These are the brand new UNESCO World Heritage Websites for 2020 and 2021

From the bathing cities of Europe to the desert with the oldest mummies in the world, 34 new sites are now part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Only twice in the program’s 43-year history have more new sites made the prestigious list in a single year. The number may not be unprecedented, but the way the World Heritage Committee deliberated this year is.

Last year, the committee’s annual meeting was postponed due to the global pandemic. Rather than bringing all nominations forward by a year, the committee’s online meeting last month considered nominations for two years – for 2020 and 2021.

It considered nearly 40 geographic and historical landmarks with a 10-point test to find places of “outstanding universal value”.

Of these, 34 locations were added to the list – more than 80% of them in Europe and Asia.

Europe

Almost half of the new UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Europe.

While the city of Bath has been a World Heritage Site since 1987, efforts to create a transnational collection of the Great health resorts in Europe on the list didn’t start until 2012.

In 2021, 11 cities in seven European countries will be recognized – including Vichy in France, Baden Baden in Germany and Spa in Belgium.

According to UNESCO, the cities pay tribute to the early 18th

People gargle in a thermal bath in Vichy, France, around 1915.

API | Gamma Rapho | Getty Images

Another of the 16 European websites that made the list is Mathildenhohe Darmstadt, a former artist colony in Darmstadt, Germany. Established in 1897, the property includes 23 elements such as the wedding tower, a Russian Orthodox church, various gardens, and 13 houses and artist studios built for artists and exhibitions.

The wedding tower (left) and the Russian Chapel (right) in the Mathildenhöhe artists’ colony in Darmstadt.

Happy warthog | iStock editorial team | Getty Images

The slate landscape of North West Wales is the UK’s 33rd site on the World Heritage List. The area was once a thriving site for shale mining and quarrying, turning the area’s agricultural identity into an industrial one. The site is also home to historic settlements, gardens, harbors, and a railroad system.

An abandoned quarry in Snowdonia, Wales, United Kingdom.

Robert Thorley | iStock | Getty Images

The other newly registered sites in Europe are:

  • Colonies of Benevolence, Belgium and the Netherlands
  • Cordouan lighthouse, France
  • Danube Limes, Austria, Germany and Slovakia
  • Padua’s fresco series from the 14th century, Italy
  • Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, Spain
  • Mining landscape of Roșia Montana, Romania
  • Colchian rainforests and wetlands, Georgia
  • The Low German Limes, Germany and the Netherlands
  • Nice, France
  • Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea, Russian Federation
  • SchUM locations in Speyer, Worms and Mainz, Germany
  • The Hypostyle Hall of Bologna, Italy
  • The works of Joze Plecnik in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Asia

More than a third of the newly crowned UNESCO sites are in Asia.

Two sites in India were added to the World Heritage List this year, one of which is the Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple. The temple complex is located in the southern state of Telangana and was built in the early 13th century over a period of 40 years. The temple has intricately carved walls and pillars and is known for its bricks, which are said to be so light that they can float on the water.

The Kakatiya Rudreshwara Temple in India.

Noah Seelam | AFP | Getty Images

Fast forward to the 20th century for a masterpiece of modern engineering – the Trans-Iranian Railway. The train connects the Caspian Sea in northeastern Iran with the Persian Gulf in the southwest. The scenic railroad travels over four different geographic features – mountain ranges, highlands, forests, and plains – and was completed in 1938.

According to UNESCO, the 1,394 kilometer route required the construction of 360 bridges and 224 tunnels. The railroad played an important role in the economic, cultural and political development of Iran and became a symbol of development and modernity in the country.

In 1956 a railway bridge is built as part of the Trans-Iranian Railway.

Three lions | Hulton Archives | Getty Images

The other newly registered sites in Asia are:

  • Arslantepe Hill, Turkey
  • Quanzhou, China
  • ima cultural area, Saudi Arabia
  • Amami-Oshima, Tokunoshima, Okinawa and Iriomote Islands, Japan
  • Wadden Sea Getbol, ​​Republic of Korea
  • Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex, Thailand
  • As-Salt, Jordan
  • Hawraman / Uramanat cultural landscape, Iran
  • Dholavira, India
  • Jomon prehistoric sites, Japan

South America

That Chinchorro mummies are the oldest purposefully preserved human remains in the world. At over 7,000 years old, they are two millennia older than their better-known Egyptian counterparts.

The mummification process was practiced by a settlement of fishermen and hunters and gatherers where the Atacama Desert in what is now Chile meets the Pacific Ocean.

So far, archaeologists have found more than 300 mummies that pay homage to the complex burial practices of the Chinchorro. In contrast to the Egyptian tradition, in which mummification was reserved for pharaohs and the rich, the Chinchorro preserved remains of people from across the social spectrum. Corpses of men, women and even children were preserved in bandages painted black or red.

Chinchorro mummy of a baby in the San Miguel de Azapa Archaeological Museum in Chile.

Insights | Universal picture group | Getty Images

That Atlantis Church – along with its bell tower and underground baptistery – is a complex 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo.

Built in 1960 in the Italian paleo-Christian style, the church is a symbol of Latin American architectural achievements. The wave-shaped walls and ceilings are made of exposed brick and the ceiling has accents of colored glass. The most impressive part of the complex is the bell tower; The red brick spiral staircase combines with natural light to create a geometric illusion.

View of the bell tower of the Atlantida Church in Uruguay on July 21, 2021.

Pablo Porciuncula | AFP | Getty Images

The other newly registered sites in South America are:

Africa

Ivory Coast Sudanese style mosques are one of two locations from Africa on this year’s list.

The distinctive architectural style of the mosques pays homage to the trans-Saharan trade that has expanded Islamic culture on the continent. The use of traditional African materials along with Islamic features such as domes represents an amalgamation of the two cultures that have existed since the beginning of trade between them in the 17th century.

Muslim devotees walk past an old Sudanese-style mosque in Kong, Ivory Coast, on January 23, 2019.

Sia Kambou | AFP | Getty Images

Ivindo National Park is Gabon’s second site on the World Heritage List. The park is one of five “natural” sites added in 2020 and 2021, separate from the “cultural” sites on the list. The equatorial rainforest is home to rapids, black water rivers, waterfalls and wildlife such as elephants, gorillas and pangolins.

An African forest elephant is sighted in Ivindo National Park on April 26, 2019.

Amaury Hauchard | AFP | Getty Images

North America

No site in North America was placed on the World Heritage List in 2020 or 2021. However, this year the World Heritage Committee voted to limit the boundaries of a formerly registered North American site – the Popocatepetl Monasteries, Mexico.

Two 16th century monasteries built near the Popocatepetl volcano in central Mexico, the second highest peak in the country, were added to the World Heritage List in 1994. The redrawn lines now encompass a third monastery within their boundaries.

On July 9, 2013, ash spewed out of the Popocatepetl volcano in Mexico.

J. Guadalupe Perez | AFP | Getty Images

Also this year, no locations in Australia or the Antarctic were named.

A total of 1,154 sites are now on the World Heritage List. About 52 of them are on the UNESCO “In Danger” list, including the Old City of Jerusalem and the United States’ Everglades National Park.

The so-called “list of dangers” is the first step towards the abolition of these decorations. Liverpool’s Maritime Mercantile City was removed from the list earlier this year, making it only the third site to suffer this fate since it was introduced on the World Heritage List.

Local weather change is making folks suppose twice about having youngsters

ChristinLola | iStock | Getty Images

A growing number of people are reluctant to bring a child into a world that will be devastated by climate change in the decades to come.

It comes shortly after the United Nations issued a “red code for humanity” when the world’s leading climate scientists issued their sharpest warning to date of the worsening climate emergency. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on Monday said global temperatures are likely to rise 1.5 degrees Celsius over the next two decades, surpassing a key goal of the Paris Agreement – a groundbreaking deal that is considered crucial to reduce the risk of a climate catastrophe.

Scientists’ increasingly bleak prospects for the planet’s future are preventing more and more people from having children.

Morgan Stanley analysts said in a statement to investors last month that “the move to not have children due to fears about climate change is increasing and affecting fertility rates faster than any previous trend in fertility decline”.

To back up their argument, they cited surveys, academic research, and Google data showing that climate change is directly and indirectly accelerating the decline in birth rates. UCLA researchers showed that the number of births in the US fell in the nine months following an extreme heat event, while a study of 18,000 couples in China last year showed that climate change, and particulate matter in particular, was 20% more likely to occur were associated with sterility.

Some people choose not to have children because they fear it will add to global warming.

“Having a child is seven times worse for the climate in terms of annual carbon emissions than the next 10 most talked about abatement measures that individuals can do,” said Morgan Stanley analysts.

A Swedish study published in IOPscience in 2017 found that one less child per family in developed countries could save about 58.6 tons of CO2 each year.

However, Kimberley Nicholas, one of the study’s authors, said in an interview with Vox earlier this year that population reduction is not the way to solve the climate crisis. “It’s true that more people use more resources and cause more greenhouse gas emissions,” she said. “But that’s not really the relevant timeframe to actually stabilize the climate, as we have this decade to cut emissions in half.”

Endure extreme weather

Others are concerned about extreme weather events their children may face and the likely consequences. For example, harvests may fail in some parts of the world.

Daniel, a 35-year-old British man who currently lives in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has been married to his partner for almost 12 years. They used to be open to the idea of ​​having children in their relationship, but are less interested in it now.

“In recent years, the climate has definitely contributed to the fact that we don’t want children,” Daniel told CNBC, calling for his last name to be removed from the story because he feared he could be attacked online by people who disagree are .

The couple, who rely on air conditioning for most of the year and like to travel, have been looking for ways to significantly offset their carbon footprint. “We thought about it for a long time and quickly realized that adding another person to the world would have a huge impact on the environment,” said Daniel.

Children cool off in the water of a park when a heat wave hits the city on July 16, 2021 in Shenyang, China’s Liaoning Province.

VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images

Prince Harry said in 2019 that he and his wife Meghan are planning to have a maximum of two children, citing environmental concerns.

The topic of getting more people into a warming world is being debated by people on social media with a large following.

On a 2019 Instagram livestream to her 1.5 million followers, New York MP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 31, said, “There is fundamental scientific consensus that children’s lives are going to be very difficult I think young people have one fair question: is it okay to still have children? “

“Existential Fear”

Jessica Combes, a 39-year-old English teacher, told CNBC, “I refuse to take children to the burning hellish landscape we call a planet.”

Combes said she was always unsure whether she would have children of her own. “Now when I look at the state of the economy, shabby global health and climate change, I just feel that all of my concerns are legitimate,” she said.

I refuse to take children to the burning hellish landscape we call a planet.

Jessica Combes

English teacher

Some of those who already have children are also concerned. Thom James, 39, managing partner of advertising and public relations firm Havas UK, told CNBC: “I had a major depressive episode last year based on existential fears of the world my children would grow up in.”

James has two girls, ages three and six. “Worrying about their future is a common trigger for me,” he said. “I keep thinking about when it will be appropriate to stop them from having children of their own because I think we have really passed the point of no going back.”

Of course, at some point humanity would cease to exist if everyone stopped having children. A fringe anti-natalist group believes that is exactly what should happen, but most people do not share this view.

Indeed, many people view children as a basic human right that can bring happiness and joy to families.

However, the climate emergency is due to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, not population growth.

The IPCC report warned that some of the climate changes observed by researchers – such as persistent sea level rise – are likely to be “irreversible for hundreds to thousands of years.”

The report also reiterated the urgent need for “strong and sustainable” reductions in carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases in order to limit climate change.

UN Secretary General António Guterres said the results were “a red code for humanity”.

He added, “This report must ring a death sentence for coal and fossil fuels before they destroy our planet.”

The world’s fossil fuel dependency is currently expected to worsen in the coming decades, even as policy makers publicly acknowledge the need to transition to a low-carbon society.

– CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.

Wendy’s to open 700 ghost kitchens by 2025 with start-up Reef

Customers dine at Wendy’s outdoor seating near Union Square in New York City.

Alexi Rosenfeld | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Wendy’s announced Wednesday it will open 700 ghost kitchens across the United States, United Kingdom and Canada by 2025 through a partnership with start-up Reef Technology.

Also known as virtual, cloud or dark kitchens, ghost kitchens are meant to address the demand for off-premise restaurant dining. The facilities fulfill delivery orders placed through third-party delivery apps like DoorDash. Companies say they help restaurants cut down on costs by using less labor and square footage and being in less desirable locations — like parking lots, in Reef’s case.

Wendy’s CEO Todd Penegor told analysts Wednesday that its U.S. business saw digital sales dollars grow more than 10% in the second quarter.

Wendy’s and Reef piloted eight ghost kitchens in Canada before making this development plan. The companies expect to open roughly 50 of the ghost kitchens this year.

“If you look at the economics, it’s early to tell what we can do from sales out of each of those vessels, but we’re expecting the sales in the range of $500,000 to $1 million per unit,” Penegor said.

The average gross annual sales for a franchised Wendy’s restaurant in the U.S. was $1.75 million in 2020, according to franchise disclosure documents.

Despite lower expected sales for the ghost kitchen locations, Wendy’s is still expecting a solid return on its investment. It will allow the company to expand more into urban locations, and Reef is responsible for buying the kitchens and hiring workers, Penegor said. The start-up will also pay slightly higher royalty fees — 6% of gross sales in the U.S. compared with the 4% rate charged to other franchisees.

Penegor also said the program could be a great way to bring in new franchisees because of the lower cost of investment.

The deal makes Reef the first Wendy’s franchisee in the U.K. The burger chain opened its first restaurant on British soil in decades this June as part of a broader plan to expand its global reach.

Founded in 2013 as ParkJockey, Reef started off just as a parking garage operator but has since branched out into ghost kitchens inside shipping containers located in more than 4,500 parking facilities. As of February, the start-up has raised more than $756 million, including an investment from SoftBank, according to Pitchbook. Other restaurant partners include BurgerFi and Wow Bao.

Wendy’s shares rose 3.7% in afternoon trading after the company also reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s estimates and raised its 2021 forecast. The stock has risen 3% this year, giving it a market value of $5.02 billion.

‘Elevating Kanan’ Actress Patina Miller Responds To 50 Cent After He Compares Her Character To Cookie Lyon

By now we know that 50 Cent does not miss when it comes to his television and film projects. His latest show “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” premiered on Starz last month, and the show has been getting great reviews from fans of the “Power” franchise.

On Tuesday, 50 took to Instagram to speak about the amazing work of actress Patina Miller, who plays Raquel Thomas, the mother of Kanan on the new scripted series. The show is a prequel based on 50 Cent’s “Power” character Kanan Stark.

He said, “You know I don’t miss nothing @patinamiller knocking Cookie sh*t out the box. Empire who, how, where? LOL.”

Now fans know in the past 50 Cent has been critical of the former Fox hit series “Empire,” which starred Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon. He would quite often compare the show to the stars hit series “Power,” which he starred on, and also served as a producer. Nonetheless, some folks have always looked at his comments as a marketing tatic when it came to promoting the show.

Following 50’s comment, Patina commented back and said, “Normally, I wouldn’t comment, but I feel it’s necessary…both of these characters are strong af. I love that queen and look up to her! I do think both characters can co-exist and one doesn’t have to be ‘better’ than the other…Lift them both up!! Thank you for your support always @50Cent.”

50 then responded to Patina’s comments and said, “I’m the only one comparing you and Taraji P. Henson to make people see you that way. Taraji crazy a** put in a lot of work, it takes a lot of time to get in the hearts and minds of an audience like that. You over there on some black women power sh*t.”

Some people believe the whole comment exchange was just another method to help promote the show as its success continues to climb.

 

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Alaska Airways is contemplating Covid vaccine mandates for workers

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 taking off from LAX.

PG | Getty Images

Alaska Airlines announced Wednesday that it is considering making Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for employees, according to a company memo that CNBC viewed.

The policy change would make the Seattle-based airline the newest airline to require vaccines for its employees. On Friday, United Airlines became the first major US airline to require vaccines for its employees. Frontier Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have since issued similar requirements.

Alaska, which has about 20,000 employees, said if it did make vaccines mandatory it would after the Food and Drug Administration fully approved one of the vaccines currently available under emergency approval.

Airline executives recently raised concerns about the rapidly spreading Delta variant of Covid. Southwest Airlines lowered its revenue and profit forecasts on Wednesday and made the spread of the variant due to weaker bookings and increased cancellations.

Delta, Southwest, and American have encouraged, but not mandated, employee vaccination.

“As an employer with a duty to protect you, and given the contagion and health risks of the COVID-19 virus and its variants, we have the right to make that decision and ask you for information about your vaccine status,” Alaska employees said . It was said that there would be exemptions for religious or medical reasons, similar to other companies.

What Kevin O’Leary recommends each CEO spend money on

Any aspiring entrepreneur hoping to pitch the attention of “Shark” Kevin O’Leary with a business pitch has a better answer to this question: what’s the next big thing for small business?

Although O’Leary recently invested in the crypto space and said he thinks it is “important” if you think it is bitcoin or blockchain, guess again. The Shark Tank co-host and host of CNBC’s Money Court says the COVID boom in direct selling is the most important business change and is equally important for small businesses and business giants.

Speaking at CNBC’s Small Business Playbook event on Wednesday, O’Leary said there was a rapid acceleration in direct sales (DTC) in “giant companies” like Nike. He said DTC sales for companies have shifted from 10% to 50% to 60% during Covid, but sales success alone is not the key to the future – it’s the data that comes with reaching the customer directly online connected to the customer.

Businesses are starting to collect data on customer preferences beyond the basics like physical location during the daytime and buying preferences, and this will matter as the technology huge companies are using to pull the data for insights – cloud-based AI – will be economical for all companies.

One of its portfolio companies, Wicked Good Cupcakes, which was recently acquired by Hickory Farms, became the # 1 “gifted cupcake” in US shipping through FedEx, and O’Leary said the company even learned about consumer buying behavior for things like Taste preferences and when parents buy college-aged cupcakes during the holidays. “The data poured in and then they could make offers,” he said, based on what they learned about each one.

O’Leary says the model’s success goes beyond this one example. “Some of my small businesses are doing better than ever with much higher margins thanks to DTC.”

“Doesn’t matter if you’re Nike or have $ 5 million in sales”

Cloud-based AI will lead to increased sales as well as other business benefits. This will result in higher margins and a better forecast of demand. Adopting the DTC and AI approach will allow managers to use capital much more efficiently and not end up with “a pile of inventory in big retailers that don’t make you money,” said O’Leary.

“I’m telling all CEOs to start investing now in what you can do with AI and data management,” he said. “I’m very excited about this for small businesses.”

O’Leary said what we’ve learned from this pandemic is that businesses both large and small have gone through an incredible digit pivot and the delta variant will only compound that shift.

“I don’t care if you’re Nike or a $ 5 million company,” he said. “That’s what happened with the pandemic. Nike hit 50% DTC in five months.”

Building a direct customer business and using cloud-based technology to perform AI on customers is a strategy “even a small business can afford,” he added.

O’Leary linked the DTC boom, which eliminates multiple tiers of distribution that squeeze business margins, with the booming stock market during Covid and “a much more efficient, profitable industry in every sector.”

“We have moved to a much more efficient location and you want to have a direct relationship with the customer going forward,” he said.

Why Brielle Biermann Is Telling Haters to “Go F–k Yourselves”

Brielle Biermann is not here for anyone else’s take on her looks.

The Don’t Be Tardy star took to Instagram Stories on Tuesday, Aug. 10 to clap back at anyone who had something to say about her appearance. She made an example out of one person sliding into her DMs to make fun of her looks, and said, “ALL my friends (except dani) have fake nails, fake hair, fake etc. who cares it’s our lives it doesn’t effect you AT ALL!”

She continued, “But kindly…go f-ck yourselves (haters) bc I haven’t even touched my face besides a lil Botox for TMJ & lip fillers… WHICH ARE ALL GONE NOW.”

Brielle wondered, “When is the stigma of putting people down for bettering themselves gonna end? If you could.. would you not?”

Despite the rude message she receives, Brielle still has supporters out there. “Thank you for the kind comments I’ve read all my dms love you guys,” she concluded her post, before showing that she was at Universal Orlando Resort.

Area firm Momentus will get SPAC merger authorized after SEC settlement

An artist’s rendering of a Momentus Vigoride transfer vehicle deploying a satellite in orbit.

Momentus

Space company Momentus will later this week go public on the Nasdaq, a month after settling Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it misled investors.

Stable Road Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, on Wednesday announced its merger with Momentus was approved by shareholders. While only a little over half of Stable Road’s shareholders voted on the merger, 97% of those who voted approved the deal.

Shares of Stable Road will convert to stock in Momentus on Friday, with the ticker symbol of the company changing from “SRAC” to “MNTS.”

Stable Road’s stock fell 2.6% in trading on Wednesday to close at $10.20 a share. Stable Road noted that public stockholders filed to redeem about 20% of the firm’s outstanding shares — an unusually high amount for a company that is going public, as redemptions are typically in the low single-digit percentages or less after a SPAC merger closes.

A SPAC raises money from investors through an initial public offering and then uses the cash to acquire a private company and take it public.

Stable Road’s stock is down nearly 43% so far this year, as the company has been embattled on numerous fronts. It has faced delayed missions and the pressured departure of Momentus’ founder and former CEO, Mikhail Kokorich, then the company’s valuation was cut in half from $1.1 billion to $567 million. Stable Road also faced SEC charges that it falsified the results from a prototype spacecraft test in July 2019.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler emphasized that its case against Momentus and Stable Road “illustrates risks inherent to SPAC transactions, as those who stand to earn significant profits from a SPAC merger may conduct inadequate due diligence and mislead investors.”

“The fact that Momentus lied to Stable Road does not absolve Stable Road of its failure to undertake adequate due diligence to protect shareholders,” Gensler added in a statement.

Stable Road and Momentus agreed to settle the charges and penalties of over $8 million in total. Kokorich, who reportedly left the country, has not settled with the SEC.

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Afghanistan battle will unfold past the borders with the advance of the Taliban: negotiators

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The Taliban’s attack on Afghan territory widened on Wednesday, with insurgents maintaining control of nine of the country’s 34 provincial capitals.

Afghan and US officials warn of catastrophic violence in the war-torn country of 39 million as the deadline for the withdrawal of all US troops draws closer to the end of August.

Nader Nadery, a senior member of the Afghan peace negotiation team, expressed serious concern about the rapidly deteriorating situation in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

“If the Taliban advance militarily, the region will be burned down. This war will not take place within Afghanistan’s borders,” Nadery told CNBC’s Capital Connection.

When asked what he believed was the most immediate threat to the international community, Nadery, who experienced decades of unrest in Afghanistan, described a potential surge in terrorist activity well beyond the country, fueled by a sense of victory over Western forces.

It is feared that all terrorist groups will consolidate their power. [under] the roof of the Taliban and the space that the Taliban offer them, “said Nadery.

“The slogan of every single jihadist terrorist group now is that we have defeated the United States and its 42 allies in Afghanistan now, we can pursue them anywhere,” added Nadery. “This slogan is a clear danger that will allow groups like Daesh (ISIS), Al-Qaeda and others to rally more people because they are on the rise, they feel triumphant.”

“Taliban members have told us to our faces that they have defeated the US and NATO allies,” he continued. “And that will not be an easy slogan for them, it will be a danger to all disaffected young people in the region and in a wider global arena where they are pooling their forces around that slogan, and it is not easy.” Attention.”

The international terrorism that emerges from a war-torn state is all too well known. Al-Qaeda grew in the 1990s when the group served as a refuge and a base for planning the 9/11 attacks that sparked the first US invasion of Afghanistan nearly 20 years ago by the Afghan Taliban government.

The Taliban’s ongoing pursuit of power across Afghanistan is also supported by the group’s recently acquired international legitimacy, beginning with the US-Taliban peace accord and more recently with its senior members’ visit to China, which saw apparently warming relations with Beijing became.

“Unfortunately, China gave it [the Taliban] recently a red carpet, these things have to end if we want to see a stable region, “said Nadery.

“You have to fight for yourself”

At the White House, President Joe Biden told reporters on Tuesday that he had no regrets about his decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan despite shocking Taliban gains.

“You see, we’ve spent over a trillion dollars over twenty years, we’ve trained and upgraded over 300,000 Afghan forces,” Biden said.

“Afghan leaders need to come together,” added the president. “You have to fight for yourself, fight for your nation.”

In April, Biden ordered the full withdrawal of around 3,000 US soldiers from Afghanistan by September 11th.

The Pentagon’s colossal task of removing soldiers and equipment from Afghanistan is almost complete, and the U.S. military mission is slated to end on August 31.

Since the US began its withdrawal from the war-torn country, the Taliban have made amazing strides on the battlefield, despite being vastly outnumbered by the Afghan military.

On Wednesday, according to the Associated Press, the Taliban occupied three Afghan provincial capitals and a local army headquarters in Kunduz. Wednesday’s gains give the Taliban about two-thirds control of the country.

In addition, the Taliban quickly captured five Afghan provincial capitals at the weekend, three in one day alone.

An Afghan special forces member takes part in a military operation against Taliban fighters in the village of Kandak Anayat in the city of Kunduz, Afghanistan, on July 23, 2021.

Ajmal Kakar | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

At the Pentagon, spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday that while the Biden administration plans to continue providing air support, there is little the US military can do.

“We will certainly support from the air where and when possible, but this is not a substitute for the leadership on the ground, it is not a substitute for the political leadership in Kabul, it is not a substitute for the use of the skills and capacities, that we know, “said Kirby said.

Kirby added that while the Pentagon is concerned to see such advances by the Taliban, the Afghan military must now capitalize on years of training from US and NATO coalition forces.

“They have an air force, the Taliban don’t. They have modern weapons and organizational skills, the Taliban don’t. They outnumber the Taliban,” said Kirby. “You have the benefits, and now is the really time to take advantage of those benefits.”

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby speaks at a press conference at the Pentagon on January 28, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia.

Yasin Öztürk | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

In light of the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, the State Department is examining ways to downsize the US embassy in Kabul. About 600 US soldiers protect the embassy grounds.

“Obviously it’s a challenging security environment and if we were able we were confident and comfortable to have a larger staff presence there we would,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. when asked about the downsizing in Kabul.

“We evaluate the threat environment on a daily basis. The embassy is in regular contact with Washington with the most senior people in this building, who in turn are in regular contact with our colleagues on [National Security Council] at the White House, “Price added.

Amanda Macias contributed to this report from Washington.

Biden SBA manages Covid loans, corporations can nonetheless get monetary assist

Vice President Kamala Harris swears by Isabel Guzman as Administrator of Small Business Administration while husband Javier Guzman stands by her side at the White House in Washington on March 22, 2021.

Kevin Lemarque | Reuters

Isabella Casillas Guzman, the new administrator of the US Small Business Administration, began her tenure under President Joe Biden in March with responsibility for managing the government’s efforts to support the US’s more than 30 million small businesses. She took over an agency that was experiencing a scaling experiment because of Covid that would attract the attention of even the fastest growing startups.

“We scaled from a $ 40 billion portfolio to over $ 1 trillion in relief during Covid,” Guzman said at CNBC’s Small Business Playbook event on Wednesday.

Guzman is familiar with managing large sums of money on behalf of the government and entrepreneurs. She worked for the SBA under President Barack Obama and as director of the California office of the Small Business Advocate oversaw billions in aid to the largest state economy during Covid. But a trillion dollar grant machine is on a different mission, and Guzman tells CNBC there are still opportunities for companies to find the support they need to get back from Covid fully and get through this new period of uncertainty of the Delta variant .

“You still need our support now. You need continued relief efforts and access to capital and markets to sustain this recovery,” said Guzman.

While describing broad optimism among small business owners, even when faced with numerous challenges, she said the Delta variant creates concerns and “uncertainties on the horizon that may limit their recovery” – a view shared with the recently released CNBC | . matches Momentive Q3 2021 Small Business Survey.

Because of that, the SBA focused on “continuing to unburden our small businesses with billions of dollars,” Guzman said.

Here are some of the programs the new SBA administrator mentioned that are still available to small businesses.

Opportunities for financial relief for the SBA

While some of Covid’s financial relief plans are exhausted, Guzman noted that the American Rescue Plan is still running the Shuttered Venues Operator Grant program to support live venues such as stages, museums, and theaters.

This program has been criticized for providing financial relief and how fraud controls actually refused to help companies in need, but Guzman said the SBA was able to reverse the program. “We have over 10,000 approved applications and distributed over $ 8.5 billion as a result of just strong management within anti-fraud,” said Guzman. “Therefore, we firmly believe that we can reconcile the two and still put these funds in the hands of these intended companies.”

Additionally, the Covid Economic Injury Disaster Loan program remains available, which she described as both a loan program and an expanded grant program for the hardest-hit low-income businesses with fixed, long-term, soft debt.

This allows companies to position themselves with capital to take advantage of growth opportunities or simply position their companies to rebound from Covid, Guzman said. She added that the SBA is trying to make sure it is streamlined and accessible to more businesses during this period.

Support start-ups in the age of pandemics

One of the surprises of the pandemic is that many Americans took this as an opportunity to start a new business, whether it was elderly Americans pushed out of corporate careers or just entering the world of work during a crisis.

Guzman said one of the lesser-known roles the SBA plays are Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs), private companies licensed and regulated by the SBA that make debt and equity investments in small businesses. The SBA provides SBICs across industries and industries with their guaranteed financing, which then invest in companies.

She said the SBA work with SBICs is an area where she wants to do more. “We are reviewing the President’s Build Back Better agenda to create new SBIC programs, as we call them for Venture and Micro, to drive this next recovery and business opportunity,” said Guzman.

Additionally, grants through the Small Business Innovation Research Program and SBA are also an option that startups should know about, according to Guzman. These grants are designed to bring together startups working on ideas that could be funded by the federal government for core R&D before they are in the commercialization phase of a company.

“Small Business Administration is here with a variety of services for startups, cutting edge technology, science-based startups and small businesses from Main Street to Manufacturing, with core capital market access programs and networking to build your team,” she said .

PPP problems, lending in 10 minutes

While the paycheck protection program has been a lifeline for many companies that closed during Covid, it has also been criticized for an unfair approach to lending.

Guzman, the daughter of a small business owner and entrepreneur, said she grew up in a small business family that understanding your customers’ needs is a dominant issue to business survival, and the SBA must think so too.

“For the SBA, our customers, we need to make sure we are customer-centric and serve our businesses. That means entrepreneurship is changing with women and people of color who also start businesses at such high rates.” as a necessity for all of us to better serve these companies and connect them with resources, “she said.

The SBA recently launched their direct forgiveness portal, which focuses on small businesses that have PPP loans of $ 150,000 and less. Guzman said the SBA partnered with over 1,000 lenders on this platform so that companies could complete the process of getting their loans down in 10 minutes.

“Over 94% of the unspent loans are with these small businesses, and we want to make sure we can help them and our large network of lenders run these forgeable PPP loans,” she said.

Gender, Race, and Business Recreation

Start-ups that, according to Guzman, could be particularly in need of help are those that are run by founders of minorities.

“What we found particularly during Covid is that women and people of color are often faced with greater challenges and are trying to access those resources to either position or start their businesses for recovery,” Guzman said. “We need to make sure we are picking companies up where they are, considering the challenges they have faced over the past year and a half, and being ready with programs that can help them today.”

She said creating a network of community navigators funded by the American Rescue Plan will help connect local businesses to SBA programs. Adopting new technology to address the agency’s massive resizing from $ 40 billion to $ 1 trillion will also go a long way in making the SBA more effective, she said.

The labor shortage, Covid and small business

Financial relief from the SBA and help with access to capital has helped small businesses facing a tough job market as they try to get back on track, but Guzman said many of the conversations she has with small business owners showed that Covid concerns continue to be a large part of the labor shortage, not just competition for wages and benefits.

“They let me know that there are still concerns about Covid. And especially with the Delta variant,” she said.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses sees labor shortages translating into lost sales at its member companies, said Holly Wade, executive director of research at NFIB, citing data from its latest Covid survey. Also on the CNBC Small Business Playbook, she said the combination of continued competition from larger companies in the hiring market and the rise of the Delta variant will continue to challenge small businesses to maintain sales. “We may see the lost sales you saw again,” said Wade.

The American Rescue Plan allows companies to give their employees time to get vaccinated and recover, and access a tax credit that is built specifically into the federal Covid relief plan for them. “That’s what it’s all about. They want their main streets and business centers to return to normal. And that means we have to fight the pandemic,” Guzman said.

The CNBC | Momentive Q3 2021 Small Business Survey found that hiring difficulties are among the top challenges small business owners face as wages and benefits rise to keep employees and recruit new employees.

Uncertain prospects for restaurant relief

Restaurants in particular have faced both labor shortages and concerns about the Delta variant.

Guzman said the federal restaurant revitalization fund created by the American Rescue Plan had provided $ 28.6 billion to over 100,000 companies, but she added that demand was 2.5 times that amount.

“There are still restaurants, food and beverage companies that need support. We know they have been hardest hit and will often be the last to reopen in churches, but they define so many of our main roads, “she said.

Laws have been passed on Capitol Hill three times since the original permit ran out in July to add new funding for restaurants, including a recent effort by Senators last weekend, but no legislative effort has yet been successful.

Guzman said she couldn’t comment on any action Congress might take to further support the food industry.

NFIB’s Wade said the trading group is currently seeking new funding for restaurants, but stressed that small businesses should take advantage of today’s world. She referred to the employee withholding tax credit that many small business owners are unaware of. It offers a tax credit based on wages paid to employees of up to $ 33,000 per employee. “It is a bit technical to find your way around, but for many you will qualify. Small business owners should definitely check this out, ”she said.

Paychex CEO Marty Mucci recently told Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Mad Money that it processed over $ 3 billion in tax credits “what’s in your pocket to help you now.”

The $ 1 trillion Senate infrastructure package would end the employee retention tax credit three months early, October 1 instead of January 1, 2022.