“Close to Home” is a series inspired by the fact that so many of us are spending more of our time at home and learning to appreciate our sanctuaries now more than ever. At the same time, we know that our readers—and viewers—care about giving back to others all over the world, so our interview subjects discuss both their homes and their passion projects, efforts they’ve committed to that have resulted in social impact.

In the latest in this series, we spoke to actress Javicia Leslie, who in January will become the first Black Batwoman, starring as the titular superhero role on the CW’s “Batwoman.”

Javicia Leslie is currently in Vancouver filming the CW’s “Batwoman,” but home for her is actually in Los Angeles—a two-bedroom apartment she bought earlier this year. At the moment, the apartment is being gutted, and she hopes the renovation is complete by the time she gets back stateside.

Her design style: “Clean and modern as modern can be,” she told Mansion Global and Penta. In terms of the apartment itself, it was the view, the large windows and the amenities that really appealed to her. “Lighting affects how I feel,” she said.

And thanks to the recreational amenities, “it almost feels like I’m in a resort.” She’s making everything feel more modern and sleek, replacing dark cabinets to light or white colors.

While Ms. Leslie, 33, is passionate about her home design as well as her groundbreaking role as the first Black Batwoman—“I love that this is where it starts,” she says of her big break—she also has a foundation called The Chandler Foundation, which is geared toward giving back to children in need.

As part of the Chandler Foundation—coined for her family name—she’s raised money to build a school in Haiti, collected athletic supplies for Los Angeles’s public schools, and even had a backpack drive in Washington, D.C.—close to where she grew up—where kids picked up pre-packed backpacks and could have their hair cut and braided, for free, before the start of the school year.

“A huge passion of mine is being able to give kids the opportunity to feel free to follow their dreams at their fullest capacity,” she said.

Another issue of great importance to her: social justice. “This isn’t new for us,” she said of the Black Lives Matter movement. “I pray that as a country, as a world, we find a way to shed light… and to understand we can’t do this ourselves. We need help.” During this highly politicized environment, it’s important “to hold people accountable,” Ms. Leslie said. “Don’t allow people just to tell you what they’re gonna do.”

And lasting change will come when everyone does their part, she said. “In order for us to make a change, we have to do this together. As Black people, we’ve been doing this by ourselves for so long. This is real life for us. This isn’t a movement for us, this isn’t a hashtag.”

Suga promises a stimulus plan focused on the environment and digital innovation

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga vowed on Friday to structure a stimulus package aimed at lifting the economy out of the pandemic-generated recession through environmental investment projects and digital innovation. .

“We are defining a package that can rebound our economy while achieving a digitized and carbon neutral society after the pandemic,” Suga said after a meeting with his government’s economic council.

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said in a draft proposal, seen by Reuters on Friday, that the government should create a fund of a size “comparable to global standards” to support companies with investments in green technologies, without suggesting a specific figure.

Suga has said that Japan will reach zero emissions by 2050 and his party’s recommendations will serve as the basis for the government’s discussions on a new fiscal stimulus package, to be designed by the cabinet by order of the prime minister.

The party’s proposal, which suggests incentives to provide investment in green technologies, will be among the pillars of the stimulus plan, along with a spending package that seeks to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. The document will be presented to the government on Monday, according to an LDP source.

“By deploying all available policy resources, the public and private sectors must work together to reach the goal of zero emissions by 2050,” said the draft, which will be subject to changes after the executive’s discussions.

In addition to calling for deregulation and applying tax exemptions, the proposal also calls on the government to expand or create a new state-funded credit program and guarantee schemes to help companies hit by the COVID-19 crisis.

“It appears (that the new package) will clearly fall short of just providing financial support to deal with the pandemic,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at the Norinchukin Research Institute. “There will be a growing number of measures aimed at shaping a post-COVID-19 society.”

Ruling party officials have called for an additional budget valued at between 20 and 30 billion yen (192 and 288 billion dollars), which could partly finance the stimulus package.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is the disease produced by the SARS-CoV2 virus whose impact has gone beyond its health condition and the high increase in mortality rates of the population worldwide, surpassing in Panama the date, according to reports from the Ministry of Health (Minsa), the 140,000 confirmed cases and around 3,000 deaths.

However, these are not the only consequences that have accompanied this health crisis.

The economic impacts that have been seen due to the pandemic, declared in this way at the beginning of March of this year, have been high and since the main focus of governments and organizations on these events is currently, many others have taken the opportunity to carry out numerous criminal acts.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) “criminal groups have also rapidly adapted to the opportunities arising from the pandemic to exploit vulnerabilities and gaps in the health and criminal justice systems.”

During this time, the money laundering figures have continued to be recorded, however, the means for this to occur have been partly modified. According to the website of the International Police (Interpol): “The fight against money laundering is closely associated with investigations into the crimes to which it is linked.”

New sources of illicit money have emerged during this crisis, including cybercrime, misdirection or exploitation of government funds, and counterfeiting of medical products in the face of high demand, even misleading many governments.

According to the United Nations (UN): “Health and life are at risk with criminals who exploit the COVID-19 crisis to take advantage of public anxiety and the increased demand for personal protective equipment and medicines.”

In this way, a large amount of personal protective equipment and other false health products have been seen, which are not effective and that on the contrary affect the health of the population.

What’s happening? We are facing a very vulnerable time, the low control that is being seen by governments and the private sector against money laundering and terrorist financing puts us at risk of increasing these situations.

In this context, it is easier for criminals to find ways to disguise their true finances by misusing online services, increasing the unregulated financial sector and the opportunity to do more and more fraudulent negotiations or activities.

Speaking of the vulnerability in which we are living, during the month of July of this year, António Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, mentioned that “the psychosocial, economic and political tensions associated with COVID-19 increased dramatically.

Terrorists must not be allowed to exploit these fissures and weaknesses.

However, in a report by the same organization during the month of November, it is reported that non-state violent groups, including terrorists, right-wing extremists and organized crime such as Mexican cartels, have maliciously used social networks to reinforce their agendas during the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking to generate conspiracy theories about the origin of the virus that promote violence by these groups.

In addition, it says the pandemic d e COVID-19 was an opportunity for Mexican cartels and other countries where we have tried to disguise their true criminal intent with an alleged social aid.

There, criminal groups have distributed aid boxes, taking advantage of the difficult economic situation that the population is going through, distributing them with the name or logo of the organization and, later, promoting their actions in the media and / or social networks, representing the latter an important instrument for its dissemination.

In this way, what they seek is to promote their ideologies to the population, also managing to penetrate and infiltrate the legal economy.

Earlier this week, the UK government announced that it would finally make a comprehensive review of the UK Gambling industry and in particular, the 2005 Gambling Act.

Gambling companies are expecting that the government may put restrictions on the amount a casino player can bet per spin on popular online slots such as Rainbow Riches. If this was to happen, it is likely that revenues of gambling companies, online casinos in particular, would decrease. Online slot games remain one of the most popular forms of gambling in the United Kingdom.

Ian Proctor, The UK Chairman of Flutter Entertainment which is the parent company of online gambling giants, Paddy Power and Sky Bet told the BBC that he thinks gambling rules do need to be updated for the digital age, he said:

“We take [problem gambling] incredibly seriously, but let’s also get this in a little bit of context.

“For millions of people every week, they enjoy a bet, it’s a leisure activity, it gives people a lot of pleasure. For some people it’s not, for a small minority. And we need to make gambling safer for those people.”

Whilst it is clear and obvious that the chairman of one of the biggest gambling companies in the world would prefer any new Gambling Act to not be too strict on online gambling, it is not a secret that a large portion of the UK population enjoys gambling. Therefore, it seems to be the case that the UK government needs to find a balance on rules surrounding UK gambling.

Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston stated that the review should strike a balance between individual freedom and protecting problem gamblers. Earlier this year, the former Labour MP Tom Watson who was one of parliaments loudest voices for gambling reform, joined Flutter entertainment as its advisor on problem gambling.

The gambling lobby within the UK remains strong so it is unlikely that any changes to gambling laws in the UK will affect the largest companies too drastically. On the other hand, The Guardian has called for the Gambling Review to be free of industry influence and political dithering.

Online Casinos in the United Kingdom

The online casino market in the UK is one of the largest in the world. Currently, any gambling operator that wishes to offer its services to the UK public, must receive a license to do so from the UK Gambling Commission.

The gambling industry in the UK has been regulated since the 2005 Gambling Act came into law. Regulating the industry ensures that online gambling in the country remains safe as the UKGC watchdog ensures that all operating casinos are trustworthy and fair. However, since 2005, the gambling in the UK has moved predominantly online which is why UK parliament and safe gambling bodies would like the Act to be updated so it fits the modern age of online gambling.

Slot games at online casinos remain popular for UK punters. Some online slots allow players to bet up to and beyond £200 per spin.

In May 2020, searches for the term ‘online casino’ reached an all-time high. The majority of searches were performed by casino players in Hull followed by Stoke-on-Trent and finally Bradford. HSBC UK stated that between January and April of this year, more than £16.5 million had been gambled on HSBC credit cards. Credit card gambling was given a blanket ban in April 2020.

Sports Betting

There are murmurs that the review will clamp down on sports betting advertisements on both the television and on the shirts of football teams. Currently, over 50% of Premier League football teams have a shirt sponsored by a betting company whilst all sports even broadcasted on the television in the UK will showcase numerous betting companies.

The huge popularity of the Premier League means that football betting is one of the largest gambling markets.

Gambling Revenues in 2021

Despite the news of the launch of a comprehensive UK gambling review, share prices of the largest gambling operators have remained stable. Politicians have discussed for several years now that they will look into the gambling industry, so a review is not a surprise.

The UK gambling industry also generated hundreds of millions of pounds per year to the UK treasury in the form of taxes. Unless taxes on gambling companies are raised, if gambling companies lose out on revenue then so will the treasury.