it was. It will all come subsequently once we start ascertaining the situation on the ground."
He said that compensation of $131,000 per family will be given to those who have lost a loved one. LG will be asked to pay what it can and the state government will cover the rest, he added.
This story has been corrected to reflect that the plant has not yet reopened.

CNN's Swati Gupta contributed to this report.

Battle to prevent fresh gas leak at Indian plant

AFP / -A gas leak at the LG Polymers plant killed 12 people and knocked others unconscious in the street

Engineers battled Friday to prevent more toxic gas escaping at a chemical plant on India's east coast, a day after a pre-dawn leak killed 12 people and knocked locals unconscious in the street.

Although the death toll was lower than feared, the accident which left hundreds hospitalised outside the industrial port city of Visakhapatnam evoked memories of Bhopal where a gas leak killed around 3,500 people in 1984.

Late on Thursday the evacuation zone around the plant owned by South Korea's LG Chem was widened with hundreds more people in 10 localities brought to safety as a precaution, police said.

"The situation is better now but we can't say it is completely normal. The temperature in the tanks has been brought down by 120 degrees but we need to being it down further by 25 degrees," senior police officer Swaroop Rani told AFP.

AFP / Gal ROMAGas leak at Indian chemical plant


"Twelve people have died so far. No one is critical. But we have told those who have recovered that they may go either to their relatives' houses or to shelters that we have set up till the situation is completely normal," she said.

Plant owner LG Chem said Friday there was no fresh leak, but as a precautionary measure nearby people should be moved.

The company "made a request to the police to evacuate residents in case of an emergency if the temperature rises in the tank", it said in a statement issued in Seoul.

"Currently, we are taking necessary measures, such as adding water into the tank" to keep it cool.

AFP / -Rescuers evacuate people following the gas leak in Visakhapatnam. Engineers were working to prevent more gas escaping from the chemical plant

Horrifying footage on Indian television showed men, women and children slumped motionless in the streets after the Thursday morning gas escape.

"There was utter confusion and panic. People were unable to breathe, they were gasping for air. Those who were trying to escape collapsed on the roads -- kids, women and all," local resident Kumar Reddy, 24, told reporters.

B K Naik, district hospitals coordinator, said 1,000 had initially been hospitalised. By Thursday afternoon around 600 remained in treatment, with none in a critical condition.

"This is a calamity," Naik told AFP.

AFP photographs taken at the King George Hospital in the city early Thursday had shown two or three patients on each bed, some of them children, and several unconscious.

- Prayers -

"I pray for everyone's safety and well-being in Visakhapatnam," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter.

The plant, operated by LG Polymers, a subsidiary of LG Chem, is on the outskirts of Visakhapatnam.

AFP / STRAround 1,000 people were taken to hospital after the gas leak

The city and the surrounding area are home to around five million people.

The plant had been left idle because of the coronavirus lockdown, according to Rani, an assistant police commissioner in Visakhapatnam.

"(The gas) was left there because of the lockdown. It led to a chemical reaction and heat was produced inside the tanks, and the gas leaked because of that," Rani told AFP on Thursday.

LG Chem confirmed the plant, which makes polystyrene products, was not operating because of the lockdown, but there were maintenance staff at the facility, a spokesman in Seoul told AFP.

- 'Ticking bombs' -

Authorities advised people to wear wet clothes and masks, avoid eating uncovered food and consume bananas and milk to "neutralise the effect of the gas".

According to the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the gas was styrene, which is likely carcinogenic and combined with oxygen in the air forms the more lethal styrene dioxide.

The leak happened because the gas was not stored at the appropriate temperature, causing pressure to build up and breaking the valve, the CSE said.

The tank was also "old and not properly maintained" and there was no monitoring mechanism installed to specifically detect styrene, it said.

The incident "shows us that there are ticking bombs out there as the lockdown ends and industries start resuming activities," it add

SEE  UPDATES

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/05/update-indians-recall-horrifying.html

 https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/05/update-more-evacuations-near-indian.html

FOR THOSE OF YOU WITH A DANCE POLE IN THE REC ROOM

AP PHOTOS: Turkish pole dance teacher moves classes online

By ZEYNEP BILGINSOY

In this Thursday, April 30, 2020 photo, Tuba Parlak, 39, a pole dancing performer and instructor performs at her studio in Istanbul, during an online training session for students watching from home, due to the coronavirus restrictions. To stem the spread of COVID-19, Turkey closed down sports facilities in March but Parlak's students continued their pole lessons, using video conferencing. For students not having a pole at home, Parlak has designed a special programme to make sure they stay strong and fit. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

To stem the spread of COVID-19, Turkey closed down sports facilities in March but Tuba Parlak’s students wanted to continue their lessons.

Using the video conferencing app Zoom, Parlak teaches the vigorous exercise from her studio in Istanbul’s hip Cihangir district. She limits her classes to five students as she did in the studio, and says Zoom has made it easier to critique her students’ moves with all video images lined up on her screen.

Some of Parlak’s students had poles installed at home, with a discount from a local pole manufacturer, and others are continuing with pole dance floor work. The classes, most of them advanced, are only available to students that Parlak already worked with.

Parlak, a former arts and culture journalist, started pole dancing in 2015 and turned her passion to full time profession. She says the pandemic, apart from taking her work online, has not altered her day-to-day because she already led an “isolated” life as an athlete.

Drop-out rates are high in this challenging exercise, Parlak says. Her students are looking forward to returning to the studio but it remains uncertain when Turkey will allow sports facilities to re-open.

In this Thursday, April 30, 2020 photo, Tuba Parlak, 39, a pole dancing performer and instructor performs at her studio in Istanbul, during an online training session for students watching from home, due to the coronavirus restrictions. To stem the spread of COVID-19, Turkey closed down sports facilities in March but Parlak's students continued their pole lessons, using video conferencing. For students not having a pole at home, Parlak has designed a special programme to make sure they stay strong and fit.
In this Thursday, April 30, 2020 photo, Tuba Parlak, 39, a pole dancing performer and instructor warms-up at her studio in Istanbul, as she prepares for an online training session for students at home, due to the coronavirus restrictions.To stem the spread of COVID-19, Turkey closed down sports facilities in March but Parlak's students wanted to continue their pole lessons. Using video conferencing, Parlak teaches the vigorous exercise from her studio in Istanbul's hip Cihangir district. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)


In this Thursday, April 30, 2020 photo, Tuba Parlak, 39, a pole dancing performer and instructor prepares at her studio in Istanbul, for an online training session for students at home, due to the coronavirus restrictions. To stem the spread of COVID-19, Turkey closed down sports facilities in March but Parlak's students wanted to continue their pole lessons. Using video conferencing, Parlak teaches the vigorous exercise from her studio in Istanbul's hip Cihangir district. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)


DOING THIS IN HER FORTIES IS AMAZING  AS THIS IS USUALLY A YOUNGER WOMAN'S SPORT

IN NORTH AMERICA POLE DANCING IS FAVOURED BY EXOTIC DANCERS

FOR THE REST OF THE PHOTOS GO HERE https://apnews.com/17783b9afb57deb22d26bc7158dd1e6d